It is not on daily basis that I come throughout a smartphone that may do one thing extraordinary. Most premium smartphones lately look enticing and have an array of cameras on the again, however the buck just about stops there. So, when HMD International launched The Nokia XR20 in India I used to be fairly , primarily as a result of I am a dad to a 2-year-old who likes to torture take a look at smartphones. It additionally appears to be like and feels a bit totally different. So, once I obtained the assessment unit I had two huge questions: Is the Nokia XR20’s robust and rugged exterior price its premium worth, and would it not stay intact if I handed it over to my toddler? Learn on to see how I discovered the solutions.
Nokia XR20 worth in India
The Nokia XR20 is priced at Rs. 46,999 in India. It’s obtainable in a single configuration with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There are two finishes to select from – Extremely Blue and Granite. I reviewed an Extremely Blue unit.
Nokia XR20 design
HMD International pitches this telephone in its promoting supplies as “designed for the long term”. Technically talking, which telephone is not? Nonetheless you get a greater thought of its function when you maintain this tank of smartphone. It is so much bigger than I anticipated it to be, measuring 171.64mm (H) x 81.5mm (W). It is also fairly thick at 10.64mm however surprisingly, not as heavy as I anticipated. Regardless of having that additional rugged exterior, the Nokia XR20 weighs solely as a lot as an iPhone 13 Pro Max (about 240g). Whereas that is heavy by odd smartphone requirements, it is not unhealthy for a rugged gadget. My private Google Pixel 4a appears like a mini smartphone subsequent to it, and this additionally signifies that the XR20 is just not ultimate for one-handed operation.
The Nokia XR20 (left) alongside the Google Pixel 4a (proper)
By way of beauty design, the Nokia XR20 appears to be like the half and seems as if it might take fairly a beating. Whereas most rugged smartphones look chunky at finest, with pseudo-military styling, HMD International has made this telephone look distinctive and trendy.
The outside is made up of a polymer composite and aluminium. The inside as per Nokia, has an aluminium body. The show is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, which is the corporate’s hardest present materials for smartphones. The polymer composite is straightforward to grip, however extra importantly, can be fairly robust. I positioned the gadget on all types of surfaces that I’d usually place a smartphone on, and it did not get a single scratch.
The Nokia XR20’s physique is made up of a polymer composite and aluminium
Since it is a rugged telephone with an IP68 ranking, I took issues up a notch. I took it with me when having a fast bathe and even positioned a name underneath operating water. As anticipated, the decision was a bit too comfortable, as a result of the receiver was flooded with water. Additionally, the show did not reply nicely to the touch enter at any time when there was operating water on it.
With the XR20’s rugged exterior, I felt assured that the telephone was indestructible, which ought to give patrons some peace of thoughts. I even dropped the telephone a number of occasions from about 1.8m (5.9 ft), and I solely managed to get a tiny dent on the ring across the digital camera module. Certainly, utilizing this telephone to its fullest potential requires plenty of unlearning of what now we have gotten used to, pampering our smartphones with bumper circumstances and scratch guards.
The Nokia XR20 ought to be able to dealing with no matter my life as an everyday client would expose it to, together with the fingers of my two-year-old toddler. So, if you’re a mother or father and have gone via a number of damaged screens or telephones, this may be an attention-grabbing choice for you.
The Nokia XR20 has an Emergency key (pink) which might be programmed to open apps or carry out preset capabilities
There is a Google assistant key on the left, an influence button with an embedded fingerprint reader on the appropriate, and a quantity rocker simply above it. There is a fourth particular, pink key, which Nokia calls the Emergency key, and it’s absolutely programmable. I set it to alter the telephone’s sound profile with a brief press and pull up the calculator with an extended press. These actions might be assigned to a wide range of capabilities, and you may even use this button to open an app of your selection.
The Google Assistant key felt abnormally comfortable and spongy. I typically ended up activating the voice assistant unintentionally once I picked up the smartphone as a result of this button is situated a bit too low on the left facet. Fortunately, I might deactivate the perform within the Settings.
The Nokia XR20 includes a 6.67-inch full-HD+ LCD panel. It has a noticeably thick bezel on all 4 sides and the added safety from the telephone’s physique makes it seem even thicker. There are stereo audio system, and a 3.5mm headphone jack is on the backside.
