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Motorola is bringing back the durable Defy smartphone for 2021

Motorola has teamed up with rugged smartphone manufacturer Bullitt to launch the new dust, water and drop-proof Motorola Defy. 

Created for active users, people who need a durable phone for work and accident-prone everyday users alike, the Defy is the first phone to come out of Motorola’s new partnership with Bullitt. 

Taking its name from Motorola’s durable 2010 device, the Defy is drop proof up to 1.8m and dust and sand proof so you can safely take it to the beach, on a hike or to a dusty work environment. 

The Motorola Defy in Black

The Defy is waterproof up to IP68, meaning it can be submerged in up to 1.5m of water for 35 minutes. The phone is backed up by a unique dual-sealed design that adds strength, improves impact resistance, increases the phone’s resistance to any bending and twisting that could crack the screen and ensures no water gets inside if the outer casing is cracked. 

The phone has also been put through a series of real-time durability tests that include leaving it on the roof of a car, spilling coffee on it, dropping it in the toilet and covering it in alcohol gel (hopefully in that order). 

Motorola has also included features to help you avoid damaging the phone in the first place, including a rubberised outer casing for better grip and a wrist lanyard in the box. 

As far as other features go, the Defy packs a 6.5-inch HD+ Corning Gorilla Glass Victus display and a 48-megapixel triple camera. This consists of a 48-megapixel, f/1.8 main sensor, a 2-megapixel depth sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. There’s also an 8-megapixel selfie camera on the front.

The Motorola Defy in Forged Green

The Defy is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 662 octa-core processor and includes a 5000 mAh battery, which offers up to two days of power with a single charge and support for 20W TurboPower charging with USB-C. The phone also includes a fingerprint sensor and a 3.5mm headphone jack. 

The phone runs My UX based on Android 10, with an update to Android 11 set to arrive later this year. 

The Motorola Defy will be available in Black and Forged Green with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage in select European markets starting Q2 2021, with Latin America to follow. Prices start at £279/€329.

Trusted Take

The Motorola Defy has grown up a lot since 2010. The original Defy filled a very specific need in the smartphone market, but it wasn’t the most attractive option for users who simply wanted a durable device for everyday use.

This 2021 update is better-looking and includes features you’d expect to see on a modern smartphone, including a triple camera, Android 10 (soon to be 11) support and a massive battery – all without compromising on durability or raising the price above £300.

Hannah Davies

By

Senior Staff Writer

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