Nokia XR21 Is 2023’s Newest Rugged Phone, Brings MilSpec Features At Affordable Price

We’ve long been fans of both Nokia and rugged phones. Now, with the launch of Nokia XR21, those two worlds collide in what promises to be one of the most affordable tough phones in 2023. The best part?

It doesn’t look like a rugged phone. It’s so tough, you don’t even need to use a case, and you can use the display even with wet hands or wearing gloves.

The Nokia XR21 is a MilSpec phone featuring IP69K water and dust protection, capable of surviving most accidents. Incredibly, Nokia kept the 3.5mm headphone jack on the Nokia XR21, a rarity for waterproof phones.

This tough phone is made of recycled aluminum, so points for sustainability, and can handle drops of 1.8 meters, dust, water submersion, and extreme temperatures.

It carries a MIL-STD-810H level durability and a 3-year manufacturer’s warranty, which are impressive in and of themselves but Nokia also says they’ll throw in 4 years of monthly security updates.

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As for the regular phone specs, the Nokia XR21 is a rugged phone with mostly mid-range features but a few very nice ones.  It has a 6.49-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

It weighs 235 grams, so it’s one of the lightest rugged phones. Under the hood, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core processor with 6GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage.

As for the camera, the selfie cam has a 16 MP resolution and an F/2.45 aperture. On the back, you have a 64MP camera setup with 8X digital zoom. You also have 2 sets of high luminosity flashes which offer an SOS light signal function.

Nokia says the 4800mAh battery guarantees a 2-day battery life, but there’s also support for 33W fast charging, so topping off will be easy.

Oh yeah, and did we mention how much is it?

The Nokia X21 price in Europe is just 500 euros, smack dab in the mid range.

Also read: This AGM Glory Pro Rugged Phone Can Basically Be Abused Without Any Scratches, Works Even At -40°