The Nokia
Lumia 530
is the newest entry-level Windows Phone device to grace the markets in
2014. As the global rollout begins, we are diving deeper into seeing
what the phone can do. Although technically speaking the Lumia 530 is a
follow up to the
Lumia 520, in some ways it is a step down in specs in an attempt to drive the price even lower. This difference is why many consider the
Lumia 630 to be a better upgrade for current Lumia 520 owners.
How does the new Quad-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 chipset in the
Lumia 530 compare to the older, Dual-core 1.0 GHz Snapdragon S4 found in
the Lumia 520? Let's find out!
Setup
In this test, we used the free and cross-platform supported
Basemark II OS software to compare device performance. Neither phone used a micro SD card, as the app was loaded into internal memory.
Both phones are running the latest software including
Windows Phone 8.1 (build 12400 for the Lumia 530; build 12393 for the Lumia 520) and
Lumia Cyan updates. Both phones were soft-reset prior to their tests.
We ran Basemark II OS multiple times for consistency.
Results
Overall, the marks from the Basemark II OS app reflects intuition
that the Lumia 530 outperforms the Lumia 520 in virtually every way. The
overall score for the Lumia 530 puts it at 366, while the Lumia 520
sits at a much lower 273.
The largest difference in the sub-tests is found in the System
performance, which looks at raw processor power. As expected, a
Quad-core 1.2 GHz CPU (Score 566) is much better than a Dual-core 1 GHz
one (Score 284), making the results unsurprising. Likewise, for graphics
the Lumia 530 scored 178 over the lower 125 found on the Lumia 520,
suggesting that for games the Lumia 530 is a better device.
Interestingly memory had the Lumia 520 slightly edging out the Lumia
530, suggesting that not all the system components found in the newer
entry-level are necessarily better. However, because the Lumia 530 has a
beefier CPU, it can overcome any other bottlenecks found on the
chipset.
In real world tests the Lumia 530 owns
Benchmarks are one thing, but how the phone reacts to everyday tasks
is another. Although more subjective, the Lumia 530 feels zippier for
launching apps, loading graphics and scrolling around the OS, suggesting
that the new chipset improves upon the experience in owning one of the
cheapest Windows Phone 8.1 devices around.
In terms of loading games, the Lumia 530 crushes the Lumia 520. An example game used was the popular
Subway Surfers, which took an astounding
20 to 30 seconds longer
on the Lumia 520 to load when compared to the Lumia 530. Apparently,
that Snapdragon 200 is doing more heavy lifting on Nokia's latest
Windows Phone, significantly improving user experience. Even simple
things like bringing up the app-chooser and attaching images to emails
were faster on the Lumia 530 by a substantial margin.
In terms of the display, the Lumia 520 has much better contrast with
the Lumia 530 looking washed out by comparison. However, whites looked
more natural on the Lumia 530. The Lumia 520 also has automatic
brightness adjustment and sunlight readability mode (super bright),
whereas the Lumia 530 lacks both of these. In exchange, the Lumia 530
gains dual-SIM support, which strategically may be more important for
emerging markets.
Unfortunately, the camera test from Basemark II OS could not be
compared due to it not being able to complete on the Lumia 530. The
Lumia 530 though does omit a physical camera button in addition to
losing the autofocus, which is an important difference between it and
the Lumia 520. Image quality from sample photos using the Nokia Camera
app yielded similar results on both phones, with perhaps a slight edge
to the Lumia 530 for color saturation and sharpness.
Conclusions
The newer Snapdragon 200 with a Quad-core 1.2 GHz CPU is a better
choice for Windows Phone. Games load drastically faster and navigating
apps and doing regular OS tasks is a better experience. Some of this
comes at a price though, as the Lumia 530 gives up a brightness sensor,
camera button, camera autofocus, but gains dual-SIM support and
on-screen keys.
Still, in looking at the Lumia 530 on its own, it is a compelling
device for the price-range and demographic it is targeting. The Lumia
530's raw performance combined with the latest Windows Phone 8.1
operating system make it an excellent choice for those on a budget.
For users with a Lumia 520, the natural upgrade path makes the Lumia
630 somewhat more appealing since it has a larger display (4.5-inch
versus 4) with ClearBlack for dramatically better color saturation. The
Lumia 630 also has an improved Adreno 305 GPU versus the Adreno 203
found in the Snapdragon 200 on the Lumia 530. As a result, gaming and
graphics performance should be even better on the Lumia 630.
Next time, we take a closer look at benchmarks between the Lumia 530 and Lumia 630.
