Nokia XR20: The Ultimate Guardian for Parents and Adventurers in the Smartphone Arena

It’s not often that I encounter a smartphone with remarkable capabilities. Many high-end smartphones today are visually appealing and boast multiple cameras on the rear, but their greatness usually ends there. Thus, when HMD Global released the Nokia XR20 in India, my curiosity piqued, particularly as a father of a 2-year-old who enjoys thoroughly testing gadgets. Additionally, it possesses a unique feel and appearance. Upon receiving the review unit, I had two main inquiries: Is the Nokia XR20’s robust design justifiable for its high price tag, and will it hold up when I hand it over to my young child? Continue reading to discover my findings.

Price of Nokia XR20 in India

The Nokia XR20 carries a price tag of Rs. 46,999 in India and is offered in one configuration featuring 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Buyers can choose between two color options: Ultra Blue and Granite. I tested the Ultra Blue variant.

Design of Nokia XR20

In its marketing materials, HMD Global describes this phone as “built for longevity.” Technically, which phone isn’t? Still, the true essence of its design becomes apparent when you hold this smartphone, resembling a tank. It’s noticeably larger than I anticipated, measuring 171.64mm (H) x 81.5mm. At 10.64mm thick, it’s fairly chunky but surprisingly light for its build. Despite its tough exterior, the Nokia XR20 weighs roughly the same as an iPhone 13 Pro Max (around 240g). While this is heavy by standard smartphone metrics, it’s not unmanageable for a rugged model. My own Google Pixel 4a feels diminutive alongside it, indicating that the XR20 may not be the best choice for one-handed use.

The Nokia XR20 (left) next to the Google Pixel 4a (right)

 

Aesthetically, the Nokia XR20 conveys a sense of durability and appears capable of enduring harsh treatment. Many rugged smartphones tend to look bulky with their faux-military designs, but HMD Global has managed to make this device appear both modern and distinctive.

The exterior comprises a polymer composite and aluminum. The internal structure, according to Nokia, consists of an aluminum frame. The display is safeguarded by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, the toughest material offered for smartphones by the company. The polymer composite not only provides a good grip but is also remarkably resilient. I placed the phone on various surfaces where I normally set smartphones, and it emerged unscathed with no scratches.

The body of the Nokia XR20 is constructed of polymer composite and aluminum

 

Given that this is a rugged phone with an IP68 rating, I decided to push the envelope further. I took it into the shower and even made a call while standing under running water. As anticipated, the call was difficult to hear since the receiver was submerged in water. Furthermore, the touchscreen was unresponsive when water was running over it.

With the XR20’s robust build, I felt assured of its durability, providing potential buyers with peace of mind. I dropped the phone from about 1.8m (5.9 feet) multiple times and only noticed a minor dent around the camera ring. Using this phone efficiently involves letting go of the habits we’ve developed regarding protecting our smartphones with bulky cases and screen protectors.

The Nokia XR20 should withstand anything a typical user might encounter, including the curious hands of my toddler. Therefore, for parents who have dealt with broken screens or devices, this could be a compelling choice.

The Nokia XR20 features an Emergency key (red) that can be configured to launch apps or perform predefined functions

 

On the left side, there is a Google Assistant button, while the right side features a power button integrated with a fingerprint sensor and a volume rocker positioned above it. A special red button, termed the Emergency key by Nokia, is fully customizable. I programmed it to modify the phone’s sound profile with a short press and open the calculator with a long press. You can assign various functions to this button, including launching a specific app.

The Google Assistant button felt unusually soft and spongy, often causing me to trigger the voice assistant accidentally while picking up the phone since it is situated slightly lower on the left. Fortunately, I was able to disable this function in the Settings menu.

The Nokia XR20 is equipped with a 6.67-inch full-HD+ LCD screen, boasting noticeably thick bezels on all four sides, which are further accentuated by the device’s protective design. It includes stereo speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the bottom.

