Nokia X20 is officially the first Nokia model to get Android 12

When HMD Global took over the Nokia brand for phones, it made bold promises to offer a better software experience than the big OEMs. The company put vanilla Android, more or less, on all of its smartphones, even going as far as using Android One for some models. That, in turn, would allow HMD Global to push updates faster, especially when it came to big version upgrades. The company's track record hasn't exactly been reassuring, but one mid-range phone, at least, is seeing that promise fulfilled.

If you ask Nokia fans, they might begrudgingly admit that HMD Global hasn't exactly come out with what they could call a flagship device. The company may be targeting a different audience in a way similar to Motorola, which largely caters to emerging markets. HMD has flooded global markets with a dizzying assortment of phones, and that may be one of the reasons for its less than impressive software update performance.

To be fair, the company does eventually deliver, but security patches don't always come in a timely manner. Worse is HMD's scorecard on major Android upgrades, like those from Android 10 to 11. A few months ago, it even announced the delay of its Android 11 rollout without giving any explanation for the change of plans.

Now the company seems to be making up for lost time, at least for the Nokia X20 launched earlier this year. The phone isn't the company's latest and far from its best, so it's surprising to hear that it's getting Android 12 before any other Nokia-branded Android phone. Considering the X20 is a lower mid-range device, it's even more surprising that it's getting Android 12 before more premium phones from other smartphone makers.

That does put the company in a more positive light, especially when compared to its peers with more resources and fewer phones to manage. Former fan-favorite OnePlus, for example, is slowly falling from grace, especially after a disastrous OxygenOS 12 rollout for the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. Still, HMD Global needs to pick up its pace and improve its processes if it wants to stay in the running.

Unfortunately, this favorable news for Nokia X20 owners may be salt in the wounds of those who invested in the Nokia 9 PureView, one of the few recent Nokia phones worthy of a flagship title. HMD Global admitted defeat and canceled plans to upgrade the phone to Android 11, indirectly putting the blame on Light's eccentric penta-camera system. With that said, the company's other phones aren't as unconventional, so it has fewer excuses not to update those in a more timely manner.