Nokia XR20 Review: A tough nut to crack

If there's any brand that has durability in its DNA, it's Nokia. The 3310 is almost mythologic at this point; the phone that can't be broken. Of course, making a durable phone was a lot easier when they didn't have massive glass screens.

While the majority of modern Nokia smartphones are your typical slabs of glass and metal, the Nokia XR20 feels like a modernised throwback to the ethos of the 3310. HMD is so confident in its durability it will replace the screen for free if it breaks within the first year. Even the blue finish is very similar to that of the 2000s feature phone.

On paper, the Nokia XR20 has an impressive list of durability features. IP68 water-resistance, 1.8m drop protection, a Gorilla Glass Victus display (the toughest glass you can currently get on a phone), and the ability to survive intense temperature fluctuations. A HMD spokesperson told us he's confident the Nokia XR20 can even survive being frozen.

In practice, the Nokia XR20 holds up well. It survived dozens of drops from selfie height onto tiles and concrete with just a few light scuffs on the plastic. It continued to work as normal after popping into the shower with me. Naturally, I was curious to test the phone's limits. Drops from greater heights had no impact, so I decided to break out some tools. Tragedy struck quickly when a moderate hammer tap to the back of the Nokia XR 20 somehow shattered the screen. Sadly, this meant I wasn't able to freeze the device, as a broken display tends to negate any water resistance.

Taking a hammer to your phone obviously isn't typical behaviour, but even durable devices have a breaking point. When it comes to the Nokia XR20, I'm fairly confident it shouldn't have issues surviving any drop.

Most tough phones lean into the rugged aesthetic. They tend to shout "break me, I dare you" thanks to their harsh edges and protective protrusions. The Nokia XR20 eschews this for a subtler design. It's just a typical phone that's a bit bulkier than you'd expect. A passer-by won't immediately assume you're the kind of klutz who needs an extra durable device. 

That being said, the Nokia XR20 is absolutely massive. It's one of the largest phones I've tested, despite only having a 6.67-inch display. There's a significant amount of bezel around the screen, and then there's the protective layer. It's bigger than an iPhone 12 Pro Max in a case. From a usability perspective, I would have preferred a smaller display to make the Nokia XR20 just a bit more manageable.

In the same vein, the Nokia XR20's power button is in a super awkward position; it's far too low given the size of the phone. This is especially problematic given the power button doubles as a fingerprint reader. Unless I readjust my grip, I tend to get a mismatch, which means unlocking the phone isn't as seamless as it should be.

The Nokia XR20's durability credentials may be impressive, but the same can't be said for its internals. Despite costing close to $900, you're getting a similar hardware configuration to the $399 OPPO A54 5G. You get the same processor, just with 2GB of extra RAM. The day-to-day experience is smooth enough, but I still experienced the odd stutter or slowdown. More demanding games like Genshin Impact run okay, at the cost of longer load times and a poor graphics experience.

While the Nokia XR20 performed better than I'd expected based on phones I've tested with the same processor, the fact it's a lower-end model naturally leaves less room for future-proofing. There's every chance the Nokia XR20 will show its age faster than you'd expect given the price. For the kind of money you're spending, I'd expect to see a higher-end chipset.

A phone's chipset also impacts photo quality, and quite frankly, the cameras on the Nokia XR20 just aren't great. It can take an okay photo in good lighting, but results often look flat. It can also struggle to find focus, and doesn't do overly well with moving subjects.

Battery life redeems the Nokia XR20 somewhat. Expect at least five hours of screen time when connected to a 5G network, which represents a full day of usage with a comfortable buffer.

Lastly, HMD is promising the Nokia XR20 will get three years of major operating system and updates and four years of security updates, which is an improvement over the vast majority of Android handsets.

Nokia XR20: Final Thoughts

The Nokia XR20 succeeds in being a durable phone that looks far better than its tough-to-break peers, but quite simply doesn't represent good value. Based on its hardware, you're essentially paying a $400 premium for its durability features. If the Nokia XR20 were closer to the $600 mark, it would be easier to recommend. If it had hardware more in line with what you'd expect from a $900 phone - especially when it comes to camera quality, it would be easier to recommend.

As it stands, $879 is just too much money for an average but hard-to-break phone. If you're prone to breaking screens, you're much better off buying the phone you actually want and spending $100 on a properly rugged case for it.

But while the Nokia XR20 is hard to recommend, I hope HMD iterate on the concept while focusing more on both performance and value. After all, people weren't buying the 3310 because it was durable, they were buying it because it was a good phone. The Nokia XR20 escapes the trapping of explicitly looking like a tough phone, but just doesn't offer enough for the money.

Nokia XR20 camera samples

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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