Microsoft Lumia 640 XL

Since Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia in 2013, they have been busy cranking out colorful smartphones that just so happen to be on the lower end of the cost spectrum. The Lumia 640 XL is the bigger brother to the Lumia 640. As the XL in its name suggests, the Lumia 640 XL is large measuring in at 6.2 inches x 3.2 x 0.4 inches though it only weights 171 grams. Despite its large size, reviewers found the 640 XL comfortable to hold though it did require two handed operation. In keeping with the rest of the Lumia lineup, the 640 XL comes in five different color options: while gloss, white matte, cyan, orange and black. Besides the bright color options, not much stood out to experts. In fact, Stuff.tv describes it as “inoffensively generic” while others add it feels like a budget phone. Still, they were impressed with its solid workmanship.

The reason for the 640 XL’s large size is due to the 5.7-inch, 720p IPS display. While it isn’t full HD, the 259ppi pixel density was sharp enough that critics needed to look very closely to see individual pixels or anti-aliasing effects. More importantly, they found the screen offered excellent brightness, great viewing angles and good color accuracy. As well, they add the ClearBlack technology offers excellent contrasts and deep blacks. It also comes with an ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness based on your lighting situation. Protecting the screen is a layer of Gorilla Glass 3. While this does help prevent scratches, reviewers also note it is highly reflective especially in bright light situations.

To keep the phone humming along smoothly, Microsoft has opted for a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400. While not the latest processor in its class, it is a step up from other competing budget smartphones. Paired with 1GB of RAM, the 640 XL performed well enough for most reviewers. They navigated smoothly throughout the interface with no hiccups or lag. With that said, they did notice some stuttering when multi-tasking. Overall, however, their experience was very smooth even when they fired up processor intensive games. Unfortunately, it does only come equipped with 8GB of internal storage though it has a microSD slot that accepts up to 128GB. Behind the removable back cover is the 3,000mAh replaceable battery, though reviewers don’t think you’ll need to swap it out that often. They were able to get 9 hours of heavy use from it though they still did need to charge it nightly.

The 640 XL comes with a 13MP rear camera. While not the best shooter on the market, reviewers were able to take decent shots in good lighting situations though Tech Radar noticed they were “a little under-saturated and noisy when you get right down to the details.” Low light pictures managed to impress reviewers thanks to the integrated LED flash. While it might not be able to hold a candle to the iPhone 6 picture quality, when they compared it to similarly priced Android smartphones the 640 XL camera offered much better pictures and customization options.

While not a perfect phone, reviewers think the 640 XL is worth a look. V3 states, “…it ticks all the necessary boxes for a solid business phablet…” Neowin adds, “…the Lumia 640 XL is very, very good indeed.”