Four things I like the most about Nokia XR20

| 10/11/2021 | Phones | 3 Comments

Nokia 7 Plus was the last Nokia device I was astounded with, and I needed to wait till Nokia XR20 to feel that way again. I like the cute, rounded body design of Nokia 7.2 and Nokia 9 PureView 5 camera interpolation, but those two phones haven’t felt as complete as Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia XR20.

Nokia XR20 is, by definition, a low-end midrange phone, but when you check the specs and get it in your hands, you know that this device is much more. It is as durable as a tank but still elegant in design. There are a lot of small features like a barometer, X in the camera module, lanyard hole, rubberized edges of the aluminium frame, Nokia logo on the side, 5G support and wireless charging that make this device special, versatile enough to be a desirable smartphone. But, there is more, and I want to share with you four things that make me keep XR20 as a daily driver.

 

1. The durability of the body

Nokia Mobile made Nokia XR20 the most elegant durable phone you can get in the market by giving it a MIL 810STD certificate and IP68 water and dust proofness. This means that Nokia XR20 can withstand a sudden stop on a concrete surface from 1.5 meters (trust me it can survive even bigger drops) and can be submerged in water for 30 minutes at 1-meter depth. I tested that by doing a short dive in the sea, after which I washed XR20 in distilled water because marine water can do some serious damage to the charging port.

I also splashed it with liquid nitrogen, which becomes liquid at -196C, and the phone is still working :).

 

2. Stereo loudspeaker and OZO playback

Nokia XR20 is featuring stereo speakers, one in the earpiece and another at the bottom of the device. Speakers are usually on by default, but you can switch them off in the settings if you like. The speakers are advertised to reproduce the 90 dB sound, which is pretty intense, but I managed to reach around 87dB, which is still pretty loud. I used Nokia 8.3 5G to measure the sound output intensity in my living room.

Anyways, I was surprised how clear the sound was at the max volume, and the main reason for that is OZO Playback algorithms that make the sound rich and without any distortion when coming out of the XR20 speakers.

 

3. Programmable emergency key

The programmable emergency button is the little red button on the top of the device I just love this hardware detail on my Nokia XR20. I programmed it to turn the double torch on with one press and to turn on the aeroplane mode with a long press of the button.

But, the list of programmable functions is long, and you can even start the audio recording app, which can’t be found in the app drawer. You can program it to launch any app you like, which can be convenient.

 

4. Wireless charging

I currently don’t have a wireless charger mounted next to my bed, but I do have a trusty Nokia DT-100 (sometimes DT-50) net to my PC, and I keep Nokia XR20 there while I search for stories or write posts. Not that XR20 needs to be recharged that often thanks to its 2-day battery life, but because it is cool and the phone has wireless charging. It would be even cooler that XR20 supports reverse wireless charging to refresh the battery of some nice earbuds or Huawei Watch GT3. Anyways, since the current Nokia audio accessories are still charged over USB-C cable, I’ll live without that.

 

If you expected to find the main camera on the list, well I could add it since it is doing nice daylight shots and night mode is performing surprisingly well.

And that Speed Warp thing is cool.

But, that is not the main reason why I like XR20. It is just an additional feature that can be improved in the future model by adding an even more powerful sensor for both main and selfie cameras. 

 Do check our video and a written review of XR20 made by Abdulla. 

 

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