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MagyarMicrosoft Lumia 640 XL Smartphone Review
For the original German review, see here.
Microsoft revamped its affordable Lumia 640 mid-range phone - and we quite liked it. However, that was not enough for the Redmond manufacturer, and it created the Lumia 640 XL for everyone who thinks smartphones just can't be big enough. The XL model is available in a version with either two SIM slots or an LTE model that only supports one SIM card. The family relationship is also seen in other details, such as the removable back cover, tight storage and screen resolution.
However, modifications have also been made in the configuration. After all, the Lumia 640 XL faces an increasing number of low-priced phablets. For example, Asus' Zenfone 6, OnePlus' One and Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4G are rivals. In addition, how does our review sample score in a comparison with the still available Nokia Lumia 1320 phablet?
Case
The family relationship with the Lumia 640 also becomes obvious in the casing. The casing features the same design, and is available in the same colors: orange, cyan, black and white. The back cover can be removed, which enables accessing both SIM slots and the removable battery. But then there are minor differences: The two vaguely different colors of the edge that creates the cover of the Lumia 640 around the front are only single-colored on the Lumia 640 XL. Furthermore, the camera of our review sample clearly protrudes, and the speaker is located beside it and not in the lower area like in the smaller Lumia 640.
The Lumia 640 XL is also slightly thicker than its smaller sibling: It expands the pocket by 9 millimeters (~0.35 in). However, it is still considerably slimmer than the Lumia 1320. The Lumia 640 is fairly stiff: strong pressure on the screen and from the back become visible in the liquid crystals. On the other hand, the unit can be easily twisted, which sometimes causes the cover to pop out. Despite that, it still conveys an overall good quality and solid feel.
Connectivity
The connectivity corresponds with that of the smaller Lumia 640. The storage capacity of 8 GB is still a bit tight, but it can be expanded by up to 128 GB with a micro-SD card. All apps are available via the 1 GB RAM. Dual-SIM and FM radio are also assets of the Lumia 640 that its bigger brother has inherited.
Software
The Lumia 640 XL is also shipped with Windows Phone 8.1 GDR2 right away. This minor update is only available for selected phones and includes a better list of settings and the option to pin settings on the screen. Beyond that, there are small improvements like .mkv video support.
Apart from that, the Lumia 640 XL has the usual Windows Phone interface that can be customized extensively and looks clearly arranged. The three small adjacent tiles on the large screen did not annoy us as much as on the smaller Lumia 640. However, the home screen is still too busy, but that can be changed quickly.
Like in other Lumia smartphones, there is a lot of software preloaded, and they are mostly very useful. Besides that, an Office 365 one-year trial version is again included alongside a "BILD digital" subscription for 3 months. We add one point for this extensive software bundle.
Communication & GPS
The Lumia 640 XL has NFC and Wi-Fi in the 802.11 b/g/n standard. Consequently, the user can only browse on the 2.4 GHz band. It is, however, relatively reliable even at a fair distance from the router. We still had half the signal through three walls and a distance of ten meters (~33 feet); the speed with which websites loaded was barely restricted.
The smartphone communicates with networks up to the UMTS standard in cellular networks. Four frequencies are available both here and in the GSN network. The maximum download speed is 42 MB per second. We were pleased about the reception quality: The full signal was the rule even indoors in an urban area.
The GPS module also supports GLONASS and BeiDou, and should thus find a signal almost everywhere in the world. It did not function indoors, but we were soon located with an accuracy of 9 meters (~30 feet) outdoors.
Telephone & Voice Quality
Our review sample of the Lumia 640 XL supports two micro-SIM cards. We extensively described how managing the dual-SIM feature functions in the review of the Lumia 640. The phone app has not been modified. The call list is displayed directly after opening, and the quick-dial contacts can be accessed swiftly. Buttons for the keypad, phone book, search and voicemail round off the app.
The called contact is clearly audible and relatively loud over the speaker. The caller's voice is also very loud and rich at the other end. As with the Lumia 640, we are very satisfied with the voice quality.
Cameras & Multimedia
The cameras in the Lumia 640 XL likely distinguish it most from its smaller Lumia 640 sibling. A relatively high-resolution, 13 megapixel camera with a lens from Zeiss, auto-focus and LED flash is installed on the rear. It is a bit disappointing that videos are only recorded with a maximum of 1080p and at most 30 frames per second.
