The Nokia Lumia 630 is starting to hit markets worldwide, and one thing that's worth noting is its processor. We'll be doing a full review of the 630 shortly, but let's just say the bump in hardware does go a long way.
For our assessments we used the cross-platform Basemark OS II app ( Store link), which can evaluate the performance of system (CPU), memory, graphics, web browsing and even camera speed tests. We'll post the results below, with our discussion after.
Tests
The Lumia 630 (above) features a Snapdragon 400 with a quad-core 1.2 GHz CPU
The Lumia 1020 (above) features a Snapdragon S4 with a dual-core 1.5 GHz CPU
The Lumia 1520 (above) features a Snapdragon 800 with a quad-core 2.2 GHz CPU
Results
The Lumia 1020 bested the Lumia 630 in just two areas: memory (+108) and graphics (+146), but fell short on System (-106) and web (-20). Likewise with camera, where the Lumia 630 trounced the 1020's much larger 41 MP camera, as would be expected (+266). Still, the Lumia 1020 technically comes out ahead in overall score over the Lumia 630 (+47).
When it comes to the Lumia 1520, the beefier Snapdragon 800 at 2.2 GHz clearly shines, outpacing everything as would be expected.
However, installing the Basemark OS II app to the micro SD card on the Lumia 1520 – a new ability for Windows Phone 8.1 – and we can see there is a significant drop off in performance (-810). But due to the strength of the processor, any perceived lag in gaming is mostly attenuated. Still, it's worth noting as users can control where individual apps and games get stored on Windows Phone 8.1.
Discussion
Although the Lumia 630 is lower-cost Windows Phone, the Snapdragon 400 hardware can still outpace the much older Snapdragon S4 series, even when clocked lower (1.2 GHz versus 1.5 GHz). It's an impressive result felt in real, everyday usage of the phone.
While the Lumia 630's camera is much faster than the Lumia 1020's in the Basemark OS II results, it's not a fair comparison as a 5 MP camera simply has less work to do than a huge 41 MP one. But when comparing to a Lumia 520, which also has a 5 MP camera, we can see the new Snapdragon 400 chipset helps the Lumia 630 edge out its older brethren (+104). Once again, you would predict that a newer and slightly faster chipset would result in improved performance, and that is exactly what we get.
In the end, the Lumia 630 may be a premium entry-level Windows Phone, but its performance rivals – and sometimes surpasses - the older flagships of last year. That's important to consider when purchasing a new device, and at least for those waiting on a new high-end Lumia, you can take solace in knowing the Snapdragon 8xx series and beyond delivers a massive performance boost.
Are you surprised by the results or are they in line with that you expected? Let us know in comments.
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