The Nokia name is back on a tablet –for only the second time in its history — with the arrival o the Nokia T20. HMD Global, which owns the rights to the Nokia brand name for mobile devices, says the T20 is everything you’d expect from a Nokia smartphone, but in a tablet. This means long battery life, durability, and software longevity.
The last time we saw a Nokia tablet was with the N1 in 2015, and the company was very different at the time. Nokia the smartphone brand had recently been purchased by Microsoft, but tablets were apparently still fair game for the Finnish company to make, so it partnered with manufacturer Foxconn to do so. The N1 used Android and Nokia’s own Z Launcher interface.
Today, HMD Global is in control of Nokia’s hardware, and while the Nokia T20 still uses Android, this time it’s free of any additional software, providing a clean user interface much like Google Pixel phones. This lets HMD Global provide timely software updates — it promises two years of major OS updates and three years of security updates. The T20 comes with Google Kids Space installed so parents have control over content and apps, and it introduces screen time limits.
Made from aluminum, the Nokia T20 has a big 10.4-inch LCD screen with a 2000 x 1200 pixel resolution. The processor inside seems to differ depending on where you buy the T20. In the U.S., it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 chip with 5G, while in the U.K. it has an unusual Unisoc Tiger T610 octa-core processor inside with an LTE option. It’s paired to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space in both cases, plus there is a MicroSD card slot to expand up to 512GB.
The battery has a capacity of 8,200mAh and promises 15 hours of general use before it needs a recharge, or about 10 hours video playback. Charging comes through a USB Type-C port. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack on the case, the tablet has an IP52 splash-resistance rating, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 5MP front camera, stereo speakers, and dual microphones. And to make sure the tablet stays safe, there are two cases available for the T20, a full rugged case or a flip cover.
How much will you pay for the Nokia T20? In the U.S., it will be released on November 17 and start at $250. In the U.K., it can be pre-ordered now and costs 180 British pounds for the 4GB/64GB Wi-Fi model or 200 pounds for the LTE version. The Rugged Cover is 40 pounds and the Flip Cover 50 pounds.