The YouTube channel JerryRigEverything has released a video showing how the Nokia 2, currently the cheapest device offering of the smartphone manufacturer HMD Global, fared against a set of durability test. The first test involves scratching the device with a Mohs hardness pick set, keys, and a razor blade in order to measure its resistance to scratches. Zack noted that both display and the front-facing camera of the Nokia 2 are protected by a sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is uncommon for low-end devices. The Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has a Mohs hardness rating of six, making it resistant to scratches from coins and keys. However, sand can still damage the display since its particles are made from harder materials. A sheet of glass also protects both the rear camera, which is an improvement over the sheet of plastic that protects the snapper of the Nokia 3. On the other hand, the earpiece is covered with a thin sheet of vinyl. Meanwhile, the frame of the smartphone, the volume rocker, and the power button are all made of metal.
A burn test was conducted after the scratch test. In that test, a lighter fire was held close to the display, and then the amount of time needed for the pixels to temporarily shut down is recorded. It took five seconds before the pixels of the Nokia 2’s IPS LCD display started turning black, although it ultimately recovered after a few seconds. In comparison, AMOLED displays, which are currently found in a number of flagship smartphones, usually get permanently damaged when they undergo the same test. Last but not the least, a bend test was performed in order to determine if the Nokia 2 can withstand extreme force from either the back or the front. Even though a permanent kink was formed as a result of the test, the handset remained intact and usable.
The Nokia 2 is powered by the Snapdragon 212 processor, which is comprised of a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 32-bit CPU and the Adreno 304 GPU. The smartphone sports a 5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels and it contains 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal flash storage. The internal memory can be expanded by a microSD card with a capacity of up to 128GB. To keep the lights on, the handset includes a 4,100-mAh non-removable battery. The device ships with Android 7.1.1 Nougat pre-installed, although it will be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo in the near future.