Expert Reviews | Katharine Byrne

The larger Lumia 640 XL may have more stamina over the course of a day, but the smaller, Lumia 640 is our new budget Windows phone of choice.

Recombu | Chris Barraclough

Microsoft's Lumia 640 offers seriously great value for money, packing HD visuals, excellent optics and a satisfying user experience, making it a solid rival to the Moto G. If you're after an affordable but still highly competent handset, this could be your best portable pal.

Neowin | Andy Weir

The Lumia 640 isn't perfect – which device is? – but there's so much that it gets right. And with an impressive mix of solid performance, a good camera, a beautiful display and superb value, it's a great choice for buyers looking for an affordable smartphone.

NotebookCheck | Florian Wimmer

More RAM, a front-facing camera, higher resolution - the list of improvements is pretty long when we compare the Lumia 640 to its predecessor. The Lumia 640 is a good middle-class smartphone which impresses with a high degree of flexibility and its customization-features.

Australian PC World | Tony Ibrahim

The price is part of the smartphone's charm, and it gains some more over its close rival, the Motorola Moto G, by ditching a secondary SIM slot in favour of supporting 4G Internet. For people who are always plugged in and torn between the two smartphones, fast internet support makes the Microsoft Lumia 640 the phone of choice.

Phone Scoop | Eric M. Zeman

As is often the case, Microsoft did a bang up job delivering a usable, high-quality piece of hardware that has few detractions. The plastic is a bit slippery and the phone may be heavier than I'd like, but these are modest complaints. The screen is great, call volume is incredible, battery life is respectable, and data performance is as good.

S21

With a big HD screen, quadcore processor, 8 megapixel camera, 4G connectivity and a large battery, there's nothing missing from our list of must-have features.

What Mobile | Thomas Wellburn

They've successfully fixed all the shortcomings which tainted the original 635 and managed to keep it within the same price bracket. There's little to be disappointed about here apart from the uninspiring design and slightly old processor. Still, Windows Phone is so well optimised that even the latter is only a minor inconvenience.

Trusted Reviews | Jon Devo

With Office 365 Personal thrown in for free, plus a good camera and a solid battery, the Lumia 640 is one of the best-value phones around right now.

Wired UK | Dave Oliver

The Microsoft Lumia 640 continues the Nokia tradition for solid, well-built devices that do what they need to well enough without breaking the bank. It's basic and unflashy, but the interface is slick and fast, the cameras pretty good, and you get Office, HERE Drive+, MixRadio and more as standard. A whole lot for your money in other words.

The Journal

A good budget phone that punches above its weight, but it's cheap for a reason. Provided you're not too pushed about getting the latest apps and you're on a tight budget, it's a solid device, but remember that you get what you pay for.

pocketnow | Adam Z. Lein

The Lumia 640 has all of the features you would expect from a smartphone that's twice the price. It's got 1Gb RAM, a decent 8 megapixel camera, front-facing camera for video calls, a high resolution screen with practically print quality pixel density, the processor is fast, and it even has a (somewhat limited) version of the excellent Glance Mode. It's certainly a step up from the Lumia 630 and 635 as well as the 5XX series, and it has a few things that put it ahead of the similarly-priced BLU Win HD LTE. Overall, for the price, the Lumia 640 is a pretty nice deal.

CNET UK | Andrew Hoyle

The great screen and camera make the Lumia 640 a brilliant phone for anyone on a budget who wants an alternative to Android -- so long as you aren't too bothered about apps.

TechSpot | Tim Schiesser

Had the Lumia 640 offered a better value, it would be worth considering. Unfortunately it is not, which makes it hard to recommend.