Nokia XR21 5G coming after all, not XR30

The German tech portal Winfuture surprised us with official images of the Nokia Sentry, a new rugged phone from Nokia Mobile. The published photos show a phone that is a mix of the Nokia XR20 and the Nokia X30 5G. While many, including us, thought it was the XR30, Winfuture has gotten its hands on the full specs of the device and its true name. According to them, Nokia Mobile has only slightly upgraded the Nokia XR20 with a new camera module position and a newer processor, so the new rugged device will be called Nokia XR21 5G.

Nokia Mobile will upgrade the processor to the Snapdragon 695 5G, which is also used in the Nokia X30 5G and is significantly better than the SD 480 seen in XR20. The phone will also come with 6 GB RAM, 128 GB of internal storage, a new 6.49-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels and a maximum refresh rate of up to 120 hertz. The display is protected by a quite robust Corning Gorilla Glass Victus which is the same as in XR20. The selfie camera will be upgraded with a 16 MP sensor and an aperture of f/2.45.

The main 64 MP camera sensor is supplied by Omnivision and offers a maximum aperture size of f/1.79. An additional 8MP sensor with zoom optics is supposed to enable an 8x digital magnification. OIS is unfortunately not supported, nor is 2K video recording.

The casing weighs 235 grams probably to provide some extra ruggedness, and is IP68 certified, which means it is water- and dust-proof. The red programmable button for extra options is now situated in the middle of the top part which is convenient and I hope that the button on the left side is programmable too. Nokia Mobile has not improved the USB Type-C port, which is only compatible with USB 2.0, and the BT standard is the same (Bluetooth 5.1), but there is still NFC and WiFi 6 support.

Besides two NanoSIM slots, the Nokia XR21 5G also supports eSIM and has a 3.5 mm jack for headphones. The device’s operating system is Android 12, which indicates that the device was developed a bit longer than it should have been, but HMD Global intends to deliver OS updates until May 2026, while security updates will be available for a year longer.

So, Nokia XR30 is not coming but a slightly improved Nokia XR21 5G which should be offered for the next two years. This phone will most likely be a part of Nokia’s portfolio of rugged devices and HMD Global could assemble it in the EU.

Here are the summarized specs leaked by WinFuture:

• Name: Nokia XR21 5G – 5G
• Case: IP68, 235 grams
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core chip,
• Memory: 6GB RAM, 128GB storage.
• Display: 6.49 inch LCD display, 2400×1080 pixels, 120 Hz, Gorilla Glass Victus.
• Camera: 64 MP main sensor, 8 MP zoom sensor, F/1.79 aperture, 1080p video.
• Battery: 4800mAh battery, 33-watt charging
• Connectivity: USB Type-C 2.0, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, WiFi 6, Dual SIM, eSIM, 3.5 mm jack
• OS: Android 12, OS updates by May 2026, security updates by May 2027
• Price 499 USD