The demand for tablets in general has increased after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nokia just unveiled the Tab T21, a budget 10-inch Android tablet aimed mostly at kids and students.
After using it for a few weeks, here is my assessment of how the Nokia T21 compares to other devices in its pricing range like the Oppo Pad Air, Realme Pad, and Redmi Pad.
What’s New In It?
The Nokia T21 is an incremental improvement over the Tab T20 (review), which it replaces. Nokia has made a few minor adjustments to the camera and accessible storage options, which are both powered by the Unisoc T612.
Although the tablet’s processor provides roughly the same performance as its predecessor, it now has Widevine L1 certification, enabling users to stream material in FHD on well-known OTT services like Netflix.
Design Of Nokia T21
Credit:google
The Nokia T21 has an aluminum body, giving it a premium appearance and feel. The construction is excellent, and even though I haven’t dropped it, I have the impression that the tab can withstand a few blows and survive drops from modest heights. It has a matte texture that is pleasant to the touch yet slippery like other tabs in this price range.
There are top-mounted volume controls and a microSD card slot on the right side. The power button and two speakers are located on the tablet’s top right side, while the other two speakers, a USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack are located on the bottom side.
The All New Performance
Credit:google
The Android experience on the Nokia T21, which ships with Android 12 out of the box, is comparable to that of more recent HMD Nokia phones. With a few added settings, the user experience is very similar to standard Android.
By swiping left from the home screen, you no longer get the Google feed that we are all accustomed to seeing, but rather an app that organizes information and provides suggestions from other Google services, like YouTube, Books, Play Games, and YouTube Music.
Although the device has Widevine L1 certification, which enables users to stream material from OTT services like Netflix in Full HD, I found that while many of the YouTube videos are only available in HD resolution (720p), some of them can be played in Full HD on the app.
Audio And Battery
The stereo speakers of the Nokia T21 sound fantastic and support Ozo playback. The experience was great, and I enjoyed seeing some movies and listening to the tunes on the tab.
If all you want to do is watch movies and videos or listen to music, the tab can easily fill a moderately sized room at full volume.
The tablet’s 8,000mAh battery easily lasts one to two days, depending on how you use it. The only drawback is that it only allows 18W charging, which means it will take the gadget almost three hours to fully charge.