Specifications and Software of Nokia XR20

Under the hood, the Nokia XR20 houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 processor. HMD Global has utilized it in several smartphones over the past year, but most of these models never reached India, making the XR20 the first to do so. The device is available in a single configuration consisting of 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Additionally, it supports external storage of up to 512GB via a hybrid slot in the dual-SIM tray.

The Nokia XR20 is compatible with various 5G bands and offers dual 5G standby. Connectivity standards include Wi-Fi ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, and various satellite navigation systems.

The Nokia XR20 has a stereo speaker configuration, with the earpiece acting as a secondary speaker

 

Equipped with a 4630mAh battery, the phone comes with an 18W charger included in the box. As a high-end smartphone, it also supports 15W wireless charging, compatible with any Qi-standard wireless charger.

This rugged device runs on Android 11 right out of the box. It is part of the Android One program, with HMD Global promising three years of software updates. The software has a near-stock appearance with slight customizations. There’s a dedicated camera app featuring Pro photo and Cinema video modes, and you can adjust the display’s color temperature through the white balance settings in the Settings app. While the majority of preloaded apps are Google’s, I found Netflix and Spotify installed after initial setup, both of which can be uninstalled if unnecessary.

Performance and Battery Life of Nokia XR20

The display of the Nokia XR20 achieves adequate brightness for handling direct sunlight, ensuring good outdoor visibility. The viewing angles are quite satisfactory as well. The default color temperature is somewhat cool (or bluish), but the phone allows for adjustment to a warmer tone, if desired. Unlike most smartphones in this and even lower price brackets, the Nokia XR20 does not feature a high-refresh-rate screen, yet given the smooth, near-stock Android experience, I found this omission inconsequential.

The Nokia XR20 features a full-HD+ LCD display with a standard refresh rate of 60Hz

 

The expansive 6.67-inch full-HD+ LCD display is ideal for both movie watching and gaming. HMD Global claims that it works well while wearing gloves or when in wet conditions. I tested this, and it performed impressively, recognizing inputs with greater accuracy even when splashed with water, in stark contrast to an iPhone 12 Pro Max, which was nearly unusable in comparable situations. The Nokia XR20 includes stereo speakers that provide loud, clear audio when gaming or watching films, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack for earphone connectivity and utilizing the FM Radio application.

As anticipated, its benchmark scores positioned it closer to that of the budget Motorola Moto G51 than the comparably priced Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, primarily due to Nokia opting for the Snapdragon 480 SoC. The Nokia XR20 achieved 3,12,057 points on AnTuTu, alongside 510 and 1,674 in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. It registered 59fps and 14fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex and Car Chase benchmarks, and scored 3,413 and 2,403 in 3DMark’s Sling Shot and Sling Shot Extreme benchmarks.

Nokia XR20 boasts an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, alongside MIL-STD-810 certification

 

While the Nokia XR20 performs more like an entry-level smartphone rather than a high-end device, it is free of lag and stuttering. In fact, the overall software experience is quite smooth. However, gaming performance was below par. I tested both Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends. Initial settings for Call of Duty: Mobile defaulted to High graphics and frame rate, which resulted in playable performance, but there were noticeable instances of lag and stuttering. Reducing the graphics to Medium did not help. Conversely, Asphalt 9: Legends ran seamlessly with graphics set to Default. Most other devices in this price range perform better with high-end games at optimal settings.

The phone lasted for 11 hours and 42 minutes in our HD video loop battery test, which falls below average for a device at this price point. Nevertheless, its 4,630mAh battery comfortably endured a day and a half during regular usage, which included some gaming, taking photographs, texting, scrolling through social media, and streaming videos. Charging proved to be relatively slow compared to similarly priced devices, with the included 18W charger taking 2 hours and 30 minutes to completely charge the Nokia XR20 from zero.

