Android 12 finally making its way to the Nokia G21

Out of all the Nokia G series smartphones, two devices haven’t yet received their Android 12 upgrades, the G11 and G21. But that’s no longer the case, as Nokia G21 is finally getting its promised Android 12 update.

Reports about the update date back from the beginning of the month, but only a limited number of users in certain countries were able to update their Nokia G21 phones, which suggests that HMD Global ran a test before making Android 12 available to everyone.

Based on the reports of many Nokia G21 users, the Android 12 update is now available in several countries, including China, Germany, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, and the UAE. The list might not be complete though since this is a staged roll-out, so HMD Global is most likely releasing the update in other countries in waves.

Thanks to a screenshot posted by one of the Nokia G21 users in Germany, we know this is a pretty large update that weighs in at around 2.3GB. We’ve also learned that HMD Global included the September security patch, which is great considering many Nokia G21 haven’t received a security update since February / March.

Now, the bad news is the update seems to lower user experience considerably. Some G21 users report their phones have become “unstable and buggy” after upgrading to Android 12. The battery life is much worse as well, and some noticed issues with Adobe Scan and Spotify.

That said, you should still upgrade to Android 12 if you receive the update. HMD Global will most likely iron out all these problems in future updates.

As far as Android 13 goes, HMD Global hasn’t said anything, but Android 12 would be the first major OS update the Nokia G21 is getting, so theoretically, it should be eligible for another OS upgrade.