The 650 is the best phone i have ever owned and here's why.

[AbhiWindows10]

Performance is definitely so much better than with TH builds.
Very rare loading screens (mostly only with WP8/8.1 apps though.
A great phone overall.

And one thing people don't mention is that the flashlight in all x50 phones comes on INSTANTLY compared to older Lumia's.

Originally posted by ttsoldier

Originally Posted by Lumious
The Lumia 650 is a phone that has quietly been in the background amid the sea of rectangular glowing slates of glass we call smart phones. I am an avid Windows Phone user with the 950 XL being my daily driver for the past 8 months. When i saw the price drop on Amazon for 650 for only $150 dollars i thought I would give it a try. My goal was to use it here and there as a work phone and drop the sim in as needed to keep my 950 XL pristine.

After one month of daily use i have to say this device has met and exceeded my expectations to a point where the 950 XL sits in drawer now. Spec wise the 950 XL blows this phone out of the water but I am going to list some points that show why the 650 is an ideal phone to use in form and function.

* The 650 is a super thin and light. At 122g it is by far the lightest phone i have ever held.
* The 5.7" display of the XL is nice but i find 5.0" to be the perfect size to reach anywhere on the screen without fumbling and manuerving the phone in my hand.
* Aluminum. The silky smooth aluminum side finish with chamfered edges makes it feel great in the hand and look premium too!
* The back cover can still be replaced to give the phone a different appeal with Mozo back covers.
* Tap To Pay is something that only the 950 and 950 XL can pull off in the Windows ecosystem and thankfully the 650 too.
* The MS logo on the back is in-set and wont chip off like the stickers on the 950/XL phones.
* Great battery life. Despite the low specd battery, whatever the combination of processor and resolution, this thing gets a lot better battery life than my XL.
* AMOLED screen like the 950 XL looks gorgeous and is really hard to tell the fact that it ONLY has an HD display (720P)
* And the best feature of all in my opinion is the white facing front screen. This is something that is usually looked over. The front of this phone is the ONLY Lumia that is white and it looks premium like an iPhone but even nicer!


If you are looking a different phones within the Windows 10 Mobile ecosystem i highly recommend the Lumia 650. It's performance, functionality, and looks a very low price point make it the best bang for the buck available right now!

Thanks for the detailed write up.

I have a 640 now and for $150.00 I am seriously considering getting the 650.

How is the performance on the AU? Smooth? A lot of "Resuming" and "loading" screens?

 

[mhc48]

Maybe just a tad less my favorite phone, now that the latest Fast Ring build 14926 can't be installed on it. Hopefully that will be fixed soon.

 

[Timbre70]

Does it has blue light filter?

 

[ttsoldier]

Performance is definitely so much better than with TH builds.
Very rare loading screens (mostly only with WP8/8.1 apps though.
A great phone overall.

And one thing people don't mention is that the flashlight in all x50 phones comes on INSTANTLY compared to older Lumia's.

Saw a comparison video on youtube where the 640 started up faster than the 650.

How instant is instant? Maybe a RS thing?

 

[AbhiWindows10]

That was with a very old build on the L650 btw. Things have improved now.

 

[ttsoldier]

I noticed that the 650 is increasing price.

Yesterday it was $155.00...

Got a notification in my Microsoft Personal Shopping Assistant..... Price has gone up to $160.00

 

[Greywolf1967]

As someone who has both a 640 XL and 650, I can say both are very very good phones!!!! Both are now on 14393.189.

My only grip about the 640 XL is missed touches/taps. This has been in my phone from day 1.

The only thing that would be the fail point on the 650 is a games load time ( some reviews on YouTube have said 3d render is not the best), however I can not give you detail on that as I don't really game on my phone. I have an 8" Tablet and PC for games.

Battery on both are good the 650 will not let you down, full day use then charge. The 640 XL battery is massive and can make almost 2 days with my use.

Where I was impressed most was in Pen use for quick notes. The 650 and it's OLED screen is better looking and handles my Adonit Jot Script so much better ( see above missed touches 640 XL). If Microsoft adds DTTW to the 650 then I think it could bump my 640 XL out of the daily driver seat.

 

[AbhiWindows10]

Yes, both are great phones to have !! Sure.

 

[Tomasz Niezgoda]

Welcome Everyone!

I agreed with Your review 100%.