Nokia XR20 specs and software program
The Nokia XR20 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 processor. HMD International has used it in plenty of smartphones up to now yr, however most of them never made it to India, and the XR20 is the primary to make it right here. The telephone is on the market in a single configuration with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It additionally provides exterior storage (as much as 512GB) because of a hybrid slot within the dual-SIM tray.
The Nokia XR20 helps a number of 5G bands and provides twin 5G standby. Communication requirements embody Wi-Fi ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, and the standard satellite tv for pc navigation programs.
The Nokia XR20 includes a stereo speaker setup, so the earpiece doubles up because the second speaker
The telephone has a 4630mAh battery and comes with an 18W charger within the field. Since it is a premium smartphone, it additionally helps 15W wi-fi charging, which works with any Qi-compatible wi-fi charger.
This rugged smartphone comes operating Android 11 out of the field. It is part of the Android One programme, and HMD International is promising three years of software program updates. The software program is nearly inventory in look with minor Nokia customisations. There is a customized digital camera app with Professional photograph and Cinema video modes. You’ll be able to regulate the color temperature of the show utilizing the white steadiness setting within the Settings app. Whereas many of the preinstalled apps had been Google’s defaults, I did discover the Netflix and Spotify apps after establishing the telephone. These might be uninstalled if not wanted.
Nokia XR20 efficiency and battery life
The Nokia XR20’s show will get brilliant sufficient to deal with direct daylight, so out of doors visibility was not an issue. Viewing angles had been additionally fairly good. Whereas the default color temperature was a bit too cool (or bluish) the telephone enables you to change it to a hotter tone if wanted. In contrast to most smartphones in and even beneath this worth phase lately, the Nokia XR20 doesn’t have a high-refresh price panel, however given the sleek and close to inventory Android software program, I didn’t miss this.
The Nokia XR20 has a full-HD+ LCD show with an ordinary 60Hz refresh price
The massive 6.67-inch full-HD+ LCD panel is nice for watching films and taking part in video games on. HMD International claims that it really works nicely with gloves and moist fingers. I examined this and I need to say that the show recognised swipes and faucets much more precisely with some water droplets splashed over it when in comparison with an iPhone 12 Professional Max which was unusable in such a state of affairs. The Nokia XR20 has stereo audio system which sound loud and clear whereas taking part in video games and watching films. There’s additionally a 3.5mm headphone jack which helps you to plug in a pair of earphones and use the FM Radio app.
As anticipated, its benchmark take a look at scores had been nearer to these of the funds Motorola Moto G51 than the extra carefully priced Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G and that is primarily all the way down to Nokia’s option to go along with the Snapdragon 480 SoC. The Nokia XR20 scored 3,12,057 factors in AnTuTu together with 510 and 1,674 in Geekbench’s single and multi-core checks. The telephone scored 59fps and 14fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex and Automotive Chase benchmarks respectively, and managed 3,413 and a couple of,403 factors in 3DMark’s Sling Shot and Sling Shot Excessive benchmarks.
Nokia XR20 has an IP68 ranking for mud and water resistance and can be MIL-STD-810 licensed
The Nokia XR20 performs extra like a funds smartphone and fewer like a premium gadget, however that doesn’t imply that there is lag or stuttering. In reality the software program expertise was fairly easy. Nevertheless, gaming efficiency was nicely beneath common. I attempted out Name of Responsibility: Cell and Asphalt 9: Legends. Name of Responsibility: Cell was set to the Excessive graphics and body price by default. The sport was playable at these settings, however there have been a number of situations of lag and a few stuttering. Decreasing the graphics to Medium didn’t appear to assist. Asphalt 9: Legends then again ran easily with the graphics set to Default. Most different smartphones on this worth phase can deal with most high-end video games at excessive settings.
The telephone managed 11 hours and 42 minutes in our HD video loop battery take a look at, which is nicely beneath common for a smartphone on this worth phase. Nevertheless, its 4,630mAh battery simply lasted a day and half with informal use, which did embody a little bit of gaming, taking some photographs, messaging, shopping via social media apps, and video streaming. Charging was fairly gradual compared with equally priced smartphones. The bundled 18W charger managed to take the Nokia XR20 from a useless battery to a full cost in 2 hours and half-hour.
