Nokia’s new G50 is a $300 5G phone with a big battery and two years of OS upgrades

Nokia has a new midrange phone coming to the US and a number of global markets. The new G50 costs $299 and has all the ingredients to be competitive as a midrange phone, with a 6.82-inch HD+ display, big battery, audio jack and 18W fast charger.

This G-series phone is similar to the Nokia X20 that was announced back in April 2021, but the G50 has a bigger screen and battery and comes in a version specifically designed for the North American market (AT&T and T-Mobile). Unsurprisingly, it supports the slower 5G Sub 6, which means this phone will work on T-Mobile’s 5G network, but not on Verizon’s mmWave network, and will only get 4G reception on AT&T.

Like other 5G phones in the $300 range, the Nokia G50 is powered by the modest Snapdragon 480 chip, so don’t expect the fastest performance or smoothest gaming experience on this phone. It has 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, as well as a microSD slot in case you need to backup your photos or sideload an app. Compared to Motorola’s identically named G50, the Nokia has a slightly bigger HD+ 6.82-inch display that is capable of 450 nits of brightness and has a v-shaped notch around its front 8-megapixel camera.

Image: Nokia

On the back of the Nokia G50 is a triple-camera array, arranged in a circle. You’ll probably use the 48-megapixel standard camera the most, while the 5-megapixel Ultrawide and 2-megapixel depth sensor cameras can bring some fun perspectives to your shots but will likely be of noticeably lower quality. Its front selfie camera also offers video stabilization to help sharpen your blurry Tik Tok videos and a Night Selfie mode to brighten your low-light selfies.

According to HMD Global, the maker of Nokia phones, the Nokia G50 will ship with Android 11 and receive two years of OS upgrades and three years of monthly security updates. In other words, this budget phone won’t turn into a brick in a few years, which is good for the environment and for consumers who want to get more use out of their phones before upgrading.

The Nokia G50 is preloaded with Spotify and a 30-day trial of ExpressVPN and is available in Ocean Blue or Midnight Sun. It’s available for preorder starting today, September 22nd, at Nokia.com and will ship on September 30th.