Nokia T20 review

Price When Reviewed

From $249.99

Best Prices Today: Nokia T20

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a new Nokia tablet, but the wait is finally over. The Nokia T20 comes with a big screen, a decent battery life and a price tag that’s not to be sniffed at.

The device follows in the footsteps of the Nokia N1, which was released back in 2014. At this price, this is a device that is best for productivity and entertainment rather than heavy-duty tasks. That said, how does this new Nokia T20 hold up day-to-day?

Design & Build

• Ocean Blue finish
• IP52 rating
• Headphone jack

The Nokia T20 carries over the signature Nordic design that is seen on phones from the brand. It sports a metallic Ocean Blue finish, which is made from sandblasted aluminium. This makes the tablet both look and feel more premium than it is. The blue finish is currently the only colour that you can get the T20 in.

The tablet is 7.8mm thick and weighs 465g, so it’s easy to slip into a bag and carry around. No case is included when you purchase the T20, but Nokia does offer a range of accompanying accessories, including a tough case that will keep the tablet safe when being used by children (or you, if you’re clumsy – I’m not judging).

The T20 supports USB-C charging. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a staple of more affordable tablets. The tablet is IP52 certified, meaning that it is protected against dust and minor water drips – though I’d recommend not taking it out in a storm. 

The power button sits on the top right-hand side, with the volume controls just to the right of that on the corner. An odd design quirk is that the camera is on the side of the tablet rather than the top. I assume that this is due to the new prevalence of video calls, where you’ll likely have the tablet in landscape mode rather than portrait.

One of the biggest omissions from the T20 is the lack of a supporting keyboard or stylus. Nokia says that any third-party ones can be used, but it is annoying that there isn’t something specifically designed for the T20.

Screen & Speakers

• 10.36in screen
• 2K resolution
• Loud speakers

The T20 boasts a 10.36in, 2K, in-cell LCD screen in an unusual 5:3 aspect ratio. Typically you’ll find 4:3 on devices like the iPad 2021 so this is similar, but a little taller.

On average, it produces 400 nits brightness and features SGS low blue light certification for eye comfort. The panel is protected by toughened cover glass, helpful for minimising the chances of any nasty scratches.

The colours on this display are rich, and the screen overall is nice and bright. Considering this is a budget tablet, the display is certainly a standout. I could happily watch videos on it all day without any issues. 

The stereo speakers with OZO audio feature a power amplifier, which makes them quite loud and punchy. However, there’s not much depth to the audio – bass levels don’t have the usual thrum that you’ll get on more expensive hardware.

Specs & Performance

• Unisoc Tiger T610 processor
• 3GB/4GM RAM AND 32GB/64GB storage
• Best suited for basic tasks

The Nokia T20 I tested comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, though this can be expanded up to 512GB with a micro-SD card. Other markets offer other configurations, including 4GB RAM and 64GB worth of storage. You can get the tablet in both LTE and Wi-Fi variants.

This is paired with a Unisoc Tiger T610 octa-core processor. Every budget tablet makes compromises somewhere, and sadly the T20’s is on performance, which is distinctively average. Take a look at how it stacked up in our benchmarking tests:

The low-grade grip means that the T20 suffers from lag when using and opening apps, changing from portrait mode to landscape, and even when being unlocked. 

However, if you have a little bit of patience, this tablet will make do for basic tasks such as watching videos, working on spreadsheets, browsing social media and taking notes.

I was able to do some very light gaming on this device, but only on titles with very basic graphics and gameplay such as Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. If you like playing anything any more heavy-duty, you’ll probably need to step up in price.

Cameras

• Unimpressive camera set-up
• Face unlock doesn’t work well
• Will make do for video calls

Not many people buy a tablet for photography, and that’s probably a good thing for Nokia in this case. On the back, you get a rear 8Mp autofocus camera. This is capable of taking regular photos, as well as panoramas and portrait photos. You can also add extra flourishes such as filters, should you wish. 

