It's no secret that Windows Phone and the Lumia smartphone range have had the most success at the low end. The Lumia 520 sold like hot cakes thanks to aggressive pricing, and it's still on the market today, with the Microsoft Store currently running a special offer where an AT&T-locked, off-contract phone can be picked up for less than $30.

The successor to the 520 was the Lumia 530, and it had big, if cheap, shoes to fill. Unfortunately, we don't think it really pulled this off, with less storage, no auto-brightness sensor, and a markedly worse screen. The Lumia 630 and 635 were more compelling, with decent screens and more capable cameras. However, they still had only 512MB RAM and lacked the ambient light sensor, which felt a little substandard for their price point.

The Lumia 535 gives the low-end Lumias a much-needed kick in the pants. This is the first Lumia phone to ship with Microsoft—not Nokia—branding, and it's a big step up from the 520 and 530.

The major upgrades are alluded to in Microsoft's "5x5x5" branding for the handset: 5-inch screen, 5 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera. Compared to the 530, the screen is an inch bigger and slightly higher resolution (at 960×540 vs. 854×480), though this gives it a lower dot resolution of 220 PPI instead of 244 PPI. The rear camera resolution is the same, but this time it's an autofocus camera with an LED flash instead of fixed focus and no flash. And perhaps recognizing the cultural importance of selfies, the Lumia 535 includes a front-facing camera with a 5MP resolution—presumably the same unit as the front-facing camera found in the Lumia 735.

Lumia 530 Lumia 535 Lumia 630/635 Lumia 730/735 Lumia 830 Lumia Icon/930 Screen 854×480 4" (244 PPI) LCD 960×540 5" (220 PPI) IPS LCD Gorilla Glass 3 854×480 4.5" (217 PPI) ClearBlack IPS LCD Gorilla Glass 3 1280×720 4.7" (310 PPI) ClearBlack OLED Gorilla Glass 3 1280×720 5" (292 PPI) ClearBlack IPS LCD Gorilla Glass 3 1920×1080 5" (440 PPI) ClearBlack OLED Gorilla Glass 3 OS Windows Phone 8.1 CPU 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 RAM 512MB 1GB 512MB 1GB 1GB 2GB GPU Adreno 302 Adreno 302 Adreno 305 Adreno 305 Adreno 305 Adreno 330 Storage 4GB 8GB 8GB 8GB 16GB 32GB Expansion MicroSD, up to 128GB MicroSD, up to 128GB MicroSD, up to 128GB MicroSD, up to 128GB MicroSD, up to 128GB n/a Wi-Fi 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Cellular 3G 3G (single or dual SIM) 3G (630, single or dual SIM)

4G (635) 3G (730, dual SIM)

4G (735) 4G 4G Other radio connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS, GLONASS Sensors Accelerometer Accelerometer, ambient light, proximity Accelerometer, SensorCore Accelerometer, SensorCore, magnetometer, ambient light, proximity Accelerometer, SensorCore, magnetometer, ambient light, proximity, gyroscope Accelerometer, SensorCore, magnetometer, ambient light, proximity, gyroscope Ports Micro USB, headphones Rear Camera 5MP f/2.4 28mm 5MP f/2.4 28mm LED flash 5MP f/2.4 28mm 6.7MP f/1.9 26mm LED flash 10MP f/2.2 26mm OIS LED flash 20MP f/2.4 26mm OIS dual LED flash Front Camera n/a 5MP f/2.4 24mm n/a 5MP f/2.4 24mm 0.9MP f/2.4 1.3MP f/2.4 Size 119.7mm×62.3mm× 11.7mm 140.2mm×72.4mm×8.8mm 129.5mm×66.7mm×9.2mm 134.7mm×68.5mm×8.9mm 139.4mm×70.7mm×8.5mm 136.9mm×70.9mm×9.9mm Weight 129g 146g 134g 134.3g 150g 166g Battery 1430mAh 1905mAh 1830mAh 2220mAh 2200mAh 2420mAh No contract price $49 (T-Mobile) $169.99 (unlocked, dual SIM) $129 (T-Mobile Lumia 635)

$179 (unlocked Lumia 635) Estimated at $280-300 $449 (AT&T) $499 (Verizon)

Placed alongside its peers, it's fairly clear that the 535 is in most regards better than both the Lumia 530 and the Lumia 630/635. The Lumia 630/635's Snapdragon 400 processor is on paper a little faster, and it provides access to the SensorCore motion-tracking coprocessor. The 635 does have LTE, but the 535's screen size and resolution, cameras, and RAM are all better than those of the 630.

The styling of the 535 is extremely similar to that of the 635: a wraparound gloss plastic cover that can be peeled off to reveal a battery, twin SIM slots in the dual SIM review unit we had, and the microSD slot. The high-gloss finish and round sides feel good in the hand, and for my tastes, this 5-inch form factor is the upper limit of reasonable in a smartphone, as it's a size that still offers some degree of single-handed usage.

As is now universal on low-end Windows Phones, the 535 depends on on-screen buttons and lacks a dedicated camera button. I still regard this as unfortunate. With the emphasis that Nokia and now Microsoft places on the cameras, the instant access and convenient focusing that the camera button affords is a perfect fit.

A screen you can look at

The most obvious issue with the Lumia 530 was its screen. It had very poor viewing angles, with pronounced color shift when viewed at anything other than head on. It also had a peculiar, almost grainy quality when viewed closely.

The 535's screen is a substantial improvement. It's an IPS LCD, so as expected, the viewing angles are much better. It doesn't have the 530's graininess, either. Outdoor visibility on the 535 is also superior to that of the 530, attributable to the 535's much greater brightness.

Unlike the 630 and better, this isn't a "ClearBlack" screen. The ClearBlack screens are notable for their dark blacks and contrast. Side-by-side, the 535's screen certainly isn't as pretty; black parts have that slightly gray glow that is typical of LCDs. Animation and video still look good. It's plainly not a high-end screen, but it's not a bad screen.

The one sticking point I had was not with the image, but rather with touch. While it was generally fine, on a few occasions the screen was slow and imprecise when responding to touch inputs, requiring multiple stabs at the screen to make something happen. This wasn't a consistent issue by any means, but I've seen similar reports from others testing the phone, so I don't think it's an issue unique to my test handset.