Nokia has been synonymous with quality and reliability for decades, recently they have been targeting an eco-friendlier approach with their latest devices.
The Nokia T21 is their latest tablet, and straight away you'll realise Nokia isn't playing around, this budget offering sports a premium look and some high-end features, it's also the follow-up to the T20 released in 2021.
The T21 is a big boy with a height of 7.5mm, a length of 247.5mm and a width of 157.3mm, which makes it great for watching TV and films without being too bulky.
Due to its tough aluminium body, it feels a little more premium than most around this price range and has a little bit of weight to it at 471g, thankfully this is evenly spread across the device so it never feels awkward to hold.
The metal design isn’t just for show, it offers some decent protection making the T21 feel robust, but it also has an IP52 rating, giving it limited dust and water protection too.
Don’t expect a rainbow of colours as the T21 is available in only Charcoal Grey, but this matte, minimal appearance looks smart and a little more premium than its plastic, brightly coloured counterparts.
Here’s something you don’t see too often anymore, the T21 includes a 3.5mm jack for headphones on the corner of the device if you want to use cabled headphones to save battery life or you're just old school.
One of the strongest features of this tablet is its large 10.36-inch, LCD screen. This display is very sharp thanks to its 2k resolution, (2000x 1200) making it crystal clear. It has a 5:3 aspect ratio which is slightly wider than most tablets but not quite widescreen.
One of my nit-picks with the screen is the almost 1-centimetre-wide bezel all the way around, which other than eating into your precious screen real estate is one of the only things that makes the tablet look cheaper.
The screen is also 60Hz and only offers around 360 Nits of brightness however, combined with how reflective the screen makes the T21 more of an indoor tablet as it’s harder to see in bright conditions.
The display is protected by toughened glass which offers some scratch resistance too but I'd be careful dropping it and get a case on it ASAP.
As for sound, the T21 has stereo speakers on either side of the tablet with OZO Spatial Audio software, it could be a little quiet sometimes, but the audio quality was clear and detailed.
Specs
CPU: Unisoc Tiger T612
RAM: 4GB
Screen: 10.36-inch, LCD
Storage: 64GB/128GB + Expandable storage
Battery: 8200mAh + 18W
With only 4GB RAM, you’ll need to be mindful of keeping lots of apps open as it will eat into performance, and this is another reason the T21 isn’t ideal for demanding games.
Speaking of performance, the T21 uses a Unisoc Tiger T612, CPU chips aren’t exactly a powerhouse but it’s capable enough for most day-to-day tasks and more than enough for watching films, reading eBooks and browsing the internet.
Although I wouldn’t rely on it for heavy gaming or serious productivity tasks due to its weaker hardware, I was playing older games and old PC ports without lag but still experienced long load times.
Storage options are either 64GB or 128GB options which seem a little light but can thankfully be supplemented but Micro SD card storage up to 512GB which helps offset this limited size.
At £199.99, for the Wi-Fi edition, £219 for the 4G edition and £249 for the 128GB, 4G model, the T21 is in the same price range as the Honor 8, The Fire HD 10 (which is cheaper) and the HUAWEI MatePad SE 10.4-inch but depending what your focus is for the tablet the T21 holds it own.
It’s also worth noting that the Nokia T21 is available on Circular, Nokia’s subscription service for £12.50 a month which includes a replacement if it is damaged or stolen, which is a great idea to keep the device with you for longer and reduces waste.
The tablet contains a decent-sized 8200 mAh battery that lasted me around 8 hours with mixed-use.It also takes around 3 hours to fully charge but supports 18W fast charging if that’s too slow for you.
The tablet charges via USB-C and wall charger is not included with this product but the 18W charger can be purchased separately from Nokia for £19.99.
It also has an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera which were better than I expected with nice colour reproduction however they blurred very easily unless in bright light and lacked detail but were fine for short video calls.
While there is no fingerprint scanner, the T21 does support face unlock which was surprisingly accurate. For artists, the T21 supports Wacom WGP and Wacom Active ES™ 2.0 pen technology allowing you to sketch on the go.
The T21 can also be used as an additional monitor on Windows PCs and doesn't require downloading any software for either device, which was quick to set us and easy to use.
On the software side, the T21 is mercifully free of any bloatware or unnecessary programs thanks to it using a close-to-stock Android OS. This gives it a notable advantage over the Fire tablets, however, it is using the older Android 12 instead of the latest but should receive 13 in future.
However, the T21 should receive another two Android updates as well as 3 years of security updates providing it with an impressive amount of longevity if you don't want to upgrade any time soon.
Nokia T21 Verdict: 4/5
The Nokia T21 offers a lot of bang for your buck, it has a great screen, long battery life, a durable design and delivers a solid experience.
While there are some minor drawbacks, such as average camera quality, and slower CPU they are not dealbreakers for most, especially considering the tablet's affordable price point.
It also has some non-standard features like active pen stylus support and second-screen functionality, so while the tablet market has many options the T21 is easily one I would recommend.
The Nokia T21 is available now starting at £199.99 from the Nokia website