Camera Performance of Nokia XR20

The Nokia XR20 is equipped with a dual rear camera configuration featuring a 48-megapixel primary lens and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor. Selfie photography is handled by an 8-megapixel camera. The camera user interface is characteristically Nokia, but it also includes a Pro manual mode and a Cinema mode for H-Log video capturing with enhanced dynamic range. Note that this video requires post-processing for usability.

After numerous drops from 1.8m, I only managed to get a slight dent around the camera module of the XR20

 

Daylight photos taken with the primary camera exhibited decent detail and dynamic range, though colors appeared a bit oversaturated and there was a tendency towards excessive sharpness. Overall, the results were merely satisfactory, primarily due to the luminance noise detected in many daylight shots. The ultra-wide-angle camera’s performance left much to be desired, producing images that lacked sharpness, with random blur patches and considerable ghosting, rendering them unusable.

Daylight camera samples from the Nokia XR20. Top to bottom: Close-up, primary camera, ultra-wide-angle camera (tap to see full size)

 

The Portrait mode on the primary camera yielded mixed outcomes. Images of people maintained clarity and defined edges, but the same could not be said for still objects. Additionally, capturing a Portrait photo of an object can be frustrating since the camera often requires substantial distance adjustment before approving the shot, which resulted in topsy-turvy results after undue effort.

Although there’s no macro mode as found on many competitors in this price category, close-ups exhibited sharpness and reasonable detail. Selfies were surprisingly clear with good contrast, yet edge detection when in Portrait mode lagged behind average.

Selfie samples from the Nokia XR20. Top: daylight Portrait selfie, bottom: low-light Portrait selfie (tap to see full size)

 

In low-light conditions, noise levels increased, and the phone’s noise reduction capabilities led to a murky appearance. Better low-light performance can be found in far more affordable alternatives. Activating Night mode mitigated some of the murkiness and introduced detail with greater contrast, but images carried a watercolor effect and flat textures. When subject matter or the scene had adequate lighting, results improved slightly, yet remained at best just satisfactory.

Low-light camera samples from the Nokia XR20. Top: Auto mode, bottom: Night mode (tap to see full size)

 

The quality of video recordings in daylight fell flat, exhibiting low detail. The camera struggled with quick focus transitions when panning. Although stabilization worked reasonably well for 1080p video at 30fps, footage at 60fps appeared shaky, lacking any stabilizing features. The ultra-wide-angle camera’s video quality also left much to be desired. The front-facing camera, however, provided better video quality and stabilization. Low-light video performance was lacking in detail. On a positive note, Nokia’s OZO audio recording technology impressed with its immersive audio quality.

Final Thoughts

With a price of Rs. 46,999 in India, the Nokia XR20 faces stiff competition in the premium market segment, where rivals offer significantly better performance and features, such as the Realme GT (Review) (starting at Rs. 37,999) and the OnePlus 9R (Review) (beginning at Rs. 39,999). More robust premium smartphones are available from Samsung, like the Galaxy S20 FE 5G (Review) (starting at Rs. 39,999), which also have an IP68 rating and support for wireless charging. For a little more money, you could explore the iOS ecosystem with the Apple iPhone 11 (Review) (starting at Rs. 49,900).

The Nokia XR20 will attract a very specific group of users. While you could easily attach a sturdy case to any of the aforementioned premium smartphones, it wouldn’t match the security that the XR20 provides. Essentially, there is no alternative if you are specifically searching for a rugged smartphone that can withstand more than what the majority of standard users might subject it to.

Your decision to purchase one ultimately hinges on how much you typically stress-test your smartphone, your general clumsiness, and your ability to deal with its inconsistent camera performance. Another target demographic is undoubtedly outdoor enthusiasts who may spend long periods outdoors, those employed in construction or other dusty and humid conditions, those involved in adventure sports, and even new parents. Many will appreciate that the Nokia XR20 could offer greater reliability and durability compared to an ordinary premium smartphone.