Nokia announces new phones including the 50MP X30 5G and a recycling plan – Circular – to combat e-waste at IFA 2022
(Image credit: Nokia)
Nokia has kicked off its IFA 2022 with a huge number of announcements – three smartphones, including the IMX 766-packing X30 5G, a tablet, speaker, and some wireless buds. It's also unveiled Circle, its solution to combat e-waste, which incentivizes customers to responsibly use and dispose of their tech.
Starting with smartphones, Nokia has launched the X30 5G, G60, and X31 5G. While the Nokia G60 and C31 look like affordable entries with competitive cameras for the price, it's the X31 5G that's piquing our interest in the imaging department, with its more premium camera mix.
The first phone we've seen from Nokia to feature the popular Sony IMX 766 camera sensor, introduced on the Oppo Find X3 Pro, it should be a solid camera phone for the price and one of the best Nokia phones, given the main sensor's also paired with OIS, just like the Realme 9 Pro Plus.
The Nokia X30 5G also features IP67 water and dust resistance and is made of 100 percent recycled aluminum and 65 percent recycled plastic. Nokia also promises three years of security and software updates, which means best-in-class OS support, and the phone ships with either 128GB or 256GB storage. That means that you really could have this phone for years and not fill it up with apps and games.
Diving into a bit more detail when it comes to its cameras, and the X30 5G's main 50MP camera, powered by the IMX 766 is matched with an f/1.8 lens. The 1/1.57-inch sensor pixel bins photos to create a roughly two-micron pixel size, and captures photos at around 12MP.
Flanked by a 13MP ultra-wide camera around the back and a 16 MP selfie camera on the front, it's refreshing to see the phone ditch the gimmicky 2MP macro camera you get on so many smartphones today.
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With a modest 4200mAh battery, the X30 5G's 6.43-inch AMOLED display needs to be super-efficient if it wants that capacity to stretch further than a whole day. Though the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chip in the phone shouldn't be too power-hungry.
Costing £399 (roughly $460), the Nokia X30 will be available in the UK and other select markets from late September 2022, and it will be available with a Circular subscription for £25 per month.
The Nokia G60 5G (Image credit: Nokia)
Nokia Circular service
Circular is Nokia's new subscription service that seeks to keep smartphones and tablets out of landfill and give them a second life. Within Nokia's subscription model – priced differently for each device, Nokia goes through recycling, refurbishing, and re-subscribing devices to Circular members. Or they go to a charitable cause that needs it the most.
Sort of like insurance, only more responsible, any accidental damage, loss, or theft will be taken care of without a separate monthly cost, and a quick replacement arranged if needed.
Circular is available on launch for four Nokia devices, the G60 5G, Nokia X30 5G, Nokia XR20, and Nokia T10, with prices varying across products and regions. Circular will be available in the UK and Germany first, with future announcements expected.
Basil Kronfli is a freelance technology journalist, consultant, and content creator. He trained in graphic design and started his career at Canon Europe before moving into journalism. Basil is also experienced in video production, independently running the YouTube channel TechEdit, and during his time at Future, he worked alongside the Digital Camera World team as a senior video producer.
