What is it?
The Nokia 7.2 is the direct successor to the Nokia 7.1.
You'll get an Android 9 phone, with a large 6.3-inch Full HD+ display (at 2,280 x 1,080 pixels). The phone is powered by a good, but not great, Snapdragon 660 processor with 6GB of Ram, and it comes with 128GB of storage (extendable to 512GB via a micro-SD card).
The real headline news, however, is the addition of a third (ultra-wide) camera and an upgrade to its main camera that sees its megapixel count go up from 12Mp to 48Mp.
Design-wise there's a lot to like about the Nokia 7.2. While its relatively thick bezels (especially when compared with more expensive phones) won't be to everyone's taste, the glass front and back and metallic trim around its edges give the phone a quality look.
What’s it like to use?
The Nokia 7.2 has a bright and responsive display that shows colours well in low lighting. Processor performance is generally quick enough to get through your normal daily tasks, but our benchmarking test shows that it’s significantly slower than similar mid-tier phones.
We did find that the face unlock feature – a new addition since the Nokia 7.1 – had good accuracy, although it’s a tad annoying that you need to press the power button or double-tap the screen to activate it. The fingerprint sensor isn’t bad either but is a bit too slow in recognising your fingerprint. Be aware that the scanner is on the rear of the phone, so you'll need to pick the phone up to use it.
How long does the battery last?
Nokia usually gets the most from the batteries in its phones, but this time its usual heights haven't been reached. The Nokia 7.2 takes a fairly lengthy 2 hours to fully charge, at which point you will only get around 15-and-a-half hours of use while it's at the maximum brightness.
You’ll get almost an extra 10 hours out of it if you reduce the brightness if you do opt for this phone, keep the brightness low to stretch its battery life.
The battery doesn't charge very quickly in a short burst either, only reaching 18% of its capacity when charged for 15 minutes. We’re not impressed with how long it lasts with that capacity – it only hangs on for three hours of use while the brightness is turned all the way up or four when we tried reducing it.
How good are the cameras?
Given that the big addition here is the 8Mp wide-angle camera, we were expecting a little more from the Nokia 7.2's camera test.
Picture quality is far from poor, but the camera doesn't hit the heights we expected, with rear camera photos lacking much detail and turning out quite blurred in low lighting when you’re using night mode. Front-camera pictures come out quite grainy in bright and low light.
This 7.2’s video recording doesn’t fare too well either. Its rear cameras are relatively stable with some sharpness but have visible exposure and autofocus adjustments when you’re watching videos back. The front camera is a little shaky and has quite harsh contrast.
Is there anything I should watch out for?
We have to note the phone's disappointing external speaker – music played aloud sounds thin and generally quiet.
Is there anything else I should know?
The Nokia 7.2 is dual-Sim, meaning you can install two Sim cards at once, perfect if you travel and want to avoid roaming charges.
Should I buy it?
Unfortunately, due to the age of this phone and the brand’s update policies, we suspect it will stop receiving important security updates in less than a year, so we can’t recommend that you buy. Find out more in our guide to mobile phone security.
