Nuu Mobile G4 hands-on review: Competent but uninspired

The trends so far at MWC 2019 are pretty clear: 5G, foldable screens and innovative camera tech are the buzzwords this year, but these technologies have thus far been limited to phones at the higher end of the price spectrum.

Mid-price and budget handsets are still important, though, not least because they make up the vast bulk of smartphones sold worldwide, and that’s where the Nuu Mobile G4 sits. You won’t get anything in the way of 5G or a foldable screen with this handset, but you will get a great big beefy battery and wireless charging.

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Nuu Mobile G4 review: Specifications, price and release date

• 6.2in, 1,080 x 2,246 IPS display
• Octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 processor (8x2GHz)
• 6GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB storage
• MicroSD expansion (up to 256GB)
• Dual rear camera: 16MP and 8MP (AI enabled)
• 16MP selfie camera
• Dual SIM, 4G
• USB Type-C charging (18W)
• 3,750mAh battery capacity
• 10W wireless charging
• Android 9 Pie
• Price: £299 (64GB); £349 (128GB)
• Release date: Spring 2019, from www.amazon.co.uk

Nuu Mobile G4 review: Key features and first impressions

First announced at CES earlier this year, the Nuu Mobile G4 now has UK pricing, starting at £299 and rising to £349 for the 128GB version. It will presumably cost a little more than that for the more exotic, ceramic backed model, which has yet to receive an official price tag. 

In that price range, the Nuu Mobile G4 faces some pretty stiff opposition. Not least from the Xiaomi Pocophone F1, which includes a super-fast Snapdragon 845 chipset and costs only £329.

The Nuu Mobile G4 has an octa-core 2GHz Helios P60 processor that’s backed up by a generous 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. As such, a fairer comparison might be made with the Motorola Moto G7 Plus, which costs £269 and houses a Qualcomm 636 processor.

And in terms of core specifications, the G4 looks reasonably competitive. It has a 6.2in IPS display, just like the Moto G7 Plus, and it’s a good-looking display as well: it’s fully saturated, sharp and fills most of the front of the phone aside from a notch at the top of the screen that’s an inch or so in width.

There’s a primary 16-megapixel camera at the rear, accompanied by a secondary 8-megapixel camera providing depth-sensing capabilities. You also get a 16-megapixel front camera for detail-packed selfies.

The latter, in fact, is a little better on paper than the Moto G7 Plus’ front camera and the phone, naturally, has “AI” scene recognition that detects subjects such as food, people and pets and adjusts the camera settings accordingly.

What’s perhaps most impressive about the Nuu Mobile G4, however, is a feature that its key rival simply doesn’t have and that’s wireless charging. Wireless charging is a feature we expect to see more mid- to low-priced phones in the coming months and Nuu Mobile G4 is in the vanguard.

There’s no word as yet as to how quickly it will be able to charge the G4, but it’ll probably take some time because the battery is reasonably big. At 3,750mAh, in fact, it’s nearly a third bigger than the one in the Motorola Moto G7 Plus.

Perhaps the Nuu Mobile G4’s biggest challenge will be persuading people to part with their cash for what is a fairly basic-looking design. The £299 and £349 models have attractively coloured anodised aluminium frames that come in blue, silver, rose gold and dark blue but they all have polycarbonate rear panels that appear to pick up finger grease rather readily.

Hopefully, the ceramic backed version isn’t too much more expensive because it looks rather lovely.

Nuu Mobile G4 review: Early verdict

I do feel a little sorry for Nuu Mobile because the Nuu Mobile G4 looks like a perfectly competent Android phone. The display is great, the design reasonably attractive and, specifications wise, it should keep up with the Motorola G7 Plus. That big, beefy battery looks particularly attractive.

Unfortunately, there’s a whole army of mid-priced Honor and Xiaomi phones surrounding it at that price point. Both the Honor Play with its Kirin 970 chipset and Xiaomi Pocophone F1 at only £30 more with its Snapdragon 845 processor will be faster performers. The Nuu Mobile G4 has its plus points, don’t get me wrong, and it could be that great battery life and camera quality save the day, but unless the price falls I can’t see all that many opting for the Nuu Mobile G4 over its more powerful rivals.