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NOKIA XR20 Rugged Smartphone Launches With Waterproof Body: Check Price, India Launch Details, Specs, and More

NOKIA XR20 Rugged Smartphone Launches With Waterproof Body: Check Price, India Launch Details, Specs, and More
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Tuesday, 27 July, 2021, 21:24

The maker of Nokia-branded phones debuted a slew of new devices Tuesday, including a “military grade” smartphone designed to withstand intense environmental conditions.

HMD Global said the Nokia XR20 is the most durable phone it’s created to date. The XR20 sports a tough 6.67-inch Gorilla Glass Victus display from American tech firm Corning and can resist damage from scratches and drops from about 6 feet, the company says.


It’s what’s known in the mobile industry as a “rugged” phone, a niche category in the market targeted mainly at extreme sports enthusiasts and manual laborers. HMD says it hopes the Nokia XR20 caters to a more mainstream audience.

In a marketing video, the company shows a woman spilling coffee over the phone and then rinsing it in the kitchen sink. A girl then accidentally drops the device, before picking it up and then dropping it again on a stony path. After all that, it’s pretty much unscathed.

It’s fitting for a brand whose phones were famous for their durability. The myth that Nokia phones were “indestructible” has been the subject of countless internet memes. According to HMD, the Nokia XR20 can be submerged in water for up to an hour and endure extreme temperatures.

Beyond its rugged credentials, HMD’s new smartphone supports super-fast 5G internet and has a 48-megapixel and 13-megapixel dual-lens main camera. It comes in two colors: black and blue.

HMD is also throwing in four years of monthly security updates and three years of Android operating system upgrades.

Florian Seiche, HMD’s CEO, said most people want phones they can keep for longer. HMD is targeting enterprise clients as well as consumers with the Nokia XR20, he added.

“This fits many enterprise device requirements,” he said. “They don’t want to pay $1,000 or $1,500 for a purpose-built rugged device which is clunky.”

The Nokia XR20 starts at a price of £399 in the U.K. and $549.99 in the U.S. It will ship from Aug. 24.