In the past two years, the demand for large screen phones, also called phablets, has gone through the roof. People love big screen devices. Apple was the last phone that acknowledged the big screen trend and last year the iPhone6 was lapped up in the record numbers.
Earlier, Microsoft devices infiltrated the world of larger phones with the Lumia 1320 and 1520. While the 1520 was a superlatively classic device, the 1320 was relatively average. This time, Microsoft is making a comeback with Lumia 640XL.
Display and Design
The 640 XL is pretty big with a screen size of 5.7 inches. Though the display has no issues in terms of viewing angles, the pixel density leaves a lot to be worked upon. While reading, text pixilation issues come to the fore. The body of the phone is made up of polycarbonate giving it a solid feel and this massive phone may not fit into your pocket. This time around, Microsoft has designed a pleasing phone, but it is too big to handle with one hand. Yet another drawback includes the sharp edges that may dig into your palm, making it uncomfortable to hold even though it is slimmer than the other smartphones.
Software
Microsoft XL runs Windows Phone 8.1 update2 that includes all the Lumia Denim update features with a few other enhancements. The setting app has been improvised to use the in-app search. You may also access the preloaded Lumia features such as Lumia Camera, Lumia Creative Studio, Calendar Data, Lumia Moments, Lumia Selfie and Lumia Storyteller. Facebook, Fitbit, Foodpanda, NDTV, Ola cabs, WeChat, BBM, etc. are a few of the preinstalled third-party apps on the device. Fortunately, you may uninstall the undesired apps from the lot.
Camera
One area where Microsoft smartphones have always held an edge over Android phones is the camera quality. The Lumia 640XL features a 13MP camera with 1/3-inch sensor, f/20 aperture, and Carl Zeiss lens. Is all this worth it? Yes, it is. Lumia has an incredible rear camera. It captures nice pictures during the day as well as at night. The camera also excels in shooting videos. You can shoot up to 1080 videos at 30 frames per second. The effortless capturing of shake free videos is simply amazing. In the front, the phone is equipped with a 5 MP sensor that clicks wide angle selfies.
Battery Life and Performance
Lumia battery has always impressed its customers. The 3000mAh battery with a frugal Qualcomm 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU converts to an awesome battery life. With 8GB of inbuilt storage, it supports up to 128GB of expandable memory. The call quality is quite good and the loudspeaker is also decent. Even in this Lumia phone, you may double tap the display to wake it up so there isn’t any need to reach for the power button.
Is it worth a look?
In a nutshell, the Microsoft Lumia 640XL is a solid budget phablet if you consider features such as camera, battery, and basic functionalities. As it is a Windows phone, it doesn’t match the rich experience of the similarly priced Lollipop Android phones.