Nokia 2.2 delivers AI-powered low-light imaging for just £99 / $139

While the rest of the industry is engaged in an arms race for more megapixels at higher price tags, Nokia has just released a new £99 / $139 camera phone that aims squarely at the entry level market.

The Nokia 2.2 is priced incredibly aggressively, but packs the latest advances in both AI photography and Android technology.

• Read more: Best camera phones

Its key feature is a take on Google's much-imitated Night Sight feature. While the Google Pixel 3 series employs a 12MP camera, the Nokia 2.2 features a 13MP camera that uses "sophisticated AI powered low-light image fusion" to take detailed low light photographs.

The Nokia 2.2 uses AI image fusion to deliver superior low light performance

While it doesn't offer other popular options such as portrait mode, it does feature staples such as HDR shooting along with other Google Photos AI-powered options like Color Pop, Colorise and Beautify. The selfie camera is a more modest 5MP camera.

• Read more Best Nokia phones

In terms of its core tech, the new Nokia features a 19:9 5.71-inch screen and is powered by a quad-core MediaTek Helio A22 SoC processor, comes with either 2GB RAM and 16GB storage or 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, and packs a removable 3,000mAh battery that lasts an entire day.

There is no fingerprint scanner, as the phone boasts biometric face unlocking – among the first phones in this category to carry the new tech. And Nokia is keen to point out that a printed picture of your face won't be enough to fool it:

"Unlike other handsets at this price point, the advanced AI driven face-unlock uses deep learning algorithms and liveliness detection for an accurate and spoof-proof experience."

A dedicated Google Assistant button can summon Google's genie for you without voice commands, and the Android One phone comes with Android 9 Pie and two years of OS upgrades (with three years of security updates).

The Nokia 2.2 is available in Steel and Tungsten Black color options, with the 2GB RAM / 16GB storage version available in the UK for £99.99, and the 3GB RAM / 32GB storage model retailing for $139.95 in the USA.

The Nokia 2.2 is available in Steel or Tungsten Black, though Xpress-on covers can be purchased

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James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.

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