Bright, sturdy shell, decent camera, HD screen, Microsoft extras, good battery life, 4G, lowish price
Processor struggles a little, size won’t suit everyone
Microsoft's over-delivering budget star impressed us earlier this year and now it's had some growth steroids. The 640 XL with its 5.7-inch screen costs around £55 more than the original 640 with its 5-inch display, but ideally Microsoft will have done more than just stretch the screen to justify the price jump.
Screen and design
At first glance, the two phones look similar, with the same bright, tough plastic shells, and Microsoft has managed to keep the 640XL almost exactly as slim as its smaller sibling (it's actually a fraction of a millimetre thicker, but we challenge you to tell the difference). The 0.7-inch difference in screen size may not sound like much on paper, but when you hold the phone in your hand, it feels considerably bigger. There is nothing to fault in the upsizing of the phone, other than Microsoft hasn't increased the resolution of the screen, rendering it effectively less sharp than its predecessor.
The screen is still HD, but those pixels (1,280x720 pixel resolution altogether) have to stretch themselves across a larger area, resulting in a subsequent loss of detail. Overall pixel density drops from 294 pixels per inch to 259ppi. There are other phones offering full HD for a similar price, such as the OnePlus One, which makes the 640 XL less of a bargain than its predecessor. If the extra size is important to you, it's worth thinking about, but don't expect to enjoy extra clarity with it.
Software and processor
Despite being a bigger device, the processor inside the Lumia 640XL remains the same -- a quad-core 1.2GHz chipset backed by 1GB RAM. Our AnTuTu benchmark test gave it a score of 10,719, which is actually a little lower than what the 640 managed to achieve with its identical innards. It's fair to say that the 640XL is no powerhouse, and you may find it struggling a little with HD games, among other more demanding activities.
The slick Windows Phone 8.1 Denim OS goes a long way to helping the efficiency of the phone, however, as apps open quickly and in general use it nips along nicely without obvious lag. Windows also means you get the Cortana voice-based virtual assistant, which is still a work in progress, but can still be occasionally impressive in deciphering your questions and delivering results. The Windows Store is still understocked when compared to its rivals, but it offers a solid range of popular and common apps for you to choose from.
Camera
Aside from screen size, the main difference between the 640 and 640XL lies in the camera tech. The sensor has had a serious quality bump from 8 to 13 megapixels, and the snapper now incorporates Carl Zeiss optics. It comes with autofocus and an LED flash, and using the in-built software you can add various lenses and features. Picture quality is decent and nothing to turn your nose up at, with a fair level of detail and nice, bright colours. There's also a 5-megapixel camera on the front of the phone, a significant jump from the 640's sub-megapixel snapper.
There's only 8GB of memory on board, which is a bit paltry, especially since most of that seems to be taken up by the built-in software. Fortunately you can beef it up by taking advantage of Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage, as well as by adding up to another 128GB via microSD card -- you'll almost certainly need it, and you should factor in the cost if you're thinking of buying.
Unsurprisingly given its bigger screen, the 640XL has a bigger battery than its predecessor -- 3,000mAh to the 640's 2,500 mAh. You'll comfortably get around a day and a half out of it before you need to worry about recharging.
Conclusion
The Microsoft Lumia 640 XL is bigger than its predecessor and it comes with a significantly improved camera. It's a shame that the screen resolution has effectively dropped and that there is not a little more power available. If you need the extra-large screen and a better-than-average camera, the 640XL might be worth your consideration, but it is not as much of a bargain as the 640 was before it.
Software: Windows Phone 8.1
Processor: Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
Memory slot: Yes
Display: 5.7in, 1280x720 pixels
Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports: microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera: 13 megapixel; 0.9 megapixel front-facing camera
Video playback: H.263, H.264/AVC, MPEG-4, VC-1, Windows video
Audio playback: MP3, WAV, eAAC+, WMA
Radio: Yes
Battery: 3000mAh
Size: 158x82x9mm
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