Nokia XR20 cameras
The Nokia XR20 includes a twin rear digital camera setup which features a 48-megapixel main digital camera and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle digital camera. Selfie duties are dealt with by an 8-megapixel sensor. The digital camera interface is often Nokia, however this telephone additionally has a handbook mode referred to as Professional, and a Cinema mode which helps you to shoot movies within the H-Log format with excessive dynamic vary. This footage will should be processed earlier than will probably be usable.
Regardless of a number of drops from 1.8m, I solely managed to get a tiny dent on the ring across the XR20’s digital camera module
Pictures taken with the first digital camera in daylight got here out with good element and dynamic vary. Colors had been a bit saturated and sharpness was on the upper facet. The general outcomes had been solely passable, and this was primarily because of the luminance noise I observed in many of the photographs that I took in daylight. I used to be additionally removed from impressed with the standard of photographs captured by the ultra-wide-angle digital camera. They lacked sharpness and in addition had some random blurred patches and loads of ghosting, making them unusable to me.
Nokia XR20 daylight digital camera samples. High to backside: Shut-up, main digital camera, ultra-wide-angle digital camera (faucet to see full dimension)
The Portrait mode on the first digital camera delivered blended outcomes. Pictures of individuals got here out sharp and clear with first rate edge detection, however this was not the case with objects. Extra importantly, taking a Portrait photograph of an object generally is a bit annoying as loads of adjustment is required earlier than the digital camera approves your body and means that you can hit the shutter button. There have been a number of situations when the digital camera instructed me to maneuver very distant from small objects and the outcomes weren’t price it in spite of everything the difficulty.
There is not any macro mode like on most smartphones on this worth phase, however close-ups got here out sharp and clear with common element. Selfies seemed surprisingly clear and sharp with good distinction, however edge detection was beneath common when utilizing the Portrait mode.
Nokia XR20 selfie digital camera samples. High: daylight Portrait selfie, backside: low-light Portrait selfie (faucet to see full dimension)
After sundown, noise ranges crept up and the telephone’s noise discount algorithms made all the pieces look very murky. I’ve seen higher low-light photograph efficiency from way more reasonably priced gadgets. Switching to Night time mode clears up the murkiness and brings out some element with extra distinction, however photographs ended up with a really noticeable watercolour-like impact and flat textures. In case your topic or scene is flooded with gentle, the outcomes will likely be barely higher, however nonetheless simply passable at finest.
Nokia XR20 low-light digital camera samples. High: Auto mode, backside: Night time mode (faucet to see full dimension)
The standard of video recordings in daylight was strictly common, with low element. The digital camera additionally struggles to focus shortly when panning. Whereas stabilisation was first rate when recording 1080p video at 30fps, 60fps video got here out fairly shaky and lacked any form of stabilisation by any means. Outcomes from the ultra-wide-angle digital camera had been additionally beneath common. I received higher video high quality and stabilisation when utilizing the front-facing digital camera. Low-light video was very weak intimately. On the intense facet, Nokia’s OZO audio recording tech did impress me, and sounded fairly immersive.
Verdict
Priced at Rs. 46,999 in India, the Nokia XR20 has loads of competitors within the premium phase that gives significantly better efficiency and high quality, in addition to higher options, such because the Realme GT (Review) (from Rs. 37,999) and the OnePlus 9R (Review) (from Rs. 39,999). There are even some well-rounded premium smartphones from Samsung such because the Galaxy S20 FE 5G (Review) (from Rs. 39,999), which have an IP68 ranking and wi-fi charging. Spend a bit extra, and you would additionally delve into the iOS facet of issues with the Apple iPhone 11 (Review) (from Rs. 49,900).
The Nokia XR20 will attraction to a really area of interest set of patrons. You can slap a tricky case onto any of the above-mentioned premium smartphones, however that will not provide the peace of thoughts that the XR20 can. Briefly, there’s nothing prefer it, if you’re particularly in search of a rugged smartphone that may tackle way more than what most common shoppers can throw at it.
Whether or not you should purchase one, all depends upon how a lot you normally torture your smartphone, how clumsy you’re every day, and whether or not you’re prepared to stay with its inconsistent digital camera efficiency. The opposite use case is clearly for adventurous customers who would possibly discover themselves open air for lengthy stretches, these working at building websites or different dusty and humid environments, these into journey sports activities, and even new mother and father. Many individuals will like the truth that the Nokia XR20 could possibly be extra dependable and reliable than an everyday premium smartphone.
