Microsoft has revealed what could be its last Lumia handset and it’s quite the looker, but does it perform up to scratch?
The Lumia line is in a bit of a difficult situation, with sales declining at a catastrophic rate. Back in late January, Microsoft released figures that showed a whopping 57 percent decline in Lumia handset purchases, which is pretty much a death sentence. As the woes continue to build, perhaps its only hope is the rumoured Surface Phone... And that’s probably not going to be around for a while. With all this, you’d be expecting Microsoft to be focusing on producing some solid handsets to bolster their flagging Lumia line, yet it has released a budget phone that’s billed as a premium device. Hardware specs are not in its favour here, with a lowly processor and nothing to really catch our eye. Could it surprise us? Lets find out.
Design
This is probably the most premium looking Windows 10 Mobile device that we’ve seen to date, which is odd considering that it only costs £160. If there’s any further proof needed about just how confused Microsoft’s product team is right now, let this be the final piece of the puzzle. The Lumia 950 and 950XL were both flagship devices with middling aesthetics and yet here we have a budget handset with design that resembled something much more expensive. There’s really no cohesion in the product line whatsoever and it is a real shame that Microsoft didn’t adopt this styling from the beginning because, in a nutshell, it looks fantastic.
We have no problem with plastic on a handset generally, as long as it’s matted and has a somewhat premium finish. In fact, we often find that it helps to make the handset much easier to grip than the slippery glass materials used on the highend Apple and Android handsets.
On the Lumia 650, Microsoft has managed to create the perfect blend of metal, glass and plastic to create something that is not only attractive but very light. At only 122g, it is one of the lightest devices we’ve ever held and at times it’s possible to forget that you’re even holding anything at all. The same goes for thickness, with the Lumia 650 managing to somehow hit a razor-thin 6.9mm. These are both very desirable qualities that most people wouldn’t expect in a cheaper handset.
In terms of dimensions, the good news continues as it is almost a mirror of the Samsung Galaxy S6, a device that in our opinion is one of the most perfectly proportioned devices you can find. It fits in the hand like a glove and we were able to reach the top of the screen without stretching our thumb unnaturally. On the bottom you get a Micro-USB slot, which is to be expected, while a headphone jack lurks on the top of the device. The back case carries a chrome Microsoft logo and can be easily removed to reveal the battery, SIM slot and microSD slot. Those wanting to easily replace the phone’s innards while on the move will likely be overjoyed.
Camera
The Lumia 650 has an 8 megapixel sensor without all the bells and whistles you’ll find on flagship handsets. That means no Carl Zeiss optics, no optical image stabilisation and no Pureview technology. Still, given the price it is hard to complain as the shooter on this handset isn’t too bad. The f/2.2 aperture is fairly high and you’ll get surprisingly good low-light performance, though the lack of image stabilisation will make those long shutter photographs pretty blurry.
Daytime detail is good, with evenly lit images that have a pretty natural exposure curve. Even in images that had a stark contrast between shadows and highlights, the Lumia 650 seemed to do an admirable job of exposing the scene. Picture processing seemed to veer on over-sharpening as a way to pull out the fine details; this was clearly visible when zooming in on the edges of objects.
Also included with all Lumia handsets is the brilliant Lumia Camera application, which has a plethora of manual features and one of the best interfaces we have encountered on a mobile app. Even on a budget handset such as this, it works brilliantly and allows you to take much better pictures than relying on automatic settings alone.
The 5 megapixel front selfie cam is a nice addition at this price point and really does take some great pictures. Even in low light it’s not half bad, with a bit of noticeable
noise being the only real issue. Only thing that could be classed as a negative is the lens, which doesn’t appear to be as wide as other competitors. That said, you can just hold the phone further back. You also get the benefit of using that fantastic Lumia camera app for the selfie cam too, meaning you don’t have to rely on automatic settings.
Screen
The Lumia 650 comes equipped with a 5.0-inch 1280 x 720 AMOLED panel, which equates to roughly 297 pixels per inch. This is only just below the 300 dpi print standard and as such, images are totally free of pixilation. In fact, the screen is surprisingly detailed with vibrant, punchy colours. Typical of an AMOLED display, things are incredibly well saturated and blacks are deep, helped in no part thanks to Microsoft’s (formerly Nokia’s) ClearBlack display technology. Colour deviation at extreme angles is only very subtle, with a slight red hue that mostly goes unnoticed. You really shouldn’t have any problems seeing what’s going on here and it’s much better panel than those found on the Motorola Moto G.
