Why Does The Microsoft Lumia 650 Exist?
Microsoft quietly announced a new handset, the Lumia 650, and it’s not especially clear why it exists. As the name implies, it’s not much different than the 640 and 640 XL. It’s true that some key specs are not the same, but they won’t affect notable differences in performance.
The biggest hardware change is that the 650 runs a Snapdragon 212 SoC whereas the 640 and 640 XL have the Snapdragon 400. It has twice the storage, although it’s still not much at 16 GB. All three phones have the same RAM, and the 640 and 650 displays are both 5 inches and 1280x720 resolution. Oddly, the camera is worse, offering just 720p HD performance. The 650 also has a smaller battery than its older brothers.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Lumia 640 | Lumia 640 XL | Lumia 650 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (quad core, 1.2 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (quad core, 1.2 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 (quad core, 1.3 GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 305 GPU | Adreno 305 GPU | Adreno 304 GPU |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Storage | -8 GB onboard-up to 128 GB microSD -30 GB free OneDrive | -8 GB onboard-up to 128 GB microSD -30 GB free OneDrive | -16 GB onboard-up to 200 GB microSD -OneDrive |
| Display | 5-inch HD (1280 x 720) | 5.7-inch HD (1280 x 720) | 5-inch HD (1280 x 720) |
| Cameras | Back: 8 MP AF, 1080p HD @ 30 fpsFront: 1 MP 720p HD wide angle, f/2.4 | Back: 13 MP AF, 1080p @ 30 fps video (continuous autofocus), Flash: LED, Lumia CameraFront: 5 MP wide angle, fixed focus, 1080p video | Back: 8 MP AF, 720p @ 30 fps video, Flash: LED flash Front: 5 MP wide angle, 720p video @ 30 fps |
| Connectivity | BT 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Micro SIM, A-GPS+GLONASS, BeiDou, NFC, DLNA, Screen cloning with Miracast, WLAN 802.11 b/g/n | BT 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Micro SIM, A-GPS+GLONASS, BeiDou, DLNA, NFC, Screen cloning with Miracast, WLAN 802.11 b/g/n | BT 4.1, microUSB, Nano SIM, A-GLONASS, A-GPS, A-BeiDou, NFC, WLAN 802.11 b/g/n |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor | Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, SensorCore | Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient light sensor |
| Battery | 2500 mAh (removable) | 3000 mAh (removable) | 2000 mAh (removable) |
| OS | Windows 8.1 | Windows 8.1 | Windows 10 |
The 650 also runs Windows 10, which is great, but it kind of feels like a slap in the face to 640/640 XL owners who are still waiting for Windows 10 to drop onto their handsets.
It also makes no sense. For now at least, the 650 is aimed solely at European markets (UK, France, Germany and Italy), where the 640 is already sold, and it has Windows 10 (for phones).
But you can forget about Continuum support. The 650 doesn't meet the minimum requirements -- not even close.
It’s also $200 USD, which is less expensive than the 640/640 XL, and it’s available now. In some European countries.
Update, 2/16/16, 6:50am PT: The original version of this article misstated the number of cores on the Snapdragon 400. There were also a couple of typos. The copy has been adjusted accordingly.
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Seth Colaner is the News Director for Tom's Hardware. Follow him on Twitter @SethColaner. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.
Seth Colaner previously served as News Director at Tom's Hardware. He covered technology news, focusing on keyboards, virtual reality, and wearables.
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Marius_Bota Good question. The answer is: because Microsoft had not enough chances to sunk. now it has one more.Reply -
falchard They are probably targeting that crowd which doesn't care too much about the features as long as it gets Pandora, texting, a camera, internet browsing, and GPS. For $200 the price is OK. The antenna on the Lumia 635 was pretty good with decent battery life due to the no frills aspect of it. It should be a decent update if it comes with the same capability and more battery life for $200.Reply -
outlw6669 I am sure the 5" OLED display for under 200$ has something to do with it...Reply
https://www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/phone/lumia650/
Personally, I wish the low-end Windows Mobile devices had a bit heftier SOC under the hood.
That said, Windows Mobile is extremely efficient, even with such low specs.
If you have never given the platform a try, I would defiantly recommend doing so.
It is quite fluid, even with the most entry models. -
Outlander_04 Reply17510767 said:As Outlander said snapdragon 400 has 4 cores..... Which make the lumia 650 more ridicules!!
It makes the article ridiculous .
The phone is an option for a metal body and not polycarbonate, an OLED screen and more storage . Consumer choice is a plus -
016ive Reply
That's good and all but I think They should focus more on getting a final Windows 10 release for the 640 and 640XL as they promised. Instead, they release basically similar phone-with a few modifications, I know- as 640 with Windows 1017510772 said:17510767 said:As Outlander said snapdragon 400 has 4 cores..... Which make the lumia 650 more ridicules!!
It makes the article ridiculous .
The phone is an option for a metal body and not polycarbonate, an OLED screen and more storage . Consumer choice is a plus
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xHDx Why is there no obvious reasons for bringing out a new phone? There's easily 2.Reply
- Runs Windows 10
- Has a Quad core and not a Dual core
I don't understand what's clear. The name change has an obvious meaning, and there is quite a difference. The fact that it has Windows 10 over 8. It's pretty clear if you ask me XD -
lde I bought a 640 for $30 at a Best Buy sale and thought it great value and the handling of storage of an SD card was great compared to Google but I didn't like the low memory and the browsers that were available all sucked. I couldn't see a File Manager like ES either, that allows you to see networked PCs. As it was only to test, I sold it to a Microsoft employee from Mexico via Craig's list for the same price. Perhaps with the Edge browser in Windows 10 and extra memory, I might buy one but for $100.Reply -
FlayerSlayer "It has twice the storage, although it’s still not much at 16 GB. All three phones have the same RAM and storage."Reply
One of these statements is untrue. -
FALC0N Why do any of us exist? There are never satisfying answers to these existential questions.Reply