HMD Global has announced the launch of the Nokia G42 5G, a mid-range mobile that can boast of observing the right to repair that until very recently was impossible to fulfill no matter how much “right” it proclaimed, given the way in which the company works. current industry and the planned technological obsolescence that practices in a general way in an unsustainable model that accumulates more and more gadgets increasing technological waste.
HMD follows the steps started with the G22, one of the three smartphones that it brought to the MWC in Barcelona and the most interesting is a new line of phones designed from its inception to be repairable and have a longer shelf life. The Nokia G42 5G pursues that strategy since it has the ability to repair QuickFixwhich allows the user to easily replace the most problematic elements of a mobile, damaged screens, bent charging ports, dead batteries or broken back covers.
Repairs are done through collaboration with iFixit, which provides practical repair guides and spare parts at very reasonable prices for what some official services cost. We do not give a name although we believe it is on everyone’s mind. If a screen breaks, it’s almost better to throw away the mobile because you’re going to freak out with the price of the repair.
For the rest, the Nokia G42 5G is based on a 6.56 inch screenwith a native resolution of 1612 x 720 pixels and a refresh rate of 90 Hz. Its engine is a Qualcomm SoC model Snapdragon 480+, accompanied in configurations of 6 Gbytes of RAM and 128 Gbytes of storage capacity.
Supports broadband networks 5G and Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 wireless connectivity. Its camera system mounts a triple sensor main (50MP general + 2 MP depth and a 2 MP macro) and an 8 MP front camera for selfies.
It supports 20-watt fast charging and promises to maintain 80% battery capacity after 800 full charge cycles, the equivalent of four years of charging via a USB Type-C port. It has a mono speaker, two microphones and two other components that the industry trend tends to eliminate: 3.5mm audio jack and microSD card reader.
Nokia G42 5G, price and accessories
The terminal is already available on Nokia.com in black or purple finishes, configurations of 6 GB of RAM memory and 128 GB of storage and with wired headphones included, at a price of 249 euros. Nokia offers accessories such as a transparent case for 24.99 euros. Repair kits and replacement parts will be available through iFixit.com, with prices ranging from €50 for the screen to €20 for the charging port.
To say that the terminal is delivered with Android 13 pre-installed and the provider promises three years of security updates and two of major system updates. At its level of repair (which we wholeheartedly applaud) it should be accompanied by expanded software support to prevent bits from causing obsolescence. That’s why we bet, but in the meantime, you know, alternative ROMs are a strong point of the Android platform.
