Motorola is raising the Defy model name from the ashes in collaboration with rugged phones maker Bullitt. The tough exterior smartphone has mid-range specs with a promise of withstanding almost anything you can throw at it.
The tough-made phone has a dual sealed housing in order to be waterproof, dust resistant and withstand high and low temperatures. According to Bullit, the Defy has been tested by military standards of ruggedness and can withstand temperatures of -30 to 70 degrees celsius.
An IP68 waterproof rating means that the phone can be submerged to up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. In addition to that, the new Defy can withstand 1.8-meter drops, and complies with the MIL SPEC 810H military standard. Bullitt says the phone is also washable with soaps and mild disinfectants.
The display of the Motorola Defy is covered by the new Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which is 0.7mm thick and is designed to be drop and scratch resistant. Motorola says the glass is usable with wet fingers.
The 2021 Defy looks tough enough to withstand almost anything
As for looks, the 2021 Defy is interesting to say the least. The rugged smartphone looks like an ordinary smartphone with a case from the front. Three of the corners are round, while the bottom-left one is angular. This decision was made so there can be a place for the strap with which the Defy comes.
The back of the phone looks tough and has a dual-tone design. A fingerprint scanner is located below the cameras, under the Motorola logo. The 3.5MM headphone jack and Micro-SD card slot we’ve come to miss are present on this phone. Soft touch plastic is used in order for the phone to be more shockproof.
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You can choose between two color versions - Forged Green and Black.
Overall, the design of the Motorola Defy (2021) catches the eye, and is one of the best among rugged phones.
Display and cameras
A 6.5-inch LCD HD+ 60Hz refresh rate display with shock resistant Gorilla Glass Victus is the choice for the 2021 Defy. Specwise this seems to be an outdated screen, but at least you get one of the toughest glasses in the smartphone industry.
The bezels of the display aren’t the slimmest, but that is to be expected on any smartphone focused on durability.
The Defy’s triple-camera system consists of a 48MP main camera, 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP macro camera. The front camera is an 8MP teardrop style unit.
The new Defy has a rather modest display and camera setup
Performance, storage, software and battery
Like we said, the Motorola Defy is really similar to the Motorola G9 Play. We could even say that the Defy is just the affordable Motorola G9 Play from last year with a new rugged body. The two phones look the same and have identical specifications.
Just like on the G9 Play, a Snapdragon 662 processor powers the phone, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The storage is expandable via a card slot. This processor lacks 5G.
As for the battery, it is a 5,000mAh unit with 20W fast wired charging which according to Motorola will give you a two-day battery life. There is no wireless charging.
Another area where the 2021 Defy feels outdated is its software. The shockproof phone comes with Android 10, which is upgradable to Android 11. There is no word on whether the phone will receive Android 12, but we can’t say we don’t have our doubts.
The Defy looks good in tough terrains
Price, release date and availability
The Motorola Defy (2021) will be available in selected European markets, and later in Latin America in the coming weeks. The price will be €329, or £279.
Iskren, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, has been passionate about technology since his childhood, sparked by his early experiences with phones like the Ericsson T28 and Sony Ericsson P910i. After earning a bachelor's degree in Media and Journalism, he turned his fascination with smartphones into a career, with a particular interest in Apple and Motorola. Outside of his tech pursuits, Iskren enjoys watching TV series, movies, driving, and has a deep passion for cars and Formula 1. He looks forward to the future of mobile tech, particularly the potential of rollable smartphones.
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