MWC 2015: Hands On With Microsoft Lumia 640 XL

In addition to the Lumia 640 and the Universal Foldable Keyboard, Microsoft has also announced another new smartphone called the Lumia 640 XL at its MWC 2015 media briefing earlier this week. The name itself implies that it is the bigger brother of Lumia 640 and there are indeed many similarities between them.

These similarities include the 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB internal storage alongside the 720p HD ClearBlack IPS display panel, Glance screen, and NFC. There’s also support for Rich Capture for Lumia Camera app, up to 128GB MicroSD card and Cat 4 LTE speed (150 Mbps for download and 50 Mbps for upload).

Of course, the biggest differences between Lumia 640 XL and Lumia 640 is the screen size. The Lumia 640 XL carries a 5.7-inch display as opposed to Lumia 640’s 5-inch display. However, the Lumia 640’s display still has better pixel density at 294 ppi while Lumia 640 XL has 259 ppi.

Additionally, the Lumia 640 XL is also equipped with a bigger rear auto focus camera at 13-mgeapixels that is paired together with a F2.0 28 mm ZEISS lens and a LED flash. Not enough with that, the Lumia 640 XL front camera is more capable too with 5-megapixels sensor and F2.4 24 mm wide-angle lens. Not to forget, the Lumia 640 XL also carries a 3000 mAh battery.

In terms of design, Microsoft chooses to offer Lumia 640 XL in matte finish rather than the glossy colour than dominates Lumia 640. The device also feels much more solid in my hands as compared to Microsoft previous large screen 720p device – the Lumia 1320 – since the Lumia 640 XL has square edges instead of curved back cover.

From the early information that we have managed to gather during MWC, the Lumia 640 XL might be released in Malaysia sometime in April and will be made available as 3G dual SIM as well as LTE dual SIM models. Price-wise, they are expected to range from RM 599 to RM 899 and also comes together with free 1-year worth of Office 365 subscription.

All in all, the Lumia 640 XL is just like Lumia 640: a combination of well-built design and value-added features for the lower mid-range segment of the market with the addition of bigger display and additional photography capability. Similarly though, the 1 GB RAM and 8GB internal storage might be its Achilles’ heel in the era where sub-RM 1000 smartphones have started to feature more memory and storage space.