I have been on Windows mobile platform on an off for some time since my first HTC Trophy till Lumia 920 and my recently decesed 640. For the past year and a half I have been using mostly motorola android phones ( moto E/moto X play) and recently i bought 650 DS. Couldnt belive the lightness and the look of this thing - simple yet gorgeous. As for the OS? Has it ups and down but feels great as always and seems more unique than other OSes. Without the trills of the recent Samsung phones ^^

 

[breaker119]

In what country are you finding this price? Microsoft Store US only has the unlocked dual sim 650 listed at $199.

 

[ttsoldier]

In what country are you finding this price? Microsoft Store US only has the unlocked dual sim 650 listed at $199.

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-RM...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3564023

 

[breaker119]

Thanks @ttsoldier . Is the lack of warranty and international version something that I should worry about? I think that a brick and mortar Microsoft store should be able to assist with warranty issues if there are any. Trying to decide if it's worth the $30 to get it from MS directly and know that it's pristine.

 

[ttsoldier]

Thanks @ttsoldier . Is the lack of warranty and international version something that I should worry about? I think that a brick and mortar Microsoft store should be able to assist with warranty issues if there are any. Trying to decide if it's worth the $30 to get it from MS directly and know that it's pristine.

That's totally up to you.

 

[Lumious]

Welcome Everyone!

I agreed with Your review 100%.

I have been on Windows mobile platform on an off for some time since my first HTC Trophy till Lumia 920 and my recently decesed 640. For the past year and a half I have been using mostly motorola android phones ( moto E/moto X play) and recently i bought 650 DS. Couldnt belive the lightness and the look of this thing - simple yet gorgeous. As for the OS? Has it ups and down but feels great as always and seems more unique than other OSes. Without the trills of the recent Samsung phones ^^

My first Windows Phone was a Trophy too! Got that thing in late 2011 and used it all the way up to spring 2013! Wow i cant believe how long i had that phone.

 

[RichHowerton]

The battery life has been very impressive. Its also the lightest smartphone I can remember handling.

 

[LyricalNonsense]

I might just get a 650 as a backup. It does look like a device that could easily handle most of my day-to-day tasks, and look good while doing so.

- M

 

[RumoredNow]

Its also the lightest smartphone I can remember handling.

I'm curious what is the perceived advantage to this...

Lumia 650 weighs in at 122 g (4.30 oz). I recently picked up a Moly W5 which is 156 g (5.50 oz). My reaction was that I was pleased with how solid and substantial it felt. To quote myself: "...I haven’t held a phone this solid feeling in years..."

FWIW, I have held the 650 and the phone is indeed light in the hand, but it leaves me a bit unsure of the longevity. Also I've been mostly carrying a 1520 for over two years and that phone is 209 g (7.37 oz). I've never felt it was too heavy or thought I was getting hand fatigue using it.

I realize these things are highly subjective. I'm just wondering what goes into the opposite perspective from what I have and why feather-light is desirable.

 

[AbhiWindows10]

Just because something is light doesn't mean it won't LAST !! To quote you, "but it leaves me a bit unsure of the longevity" This doesn't even make sense !! This is a phone that's light AND really well built too.

Originally posted by RumoredNow

Originally Posted by RichHowerton
Its also the lightest smartphone I can remember handling.

I'm curious what is the perceived advantage to this...

Lumia 650 weighs in at 122 g (4.30 oz). I recently picked up a Moly W5 which is 156 g (5.50 oz). My reaction was that I was pleased with how solid and substantial it felt. To quote myself: "...I haven?t held a phone this solid feeling in years..."

FWIW, I have held the 650 and the phone is indeed light in the hand, but it leaves me a bit unsure of the longevity. Also I've been mostly carrying a 1520 for over two years and that phone is 209 g (7.37 oz). I've never felt it was too heavy or thought I was getting hand fatigue using it.

I realize these things are highly subjective. I'm just wondering what goes into the opposite perspective from what I have and why feather-light is desirable.

 

[Akhil S]

yes its a cool phone, but there is no wow factor

 

[RumoredNow]

Just because something is light doesn't mean it won't LAST !! To quote you, "but it leaves me a bit unsure of the longevity" This doesn't even make sense !! This is a phone that's light AND really well built too.

I'm not saying it won't last. Not at all.

I was expressing my (obviously personal) perception that some heft feels reassuring to me. Absence of it leaves me uneasy. Just me.

The person I quoted stated that the phone was the lightest he remembers handling and he seemed excited about that. I'm trying to understand what it is about that that excites someone.