Nokia XR21 Review: Solid Smartphone With Extra Durability

Value When Reviewed

$499.99

Finest Costs Immediately: Nokia XR21

HMD doesn’t make premium telephones. Not anymore, anyway.

Within the first few years after the Finnish upstart took over Nokia’s cell phone model, they made a couple of makes an attempt, however nothing actually labored. Now they’ve settled on making no-nonsense finances and mid-range mobiles, and are additionally betting huge on semi-smart so-called “function telephones”.

The Nokia XR21, launched in June 2023, is its costliest smartphone in the meanwhile, with a value of £499.99. A lavish mid-range cellphone with typical mid-range options by way of efficiency, performance and high quality, however with an ace up its sleeve – considerably higher sturdiness than a mean smartphone.

With additional protecting casing on the surface (elements of the body are protected by rubber), a sturdy construct and cushioned internal chassis, the Nokia XR21 can stand up to being dropped from 1.5 metres onto a concrete ground, and has been examined for vibration and temperature resistance to MIL-STD-810H military-grade ranges.

For swimming and different adventures

It options totally waterproof building with IP68 and IP69K scores. It’s claimed to face up to each 1.5 metres depth for one hour, being hit by highly effective water jets, and has ingress safety in opposition to chemical substances aside from water. The display is roofed with Gorilla Glass Victus for additional safety in opposition to cracks and its protecting strips lengthen over the glass, minimising the danger of edge impression.

All of this provides as much as a big cellphone with extensive display edges across the show. It appears prefer it completely has a mountable shell. However it’s not extraordinarily cumbersome and the buttons within the body are smoother than these constructed into many cell phone circumstances.

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

You additionally get two bonus bodily buttons, one on the highest quick facet and one on the left lengthy facet, which will be set as shortcuts to completely different apps and capabilities. This may be useful if you’re sporting thick gloves, for instance. Skinny gloves and even a moist display are two issues the cellphone can in any other case deal with nicely.

The display struggles within the solar

The display itself is nothing exceptional, a 1080p IP panel with as much as 120Hz refresh fee, by default set to robotically alter (down so far as 60Hz) in a dynamic mode. There are slight shifts in distinction at completely different viewing angles, however nothing that causes an excessive amount of disturbance.

The display has a reasonably excessive brightness of as much as round 500 nits. However with a a display floor that doesn’t do a lot to counteract reflections, you might have issues with readability open air in vivid sunshine, however somewhat shade, or clouds in entrance of the lamp within the sky is sufficient to make it look higher.

On paper, the Nokia XR21 is meant to help HDR10, however the query is how good the impact can be with such reasonable pure dynamics within the panel. The color gamut can be reasonable, barely beneath sRGB stage, however with good color accuracy total.

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

You’ll get pleasure from utilizing the cellphone most when taking pictures. Utilizing the 64Mp primary rear sensor, you’ll simply seize great-looking photographs with dependable color steadiness and good dynamics. An AI function within the digital camera software program provides a bit an excessive amount of synthetic sharpness and tries to push up the saturation in a lot of my take a look at pictures, although.

I don’t admire this, because it means I don’t have as a lot direct management over the end result. Nevertheless, the digital camera’s AI robotically detects if my topic is a portrait, and offers options for filters and extra. Pores and skin tones are additionally captured nicely.

Cameras are disappointing in low gentle

In low-light, the digital camera loses high quality, with lots of noise in darkish areas and compelled lengthy publicity that makes it tough to maintain the cellphone secure.

The primary digital camera is joined by an 8Mp fixed-focus wide-angle. It matches the primary digital camera in dynamic vary and color administration, and panorama pictures throughout the day will be very nice, however lose each dynamic vary and picture readability even sooner when it will get darkish.

That is typical mid-range stuff for images, and the identical applies to movies. You’ll be able to’t get greater than 1080p video at 30fps, and that’s with a reasonably laggy viewfinder and unconvincing picture stabilisation. The microphones are higher, and convincing particularly in case you’re making an attempt to choose up your voice.

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

The reasonable digital camera efficiency is partly attributable to a less expensive Omnivision sensor but additionally to restricted efficiency. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 695 5G system chipset with 8 cores, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of semi-fast storage.

It’s quick sufficient to run all of the fundamentals, like searching, emailing, scrolling via your Fb feed or streaming video, with no issues. However there are clear limits to how heavy apps and video games you may run with out your cellphone breaking down. Greater than 6GB of RAM would’ve been a plus, whereas 128GB of storage could also be a bit tight for some.

There isn’t a house for a Micro-SD card, regardless of dual-SIM help by way of the slot on the underside. Relying on the place you’re primarily based, this can be both two bodily SIM playing cards, or one bodily and one eSIM.

The battery is a nice shock

With a 4,800mAh battery, my expectations for working time weren’t specific, however the cellphone exceeds them.

Brightness has an uncommon impression on battery life, so out of doors filming attracts extra energy than working and searching on a display indoors. You’ll be able to work in your cellphone actively all day, and with occasional use it’ll final a few days between costs.

That’s good, as a result of it’s not terribly fast-charging. It’s supposed to have the ability to deal with 33W of charging, however in my measurements with a 65W charger, I get at greatest 1% cost per minute.

The Nokia XR21 was shipped at launch with previous Android 12, however mine got here manufacturing facility contemporary with Android 13 with out me having to do an replace. As at all times from Nokia, it’s a really clear interface with solely minimal customized add-ons.

Nokia solely guarantees two years of OS updates, and the cellphone is a yr previous on the time of writing, so don’t count on to get greater than Android 14 for it. Then again, you get 4 years of safety updates and a three-year guarantee.

Pricing & availability

The Nokia XR21 price £499.99/$499.99 at launch, however makers HMD are presently promoting it for £399.99/$399.99.

You too can purchase a refurbished mannequin from the identical firm for £319.99 within the UK.

Do you have to purchase the Nokia XR21?

For most individuals, the reply isn’t any. There are many mid-range telephones that supply higher worth for cash than the Nokia XR21, even when it’s discounted.

Nevertheless, if you would like a rugged smartphone that may stand up to the weather and provide lengthy battery life, it’s nonetheless value contemplating.

Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• 6.49-inch IPS LCD show, 1080×2400, 120Hz
• 64Mp primary rear digital camera
• 8Mp ultrawide digital camera
• 16Mp front-facing digital camera
• USB-C
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• 5G
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.1
• NFC
• IP68/IP69K
• Ships working Android 12
• 4800mah battery
• 33W charging
• 168 x 7.8.6 x 10.5mm
• 231g