Lumia 630 brings many firsts with itself as a Windows Phone device. It is the first Dual-Sim Windows Phone, the first to run Lumia Cyan out of the box and the first budget minded Lumia to run a quad-core processor. It is the successor to highly successful Lumia 520 and we will review the device based on our one month usage of the device as our daily driver, per NPU’s tradition.
Hardware:
Design wise, it may not be one of the most beautiful Lumia devices ever created, but still looks well-built and robust for a budget smartphone. It gives a feel of robustness and reliability when you hold it in your hand, thanks to its back design.
The display is vibrant and bright but lacks ambient light sensor, hence there is no auto-brightness adjustment option here. But one can go to Display settings and control level of brightness and color saturation and temperature.
It has good and wide viewing angles and is better than Lumia 520 and Lumia 525 in outdoor visibility. It is light and pocket-able. With its 4.5 inch display size it is a joy to use with one hand.
Software & Performance:
The Lumia 630 comes pre-loaded with Lumia Cyan update and is as smooth and responsive as we expect a Windows Phone device to be. The Windows Phone 8.1 OS update brings lots of new features and customization options to Windows Phone. You can read all about Lumia Cyan and Windows Phone 8.1 at our dedicated page.
It has been rock solid as my daily driver and I have never seen it freezing or restarting even once during my long usage period. The browser is really fast with best-in-class panning and zooming even while rendering web pages. Apps open really fast and everything runs without lag. You can watch our video comparing performance of Lumia 630 to Lumia 525 below,
Camera:
It has a 5 MP rear camera without flash and as much as we dislike lack of camera button and flash, the camera is really impressive. Lumia 630 makes use of new imaging algorithms as it runs on different chipset and has Lumia Cyan on-board, it tends to give slightly sharper and clearer images than Lumia 525 in similar capturing conditions. Check our Lumia 630 vs Lumia 525 imaging comparison and Lumia 630 camera review by clicking here.
Due to its Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, Lumia 630 has CAF (Continuous Autofocus) feature during video capture, which is otherwise present on only higher-end latest generation Lumias. Watch the CAF demo in the Lumia 630 video below,
Video watching, Gaming and Motion Data:
With its 4.5 inch display and Nokia’s display enhancements Lumia 630 does offer better experience than its predecessors like Lumia 520 in things like watching videos and movies and playing games. Games take advantage of quad-core processor and load faster with better performance too.
Also, worth mention is the “SensorCore” feature. This allows Lumia 630 to log physical movement data including steps under “Motion Data”. This data can be used by apps like Bing health for keeping track of your physical well-being. Like CAF, it is another high-end feature generally seen on Flagship devices. You can watch video watching, gaming and Motion data in action in below hand-on video.
Battery Life & Call quality:
Lumia 630 packs a 1830 mAH battery and I have been getting around 30 hrs of battery life with heavy “blogger” usage of the device which involves lots of browsing, apps testing and daily chores. Consider it beyond 34 hrs for a moderate to heavy use and that is really very impressive.
Though for better battery life you may like to give our earlier posted tutorial a try. Frankly speaking, the Battery life is really great and it compared to a Lumia 520, it lasts almost 30%-40% more on one charge.
Lumia 630 offers stellar call quality and the reception is usually very good. I didn’t face any issue like call drops etc and it holds well even during long conversations.
Video Review & Music output quality:
We have demoed Music output quality in our video review of Lumia 630 and you will seriously like the speaker quality of Lumia 630. It is loud and brings quality music to you ears. Check our video review below,
Apps:
Windows Phone store has crossed 320,000 apps and games per the latest information. Since it runs Windows Phone 8.1 out of box, one can installation apps on MicroSD card and can even move the apps from Phone memory to card memory. So, with Lumia 630, you can really install any number of games and apps available on store and have a blast.
In fact, the apps and games scene has never been so good for owning a Windows Phone as it is now. Major official apps like Uber, Instagram, Spotify, Vine etc have come to Windows Phone and other wise have very capable 3rd party alternatives. Many major games have come to Windows Phone in last few days along with their iOS and Android counterparts. The app momentum is really there and big game makers like Gameloft are supporting Windows Phone platform very well.
Even Microsoft has brought some cool apps like Live Lock screen Beta, which make the user experience richer than ever.
Conclusion:
Negatives
- Lack of Camera Button
- Lack of Camera Flash
- Display resolution should have been better
- Lacks features like super-sensitive touch and double tap to wake-up
Positives
- Well-built and joy to hold and use with one hand
- The latest quad-core processor keep thing snappier than ever
- Solid camera for its range which shines in both imaging and video capture.
- Windows Phone 8.1 is really joy to use with new features like Action Center, new Volume control options and customizations
- Motion Data is great feature in this price range
Final words:
Lumia 630 presents itself as a strong option for anyone looking for a latest budget minded smartphone with no compromise on performance. It has Nokia quality hardware, latest quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor and great software which keeps it smooth under trying usage conditions. It has an impressive 5 MP camera and truly shines in audio, video playback. Battery life is very impressive too.
We have some complaints and they mostly relate to compromises done for keeping the cost low. But, none of them are deal-breaker and it is a highly recommended device which will not fail you and rather will get lots of love from health-conscious people because of its SensorCore feature.
There are many Android devices in its price-range, which can boast of better feature set in terms of things like FFC, Flash, rear-camera etc. But, Lumia 630 owns them when it comes to smooth performance and day to day usability. For the price it retails, it is hard to not recommend Lumia 630 over competition.
