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While HMD Global hasn’t unveiled a truly high-end Nokia-branded smartphone in more than two years and a compelling upper mid-range Android handset since 2020’s 8.3 5G, the XR20 managed to grab quite a bit of attention last week with its rugged yet reasonably sleek design and respectable specifications.
Of course, the mid-end 5G device with a jumbo-sized 6.67-inch screen didn’t immediately go on sale in the US, but if you want to secure your place in front of the line, you can now do so by pre-ordering the Nokia XR20 in your choice of gray or blue paint jobs from B&H Photo Video.
Before pulling the trigger, it’s important to note that the retailer doesn’t actually list a delivery date, merely promising to fill your orders on a first-come-first-served basis… at some point down the line. In contrast, while you can’t pre-order the Snapdragon 480 phone from Nokia’s official US e-store yet, the brand is in a position to commit to an “estimated shipping date” of August 24.
Bottom line, one of the best rugged smartphones out there (at least on paper) is definitely right around the corner, fetching $549.99 in an unlocked variant with 128 gigs of internal storage space and a 6GB RAM count.
That may sound like an excessive price to pay for a handset powered by the middling aforementioned Qualcomm processor, but there aren’t a lot of Android 11 phones available today able to withstand everything from hard drops to water immersion, scratches, and extreme temperatures.
There are even fewer such devices tipping the scales at only 248 grams and measuring a relatively slender 10.6mm in depth while packing a massive 4,630mAh battery, and on top of it all, the Nokia XR20 5G also shines in the imaging department (at least by rugged mid-range standards) with a dual rear-facing camera system composed of 48 and 13MP Zeiss-powered shooters.