Maximum brightness levels were also very impressive, matching that found on other top handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy S6. For outdoor and indoor use, we have no doubt that this will be more than bright enough to see under direct lighting sources.
Performance
The Lumia 650 comes with a pretty basic Snapdragon 212 processor, which is not the kind of chip you’d expect to see in a handset at this price point. Quite why Microsoft has decided to put such an underpowered chip within a handset that is priced to compete with devices such as the Moto G remains to be seen, especially when aesthetically the phone is so brilliant. The chip really limits what you can do as unfortunately, there’s no continuum option. This means one of the major selling points in Microsoft’s new OS is completely absent, leaving only the core features available to the user.
Browsing the UI and handling the device day-to-day didn’t seem to feel too slow, with the lowly Snapdragon 212 holding up reasonably well. We wouldn’t exactly call it a stellar experience, with big web pages causing noticeable stutter and app loading times veering on annoying but general performance was not affected. Using the PhoneMark benchmarking tool highlighted this lack of power even further, with the device scoring a very lowly 646. This is even lower than the Lumia 625, a device which launched almost three years ago! Gaming was a bit of a write-off, with Asphalt 8 just about playable on medium settings and totally unplayable on high. Even on the former, there was still plenty of stuttering and frame-rate issues, though it would be possible to at least have a race.
Software
Windows 10 Mobile is the newest evolution of Microsoft’s mobile operating system, which last saw light as version 8.1. That update brought a number of notable features, though this is the first true major overhaul we’ve seen since the debut of Windows Phone 8. The Windows Store is still lacking but there are plenty of third party apps that are viable alternatives to the official versions. Unfortunately, Snapchat is still a glaring hole in the app portfolio and there’s currently no third party version available. The Lumia 650 has a newer version of the OS than the 950/950XL we reviewed previously, but there’s still numerous smaller niggles.
The store app is still somewhat broken, though it’s better than what was on the Lumia 950/950XL. We did eventually manage to get things working, though having to force download all the apps was somewhat tedious. Previewing photos was another area where things seemed to mess up, though we can’t say for sure if the problem is software related or just that awful processor. This and other strange bugs hamper what is otherwise a fluid experience.
Battery
The battery on the Lumia 650 is a decent 2,000mAh, which is fine for this price point but not incredible. Still, we found that it managed just about a full day of normal use, which is no doubt a result of that extremely frugal processor. Our 30 minute intensive gaming session barely sapped anything at all, only draining 11% from the device. That’s a very good score that should mean you’re okay to fit in a bit of light gaming while out. There was also very little thermal issues which we can only assume is once again down to that very underpowered chipset which Microsoft chose to employ.
There’s no mention of quick-charge on the spec sheet but the Lumia 650 does seem to juice up pretty fast. We noticed a full charge take little over two-and-a-half hours, which is definitely up there with handsets that have that capability. Thanks to the removable rear case, you’ll also be able to easily swap out the battery when it dies, meaning this a good handset to take on those long journeys.
Conclusion
For a device that looks so beautiful, it’s a shame the innards didn’t get that same level of attention. The Snapdragon 212 is just about the most chipset you can get and it shows. Windows 10 usually runs buttery smooth on even the most low-end hardware, yet on the 650 we see slow loading times and stuttering under load. The Lumia line has fallen into disarray and it only seems to be getting more confusing; billing a device as premium but putting such a terrible processor inside is only another example of this.
Verdict
A good smartphone with that all convenient fingerprint sensor. But the slowdown in the UI and general use can be bothersome and really puts us on the fence with the 5X. The drop in Wi-Fi is a massive party foul and can be annoying to those who are playing online or going on Skype. Software fixes are needed before really recommending the 5X. Rumours are swirling of Marshmallow 6.0 being around the corner for the 5X. Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.
Spec
OS Windows 10 Mobile
Processor: 1.3 GHz Snapdragon 212
Screen 5.0 inches
Resolution 1280 x 720 (518ppi)
Memory 1GB
Storage 16GB
MicrosD compatible? Yes, up to 200GB
Rear camera 8MP
Front camera 5MP
Video 720p 30FPS
Connectivity Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC
Dimensions 142 x 71 x 6.9 mm
Weight 122g
Battery 2,000mAh