Like the Lumia 640, the picture quality is not perfect. Colors look far too oversaturated and thus unnatural. Outlines are frayed and details are blurry. However, the low-light quality is good.
The selfies shot with the front-facing camera's lush 5 megapixels are decent even in low-light conditions. In any event, the quality is considerably higher than from the "alibi" 0.9 megapixel, front-facing camera in the Lumia 640.
Input Devices & Handling
There are not many keyboards to choose from in Windows Phone because the user is limited to Microsoft's stock model. However, it is very reliable and nicely designed so we were very satisfied with it. Furthermore, the keys are quite large on the big screen of the Lumia 640 XL making it easy to hit them. Consequently, it is possible to type swiftly and without typos. It also features word suggestion, voice inputting and swipe inputting. The personal voice assistant app, Cortana, is also preloaded in case the user wants to make voice inputs.
The touchscreen is sensitive up to its edges, and it detected our inputs accurately. However, we noticed minor lags during use. We sometimes had the feeling that our inputs were simply not implemented and had to tap a second time. Actual second taps were rarely required though.
Display
The Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL have an identical resolution of 1280x720 pixels, although their screen size differs by 0.7 inches. Although the image does not look blurry on the 640 XL, it is not quite as crisp as on the smaller screen. Most of the other phablets in the comparison also use this resolution; only OnePlus's One stands out with a Full HD resolution.
On the other hand, the brightness of the Lumia 640 XL is unbeatable. An average of 492 cd/m² is impressive. The illumination of 86% is also quite homogeneous although minor brightness differences can be seen on large white surfaces.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 501 cd/m²
Contrast: 1139:1 (Black: 0.44 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.89 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1
ΔE Greyscale 3.97 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
Gamma: 2.34
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Nokia Lumia 1320 Adreno 305, 400 8930AB, 8 GB SSD | Asus Zenfone 6 SGX544MP2, Z2580, 16 GB eMMC Flash | OnePlus One Adreno 330, 801 MSM8974AC, 64 GB eMMC Flash | Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G Adreno 305, 400 MSM8928, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -29% | -25% | -32% | -18% | |
| Brightness middle | 501 | 459 -8% | 372 -26% | 423 -16% | 446 -11% |
| Brightness | 492 | 450 -9% | 360 -27% | 408 -17% | 418 -15% |
| Brightness Distribution | 86 | 92 7% | 86 0% | 83 -3% | 87 1% |
| Black Level * | 0.44 | 0.89 -102% | 0.44 -0% | 0.54 -23% | 0.47 -7% |
| Contrast | 1139 | 516 -55% | 845 -26% | 783 -31% | 949 -17% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3.89 | 4.37 -12% | 5.7 -47% | 5.56 -43% | 5.1 -31% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.97 | 4.99 -26% | 5.97 -50% | 7.55 -90% | 5.93 -49% |
| Gamma | 2.34 94% | 2.27 97% | 2.94 75% | 2.33 94% | 3.46 64% |
| CCT | 6657 98% | 7201 90% | 7286 89% | 7624 85% | 7350 88% |
* ... smaller is better
The Lumia 640 XL's black level and contrast also put it at the top of our comparison field. Although a black level of 0.44 cd/m² still lets dark areas look a bit brighter than the display's black bezel it is very good anyway. The high contrast ratio of 1139:1 is beneficial for brilliant colors.
We analyzed the screen's color reproduction with the CalMAN software and spectrophotometer and were very satisfied with it. There is no evident bluish cast, and none of the color rates is shifted too far from the sRGB reference color space. The saturation has also been set appropriately.
The high brightness and high contrast allow using the Lumia 640 XL in bright surroundings. Microsoft also provides special algorithms that are to improve legibility in bright sunlight. We are generally satisfied even if the glossy screen is distracting in direct sunlight.
As expected from the screen's IPS technology, the viewing angles are impeccable in all directions.
