Tech
Nokia’s shockingly affordable T20 tablet comes with a 10-inch 2K display
At $250, Nokia’s first tablet in years looks to check off all the essentials. What more do you need in a tablet, anyway?
Tablets are hot again. On the back of recent releases such as the rugged XR20 phone, Nokia is releasing its first new tablet since its brief flirtation with the N1 in 2015. (Fun fact: Nokia also sells a laptop called the PureBook X14. TMYK!)
The Nokia T20 is the first of what Nokia envisions as a family of tablets. At $250 and available in the U.S. on November 17, the T20 is hardly an iPad, but its low price feels right at home for families, students, or anybody on a tight budget.
Tech specs — With 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, the T20 is a budget-friendly Android tablet with a 10.4-inch display. The octa-core Unisoc Tiger T610 chip is no spring chicken, having been released mid-2019. With a combination of ARM Cortex-A75 and A-55 processors running at a max boost clock of 1.8GHz and a Mali-G52 GPU, the T20 should handle most apps and casual games fine. I wouldn’t expect to do any heavy 3D gaming on it, though.
Features for The New Normal — According to Nokia, tablet usage increased by 53 percent during the past year. With so many people working from home, watching movies and TV shows, and video calling constantly, Nokia saw an opportunity.
The large 10.4-inch 2K resolution display (2,000 x 1,200 resolution) is front and center with slim bezels and 400 nits of brightness. The T20’s screen also has a low blue light certification that Nokia claims will make watching content at night easier on the eyes.
Like recent Nokia phones, the T20 tablet will receive two years of OS updates; it comes with Android 11 installed. The tablet will also receive three years of security updates.
The T20 has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Unlike on iPads, the camera is centered when the tablet is in landscape position. It’s a small detail, but it means you won’t be off-center on video calls. The rugged cover accessory also features a built-in stand to make video calls much easier.
Powering the device is an 8,200 mAh battery, which, according to Nokia, lasts about 10 hours of streaming time, 15 hours of web surfing, or 7 hours of video calls. Of course, mixed usage will mean battery life will vary unless you’re one of those weirdos who uses their tablet for only one thing.
With the recent 9th-generation iPad rated for 10 hours of battery life, the T20 is at least not lagging terribly behind. The T20 is capable of 15W fast charging, though only a 10W fast charger is included. To get the full fast charge you’ll need to supply your own 15W (or beefier) charger.
The Nokia brand, now owned and operated by HMD Global, still holds weight in the industry, though it’s now known more for releasing budget and mid-range devices than flagship ones. The T20 is a prime example — it’s just the essentials for a tablet and nothing more. For basics, it should do the job just fine. If you want your tablet to be more of a laptop replacement, you’re gonna need to pony up more money for a device like the M1 iPad Pro or a Surface Pro 8.
