Just when you thought Lumia phones couldn't get any cheaper, Microsoft has announced yet another new entry to its Lumia line up in the form of the Lumia 435 and a new and improved Lumia 532. Both phones will run Windows Phone 8.1 with the latest Lumia Denim update, too, so you'll be able to use Cortana and Microsoft's suite of Office apps when they launch in February.
The Lumia 435 is the first 400 series Lumia and Microsoft's most affordable one yet, with an estimated retail price of just 69 Euros (or roughly £53). Measuring just 118x65x11.7mm, the 4in phone will have a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD and a two-megapixel camera.
The Lumia 532, meanwhile, is an updated version of the Lumia 530. It now has a front-facing camera in addition to its returning 5-megapixel rear camera, more RAM (now 1GB up from just 512MB) and a new, semi-transparent layered design, making it a fraction wider and heavier than its predecessor. The Lumia 532 also has a new Glance UI, according to Microsoft, which allows you to have Live Folders on the Start screen. You'll also be able to see the time, date and any upcoming appointments on the lock screen.
The rest of the Lumia 532's specs remain largely the same as the Lumia 530, including a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, 8GB of storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD and a 4in 800x480 resolution screen.
“When we launched the first Lumia devices over three years ago, we said we were committed to bringing devices to as many people and price points as possible,” said Jo Harlow, corporate vice president for Phones at Microsoft.
“With the Lumia 435 and Lumia 532, we’ve realised our goal of creating the most affordable Lumia devices to date, opening up the opportunity to reach those people who are buying a smartphone for the very first time. Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 deliver competitive hardware alongside innovative software that will continue to receive the very latest updates and enhancements, keeping users up-to-date with the best new features.”
The Lumia 435 and 532 will launch in February in select countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East and Africa and cost 69 Euros and 79 Euros respectively.