Nokia has released what it says is 'the toughest smartphone' yet. Ideal for users who are a little less careful with their handset, it's being raved about for withstanding some of the harshest conditions including water, dust, pressure, heights and supposedly even the weight of a car, so to see just how strong it is I put the Nokia XR21 to the test.
Priced at £499 it's what we would consider at Mirror Choice to be a mid-range phone, nowhere near as cheap as some of Nokia's flip classics but also not as expensive as the likes of iPhone and Samsung's often £1,000 plus prices.
Along with the rugged capabilities the handset has a range of high-end qualities which are nearly always desired by modern smartphone users. Including a 64-megapixel back camera, a battery life that can last as long as two days, and a decent design when it comes to its interface qualities.
The Nokia XR21's modern design was the first thing that struck me when I opened the handset box, with a sleek 'ready-built' casing, the only thing missing was the charger adapter, a common accessory left out of new phone boxes in 2023 no matter the brand.
After charging and setting up my new phone to sync to Google Chrome it was time to see what the Nokia XR21 had to offer.
The Nokia XR21 features you get for the £499 price
In terms of day-to-day use, I found no gripes with Nokia's latest phone, in fact, I thought its performance was on par with my current Samsung and Apple devices, despite it being at least £300 cheaper. The biggest nod for me was the quality of the screen. Thanks to its 6.49-pixel FHD+ the smallest of tasks like sending a text or opening up Gmail felt 'clean' and precise.
I think anyone with a dodgy screen protector will understand what I mean here, the XR21's screen is bright and light, which is only enhanced by its 120 HZ screen.
Other design features are pretty self-explanatory, some of which I thought resembled that of the iPhone 10, but despite being slightly outdated the quality is good. Namely, the SIM port, earphone jack and finger 'touch ID', which is a welcomed feature but not as seamless to use compared to the newer Face ID on rival devices.
Another plus feature for me was its battery life, after setting up and testing out its features over a couple of days I only needed to pop it on charge once. Even so, it didn't run completely out of battery I just decided to give it a boost midway through. Compared to my current phone I'd say the Nokia XR21 wins here.
Now, onto the fun part of the review, one which I would never dream of doing to a phone but as it's said to be one of the 'toughest' phones on the market it's only right I found out if that was true or not.
Can it survive a drop in water? We found out
Coming to the 2023 tech market as one of the strongest smartphones Nokia brands the XR21 as being the best for avid explorers and sport goers. Which is why it backs the model to be waterproof, dustproof and drop proof.
Some advertising surrounding the new launch has also described the handset as being able to 'withstand a pressure washer and won't buckle if a car drives over it'.
Now the likelihood of a phone user dropping their phone from a height on a rainy day, into a puddle and being driven over is extremely rare but nonetheless, if it were to happen the XR21 would have a pretty strong chance of looking and working like new.
The first test I did was the water test, to see how the XR21 would work after being 'accidentally' dropped in water, whether it's a pool, the sea or the kitchen sink.
I was hesitant, just the thought of dropping a brand new phone into water, but out of all the tests it was one I was sure would work. Having previously dropped my iPhone 10 to the bottom of a swimming pool on holiday two years before I stopped using it I was sure the Nokia XR21 would be fine.
And it was, I kept the screen on as I dropped it into the water to make any potential glitches easy to see. After leaving it in the jar for around three seconds I pulled it out. The touchscreen, speaker, and microphone all work as normal after this.
The Nokia XR21 has an IP69K rating so can withstand up to half an hour in around 1.5 metres of water.
The 'it fell out of my pocket' test
Next up was for me to see just how 'droppable' the XR21 was, and according to Nokia if dropped within 1.8 metres the phone's screen would survive. Dropping a phone is probably the most common cause of scratched screen protectors and cracked screens and one I seem to do far too often with my day-to-day phone.
Setting up this test felt a bit strange as a cracked screen can happen at almost any height depending on the material, angle and force of the phone. Nonetheless, the Nokia XR21 survives a 'drop', more like a throw from waist height.
This is down to its Gorilla Glass Victus which will come to be the reason why the Nokia's screen was scratch-free, even after the drop.
'Won’t buckle if a car drives over it' - True, but it doesn't come out undamaged
The third and final test we carried out was the car test, and after reviewing it's a task I'd only suggest doing on this exact phone as I don't see how any other brand could make it out from under the wheels intact.
The strength of Nokia's XR21 handset is quite evident from the tests we've carried out so far, it can be dropped in water and the screen is crystal clear after being dropped (or thrown) onto a pebbled floor. Now it was time to see how it emerged after being driven over.
The whole aim was to see if the phone would withstand the weight and force, something Nokia say would not cause the phone to buckle. After one nailbiting drive over the handset it's safe to say the phone doesn't buckle, nor does the screen crack which is pretty impressive.
However, the crack that can be heard in the video above is the crack of the back camera, which didn't survive this test. I'd still rate the XR21 pretty indestructable, the fact the the screen has not scratched once is amazing considering the majority of other smartphone brands can crack at a simple drop (in my personal experience).
The handset is available to buy for £499 from Nokia itself or can be found on various UK retailers including Amazon.
