Nokia Claims Its Newest Phone Is ‘Life-Proof’

Nokia Claims Its Newest Phone Is ‘Life-Proof’

Nokia parent company HMD Global announced a huge Nokia phone revamp earlier this year, and now the company has officially announced that the first X-series Nokia phone is coming to the U.S. next month.

The $US550 ($745) XR20, which launches Aug. 24, is the most expensive phone in Nokia’s updated portfolio. Nokia claims the XR20, which boasts solid specs and potentially better durability than other mid-range handsets, is the company’s first “life-proof” phone.

Image: Nokia/HMD
Image: Nokia/HMD

HMD/Nokia dropped a teaser on Twitter last week that hints the XR20 is an attempt to live up to the legendary durability offered by Nokia’s old feature phones.

The XR20 has a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen, which is said to be four times more scratch-resistant than a typical smartphone display, and a body that HMD says can withstand drops of up to six feet without a case.

HMD also claims that XR20 has been tested to work in temps as high as 131 degrees Fahrenheit or as low as -4 degrees, with water-resistance able to withstand submersions of up to five feet for an hour. In a stunt to prove how tough the XR20 is, Nokia/HMD gave the phone to famous soccer players Roberto Carlos and Lisa Zimouche to kick, punt, and flip the phone across various surfaces and conditions.

Image: Nokia/HMD
Image: Nokia/HMD

The XR20 features a 6.67-inch 2400 x 1080 display powered by a Snapdragon 480 5G chip with 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a built-in microSD card slot. For cameras, you get an 8-MP hole-punch selfie cam in front and 48-MP main cam and a 13-MP ultra-wide cam in back. The XR20 also gets support for some of Nokia’s OZO spatial audio and noise cancellation tech.

Like all good budget and mid-range phones, the XR20 also features a USB-C port for charging and a 3.5mm jack for wired audio, plus 15-watt Qi wireless charging and a 4,630 mAh battery. And in what might end up being the most under-appreciated upgrade, HMD says the XR20 will get a full four years of monthly security patches along with up to three years of software upgrades.

Image: Nokia/HMD
Image: Nokia/HMD

The XR20 isn’t nearly as flashy or innovative as some of Nokia’s more premium phones over the past few years, but it’s nice to see Nokia/HMD attempt to return to its roots with a simple, well-designed phone that’s made to last.

The Nokia XR20 will be available in two colours (Ultra Blue and Granite Grey) when it arrives next month.


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