Performance
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400 MSM8226 powers the Lumia 640 XL, which is the same SoC as in the Lumia 640. It has four cores and clocks at 1.2 GHz. It is a rather slow SoC, but Windows 8.1 is not particularly demanding and it ran absolutely lag-free on our review sample. The user still gets more power than from the Lumina 1320 although the Android devices defeat the Lumia 640 XL in both processor performance and browsing speed in the comparison. The Adreno 305 in our review sample cannot compete with the graphics performance of the Android devices, either.
| Linpack Android / IOS | |
| Single Thread (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| OnePlus One | |
| Multi Thread (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| OnePlus One | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Nokia Lumia 1320 | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| OnePlus One | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Nokia Lumia 1320 | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G | |
| Google V8 Ver. 7 - Google V8 Ver. 7 Score (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Nokia Lumia 1320 | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| OnePlus One | |
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Nokia Lumia 1320 | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| OnePlus One | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Nokia Lumia 1320 | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| OnePlus One | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Nokia Lumia 1320 | |
| Asus Zenfone 6 | |
| OnePlus One | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G | |
* ... smaller is better
Games
It soon became obvious that demanding 3D games like "Asphalt 8" overburdened the graphics card a bit. On the other hand, more basic games like "Candy Crush" or "Angry Birds" were no problem.
Emissions
Temperature
The Lumia 640 XL's temperature difference between full load and idle is roughly 10 degrees Celsius (18 Fahrenheit). That is a maximum temperature of 35.7 degrees Celsius (96.26 Fahrenheit), and the Lumia 640 XL is noticeably warmer but never unpleasant. The maximum idle temperature is 25.8 degrees (78.44 Fahrenheit), which is barely palpable.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.7 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 34.9 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 54.6 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 33.3 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.4 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 32.6 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
A rear-sided speaker generates audio output in the Lumia 640 XL. Since the camera juts out, there is always some space between it and the surface, and thus the sound is not subdued. The output is quite good; songs are powerful, clear and balanced, and even have a little bass. Our review sample cannot compete with the sound of HTC's One M9, but it provides a decent sound that certainly allows listening to a song now and again.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Unfortunately, historically, devices based on Windows Phone are not reputed for low power consumption. The Lumia 640 XL does nothing to debunk this reputation either. For example, the average idle consumption is the highest in the comparison field, with exception of the Lumia 1320. Then again, the load consumption is acceptable when compared with the other devices.
The standby power consumption is slightly increased, which is due to the "Glance Screen" feature that can, however, be disabled. Then the Lumia 640 XL consumes 0.1 watts, like all other comparison devices.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle |  0.5 / 2.2 / 2.5 Watt |
| Load |
4 / 5 Watt |
    
| |
Battery Runtime
The battery runtimes also show that Microsoft still has to do some tweaking in energy management. Despite the capacity of 11.4 Wh, only 7:12 hours were achieved in the Wi-Fi test. However, when considering that the current version of our Wi-Fi test runs down the battery 10-20% faster than our last version, the Lumia 640 XL can keep up with Asus' Zenfone 6 and Xiaomi's Redmi.
It is overall quite possible to work decently with the Lumia 640 XL, and it will also last a day of mixed use.
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Nokia Lumia 1320 Adreno 305, 400 8930AB, 8 GB SSD | Asus Zenfone 6 SGX544MP2, Z2580, 16 GB eMMC Flash | OnePlus One Adreno 330, 801 MSM8974AC, 64 GB eMMC Flash | Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G Adreno 305, 400 MSM8928, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 36% | 23% | 62% | -4% | |
| WiFi v1.3 | 432 | 963 123% | |||
| Load | 159 | 216 36% | 196 23% | 160 1% | 152 -4% |
| WiFi | 518 | 1126 | 662 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The Lumia 640 XL is definitely a decent Windows Phone 8.1 phablet. Microsoft installs a very bright, viewing-angle-stable screen with good color reproduction. Acceptable performance rates and high-resolution cameras complement that.
The battery life is satisfactory, the speaker sounds good, the casing looks classy, and the battery can be removed. It is also possible to swap the back cover to give the smartphone a personal touch. The great software bundle even obtained an additional point in the total rating.
The only things left to be desired are perhaps a Full HD screen, an even stiffer casing, a better color reproduction from the cameras, longer battery runtimes, and a bit more power. However, that is complaining on a high level, especially when looking for a Windows Phone phablet. The Nokia Lumia 640 XL is currently among the leaders here.
A decent total package in XL size that convinces with a great screen, good cameras and a removable battery.
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
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04/29/2015 v4(old)
Florian Wimmer
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