When it comes to low end, Microsoft now has phone at every price range. Today, we are looking at Lumia 532 Review, and share our experience if the phone is really worth it. Similar to specification of Lumia 435, Lumia 532 comes with 1 GB RAM / 8 GB storage combination. Compared to Lumia 435, Lumia 532 has more power with a quad-core processor, different design and build quality to give it an edge.
Though It is selling at Rs 6,499 , it’s a excellent performer for those who are looking to buy a Lumia which brings in the best of build quality, quality hardware ad Lumia software experience. In this video, we are sharing our experience with the device including the advantages and drawbacks you get with the phone.
Video Review:
Display & Screen:
The 4 inch screen is one of my favorite feature in this phone. Its smooth, swiping experience is buttery, and with 233 PPI, the icons, tiles and text are sharp. The screen resolution is 800 X 480 and has an LCD panel. The phone does support the third column adding it to the look.
The phone is both a finger print magnet and attract a lot of dirt. Those who read text on the go, set the brightness to high instead of automatic for better experience. However, don’t expect it have a fantastic day Light or sunlight readability.
The colors change when you change the viewing angle, specially noticeable during gaming as you tilt your phone. This will be same when you watch movie and can’t hold your phone in the right angle. It looks blackish when viewed from sides.
Glance Screen : The phone support glance screen which allows you to see notifications on your phone without unlocking the device. This not only saves a lot of your time, but also battery which you spend on unlocking, checking your screen and then locking again.
Build & Design :
Inspired from the Nokia Asha series, Microsoft has rolled out the dual shot case for this phone. While the build feels really solid when you hold in your hand, the dual shot design adds a sparkling charm to the rear of the phone. You have dual shot around the edges with matt finish on the inner side. This make sure you have style with a strong grip.
The phone is little smaller than the Lumia 630 in length & very compact. If you have ever happened to use a Asha series phone, this is exactly what it is, compact and light.
The screen takes up 60-65% of the front along with a front camera. The rear holds the 5 MP rear camera and the speaker on the lower bottom. Similar to Asha series, the buttons are on right. The volume knocker has a break in between to make it look like 2 buttons, followed by the lock button.
Unlike the Lumia 435, the buttons respond really fast, specially the lock button. If you had read our Lumia 435 review, we pointed that the screen takes a second to light up giving a false sense of slowness.
The phone also have capacitive hardware buttons instead of software button. This is a warm welcome and a smart move by Microsoft keeping in mind the other OEM are delivering it as well. However, they don’t light up.
The speakers are located at the rear button.
Camera (Picture and Video Quality):
The phone houses a 5 MP rear camera which can take picture in 2592 X 1456, and record video in FWVGA (848 X 480). The video recording does support Audio bass filter up to 200 Hz which can filter out low frequencies like engine noise. The drawback that you have with the camera is the missing option to Tap to Focus and Zoom. This is more like a Point and Shoot camera.
When it comes to software, you have the Lumia Camera for manually adjusting settings like exposure etc, and for post processing you can use the default editor or the Lumia Creative Studio. Below is the video of the Lumia 532 Camera Sample
The camera is decent for casual photography. The sensors in the 5 MP camera does optimize to accommodate more light than what you see in the preview to get better result. When used with post software editing, Lumia creative studio, it will be better. However the missing flash will still be a question.
Performance:
The phone is powered by Snapdragon 200 Quad core processor which is clocked to 1.2 GHz. It houses a 1 GB RAM and 8 GB internal storage. This is a very good combination to keep up the performance, make sure every app runs and you aren’t running out of space as soon as you setup your phone.
After using tons of apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Twitter and other stock app, I failed to find any hiccups or lags with them. They switch back and forth nicely. You can have 8 Apps running in background. The phone comes with Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia Denim Update which rolls in Folder Support, Cortana and other things.