The photos can be okay in daylight, but both indoor and low-light conditions produce washed out, fuzzy and unimpressive shots. If you want a good snapper on your tablet, the T20 is not for you. 

On the front, you get a 5Mp selfie camera. Again, this is capable of both portrait and normal mode. It’s not great, but it is sufficient for video calls – which is what most people will likely use it for.

The dual-microphones pick up a decent amount of sound, but again they aren’t anything special. On videos, you can enable noise reduction with OZO Audio to dampen any background sounds, but sadly this isn’t a feature that can be used during video calls. 

This front camera is capable of face unlock, but I found this to be extremely temperamental. I suggest sticking with the old password or pattern unlock.

Battery life

• Impressive real-world performance
• Slow speeds with 10W included charger

The Nokia T20 features an 8200mAh battery. The firm claims that it can last up to 15 hours worth of web browsing, 10 hours worth of video playback and seven hours of continuous work calls.

In real-world use, I found the battery to be great. Using automatic brightness, I could stretch about a day and a half from this tablet – watching Twitch, browsing the web and Twitter in-between work. 

Under our internal battery tests, the T20 doesn’t quite fair as well. It managed just over six and half hours in our Geekbench 4 test, and just under six hours in our PCMark 10 test.

That said, this is with the screen on a fixed brightness, so this goes to show that if you want to make the most out of the T20, it’s best to switch to the automatic brightness mode.

Whilst the tablet supports 15W charging, the box only comes equipped with a 10W one. That meant that I could only charge that massive battery a measly 12% in 30 minutes from flat. It takes just over three hours to juice it to full.

If you have a 15W charger lying around the house, I’d suggest using this instead and even that is slow for today’s standards.

Software

• Pure Android
• Goole Kids Space
• Minimal clutter

Android fans, you’re in luck. The Nokia T20 comes with pure Android 11 right out of the box, with no skins. That means that you get the full authentic Google experience, with minimal app clutter.

This tablet comes equipped with both Google Entertainment Space and Google Kids Space. The former brings together all your ongoing videos, streams and series in one place, plus new suggestions for you based on the streaming apps you have installed.

Google Kids Space mode is perfect if you wish to share this tablet around with your little ones. This includes a range of apps and books which are designed and reviewed by children’s educational specialists. This can also be used with Family Link to help monitor screen time, block and unblock apps and more.

Overall, it simplifies the tablet user experience, making things more streamlined for kids. Not all tablets come pre-loaded with this, so this is a nice feature to see on the T20.

In addition, the Nokia T20 comes with three years of monthly security updates, and two years’ worth of Android OS updates guaranteed.

Price & Alternatives

The Nokia T20 tablet costs £179.99/$249.99 for the Wi-Fi only variant, and £199.99 for the LTE version (there’s no Bluetooth variant in the US). In other countries, you can get it even cheaper with the 3GB/32GB combo, which starts from €229.

You can currently buy it from Nokia, Very and Amazon in the UK, and Nokia and Amazon in the US. 

Whilst this tablet does make compromises, it’s a decent option if you want that large screen, decent battery and pure Android software. Other tablets for a similar price include the Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021), and the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1. 

Alternatively, you can spend just a little more and opt for something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. You can take at look at our lists of the best budget tablets, the best Android tablets and the best tablets overall to see more competition. 

Verdict

The Nokia T20 puts a big focus on design, with a clear and bright screen and a sleek finish that set it above some of its budget rivals. The battery life is also a real winner.

That said, it’s only a good tablet if you’re not planning on heavy multi-tasking or big gaming, as performance isn’t quick and responsive. The unimpressive camera and lack of a 15W charger in the box – and a faster speed anyway – are also rather annoying. 

If you can get past these faults, then you may enjoy the T20 – and it’s one of the fewer pure Android tablets on the market right now and could make for a good choice for younger users who don’t need something more premium.

Best Prices Today: Nokia T20