Rugged Review: Nokia XR20 ***

Who'd thought Nokia would be back after being world leaders, then falling short, then having a really weird love affair with Microsoft? 
Well. Here they are. At once bringing pedigree and soiling it at the same time.

 After my love affair with the BV9900E I came to the conclusion that buying a phone from someone well-estimated, well established, and well know was probably a good idea. Enter: Research among Sony, Cat, and eventually Nokia. 
My choice fell on the Nokia, coming from a rather chunky design, realized that a 6,67'' screen couldn't be too bad. My! Was I wrong!

I'll unfold that later, but here's what I got from a 2nd hand Nokia XR20:

Wow. It's a cool, completed phone. The materials are really, really nice, it has a rugged feel to it, and the handling (software) is effortless. The two cameras puts in a good shift, and I couldn't ask for more. 
But WHY ON THE EARTH, MARS, AND EVERY OTHER INHABITABLE PLANET have they made it so MASSIVE?
The answer is obvious; because that's what you do in 2023. But that's really, really poor UX. 

I dare say, considering the hardware and the software handling, had Nokia made this phone in the same design in 5,67'', it would have killed iPhone minis right away. But no. "Go for higher numbers!". Or something. 

Things to like about the phone: 
- Smooth handling
- Good, simple software without any 'bloatware'
- Excellent materials!
- Battery life - probably running for two full days
- It actually 'feels cool' on The International Coolness Scale

But things gets too weird when you realize:

- It's fucking 6,67''. NO-ONE HAVE EVER ASKED FOR THAT!!!
- The Google Assistant button cannot be customized. Nope. Support is adamant that this key can only either open Google Assistant - or be disabled

Like I mentioned I got the phone 2nd hand, which I find to be an excellent position to make a review from: Problems that will occur will be evident. 
It was on my Nokia XR20; the charging port really, really needed some cleaning, and I even had to bring out the old rubbing alcohol to make it charge properly. 
This is not unique to Nokia; other phones I've owned have had that problem, too (including some of the Xcovers). 
What happens is that in stead of cleaning the port, people tend to jerk various cables in the plug, loosening everything. 
This meant my usual solution was challenged: Usually I'll add a magnetic plug in the charging port (sacrificing the data transfer in the process), but since the charging port will be 'filled' with something, lint will not enter, and all you have to do is to clean the magnetic plug with rubbing alcohol annually or so. 

On the unit (an absolute unit, XR20 is!) I bought, the plug was worn quite down. 
I managed, however, to clean the plug, add a magnetic plug, and fasten it by jerking it in along with a piece of rubber band. 
Now the Nokia would charge really fast with my magnetic plug. But it goes to show that though very well built, the Nokia has it's challenges. 
This may actually be an argument for wireless charging. But that's really energy inefficient, though...

I spent a week on holiday with the Nokia XR20 and almost got the Stockholm Syndrome with the phone. 
As mentioned somewhere else, the Android Gestures are probably designed for large screens. It's OK, but the thing is, it doesn't work with all apps, so you'll end up either switching apps, or switching to the known three bottom options on Android: Back, home, and programs running. 
With a phone on the good size of 8 cm i width, with 'back' being on the far side for right-handed people, that's a challenge. 
"You can just use gestures" is a moot point. It's crap design, and me being Scandinavian with massive hands, I shouldn't be challenged here. But I am. Because of the design.

Here's the thing: I'm going to miss the Nokia XR20. Which I've now sat up for sale. 
Part of it being because it's just so well built. It feels cool: The materials are well made, good combination, and I've never dropped this unit (and it IS a UNIT, XR20 is!) due to a good cover on the back. 
But I'd love Nokia to by 2027 (when user-changeable batteries are mandatory in the EU), Nokia would re-launch the XR20 in a 5,6'' version with same materials. They may as well, while they're at it, make a dedicated power button (the fingerprint reader integrated in the power button is a bad design ideal), and of course make the Google Assisant button costumizable. Hell, Samsung allows that out of the box, so come on Nokia!!

Nokia have shown a weird ability to come back. Probably stemming from always to be able to return to wellington- and tires-production, they find new ways. 
When Nokia were word beaters, their only real competition came from Japan where everything should be as small as possible. Go back there, Nokia! How small a screen can you actually make, while it still makes sense in smart phones?
(My guess is: You'll end up between 4,5''-5,8'').

Quickfire review of the Nokia XR20

It actually feels great and you get the feeling that you're holding quality. I almost got swayed by this and suffered some sort of Stockholm Syndrome because I felt cool using the phone. 
But when I got a bit of time to reflect I just had to acknowledge that fitting the phone in a pocket, in a phone holder for my bike or car was unnecessarily difficult. What is more important: Text didn't become better on a larger screen: Longreads would just result in more scrolling, as I would always read the top fire lines and then scroll. 
When I returned to my trusty Xcover 4S, I just realized that almost everything was so much easier. 
Speed was a tad lower, but that really didn't matter. In German a mobile phone is called a 'Handy'. 
XR20 is *NOT* handy. It's - for all it's design finesse - a clumsy, running for numbers, too big phaplet, that no-one really asked for.

Ease of living with a Nokia XR20 on an everyday basis:

It's not as easy as you feel when you use it. 'Ease' is, of course, a feeling, but when you consider that the XR20 won't fit well in any pocket, won't fit in holders, has a weird button that cannot be programmed for anything useful, and you never get answered the question: WHAT AM I TO DO WITH ALL THAT SCREEN SPACE??? you realize that the Finnish designers have quite lost their way.
Should I wish to visit a number of Finnish lakes, I'd rather bring the BV9900E - It would allow me to take beautiful pictures for a full day more than the XR20. 
And it's not like the pictures will look much different on the two screens...

The design may fool you for a while. But that's just Stockholm Syndrome...

Technical specs, that I cannot be arsed to mention:

https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_xr20-11013.php