In my earlier review of Windows Phone devices, a lot of you asked me to check on the browser. Windows Phone 8.1 is loaded with IE browser and it performed decently. I explored sites like GSMArena, YouTube, Gaana.com and all media streamed well and without hiccups. The video playback was smooth as well.
Now, there is known thing about IE on Windows Phone that it does not render all website properly. If that is so, please use an alternate browser, like UC browser, till we get to see better rendering engine for IE which is expected in Windows 10. This phone is confirmed to get that update. Checkout our list of Best Browsers on Windows Phone.
Game Performance with Asphalt 8 : Airborne
Like always, I played a lot of games on this as well, and the best part of the gaming was minor heating on the rear side. After 45 minutes of gameplay, the phone stayed cool which is something you will appreciate.
Those who crave for better graphics, you will be disappointed. The low resolution display of the phone, the changing color experience and low graphics during asphalt 8, and quad-core processor with Adreno just doesn’t deliver what is expected. Gaming is average. No frame skips, but lags a bit. This is not for those who expect more than this. Causal games just work fine.
Battery:
The phone is packed with 1560 mAh battery. This is user replaceable. When tested under various condition, it will live for a day easily. I had 1 day 4 hours of battery on regular usage and 18 hours on heavy usage. However, this will change depending on your gaming and music experience.
Storage:
The phone comes with 8 GB of internal storage, but you will only have 3.4 GB of space to start with. When we calculated, around 1GB is taken up by apps and there are around 400 MB of third-party apps. This is still doable if you get rid of what you don’t need. The remaining 4GB is decent enough to get you started and stay without buying an SD card for a while.
However if you live on the edge, the phone does support microSD card of upto 128GB. Not only this, Windows Phone 8.1 does allow you to install apps on SD card as well, leaving you free to keep space on your primary storage. Like always, I will recommend you to use a class 10 SD card as it performs better when it comes to apps and games.
Video Playback:
HD (1080P) video play remains a concern on low-end Windows Phone devices because of the native video player which fails to do well. Those who wanted to know if the processor supports it, yes it does, but there is something by OEM which restricts HD video play.
Any resolution which is around 720P or less still works better. I tried playing video recorded at 720P and MP4 performed little better. So you cannot expect it to play every resolution and every file format.
The other way round to solve this problem is using third part players like MoliPlayer which were able to play the files smoothly. You will need to choose Software rendering instead of hardware to make it work.
When copying files to Windows Phone, directly, you get a notification about converting the format. If you follow that, it maintains the quality of the video, but lowers the resolution.
Audio Quality & Music Playback:
In-call: You wont be disappointed and instead want to lower down the volume for call. It’s very loud and clear.
On Speaker:
If its Lumia, you don’t have to doubt on its speakers quality. As always, 532 is packed with incredibly loud-speaker, and you get to use equalizer while listening to music on speakers. Also, the postion of the speaker and design of the phone works hand on hand. It tapers down on all sides, leaving enough space for the audio.
Using Earphones:
No doubts here as well. You have access to equalizer and virtual surround. Launch MixRadio and stream the music and everything will be just awesome. The earphones that comes with retail box are ok, but will hurt ears when used for long.
Value for Money & Conclusion:
The phone delivers design, performance, solid build quality, brilliant audio experience for music and in-call and not to be missed the Lumia experience of apps. The camera performs decently, thanks to the 5 MP camera, and is better than Lumia 435. Though it manages to take in a lot of light during low light conditions, it has loads of grains.
If you are looking for a performing phone with a great experience, Lumia 532 is the way to go forward. This phone will keep you impressed and a happy user for a long time. It is also going to get the Windows 10 Upgrade in near future.
The only concern is that the phone will face competition with its Android counterpart because of the price range. IMO, Microsoft should now go for 720P display, a camera with flash and ability to play HD videos for its Lumia phones at this price range.
That said, Lumia 532 comes with offers worth Rs 1000 which if you can use, gives you a lower price point. My only concern is if an average consumers understand this.