Microsoft Lumia 550 Specifications, Tests and Review

The Microsoft Lumia 550 has a height of 136.1 mm, a width of 67.8 mm and a thickness of 9.9 mm. The weight of the phone is 142 g.

The screen size reaches 4.7" inches. Phones with smaller displays are easier to use with one hand. The experience is less pleasant compared to phones with large displays. However, if you're buying a phone for basic use and don't want, for example, a good gaming experience or a large screen for watching movies, this size should be good enough for you. The disadvantage of LCD displays is the relatively lower color contrast displayed, as the technology cannot display absolute black well. Also due to the higher power consumption, LCD displays are no longer as common in phones. Even so, some manufacturers still equip their phones with LCD technology. However, modern smartphones are already using OLED technology. The advantage of LCD phones is that they tend to be cheaper to build than OLED technology.

Display Resolution of Microsoft Lumia 550 is 1280 x 720 pixels. A higher display resolution is a prerequisite for a sharper image. The standard for mid-range phones today is a Full HD resolution of 1920 × 1080 px. Cheaper phones, which usually have a smaller diagonal, have an HD resolution of 1280 × 720 px. Smaller resolutions can only be found in older models. Best phones, on the other hand, have a 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 px. Display´s pixel density is 315 ppi and represents another significant factor affecting image sharpness besides resolution. The higher the value, the sharper the image. Average value is currently about 350-400 ppi, which guarantees a fine and sufficiently sharp image. Finest modern phone displays reach 450 ppi and above.

Microsoft Lumia 550 is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 210. The number of processor cores is 4. It is a number of cores that plays an important role in evaluating the performance of phone as it is responsible for computing operations. Smartphones already commonly have a core count of around 4 to 8. Multi-core processors can perform better and reduce the processing time of a request to a minimum, which is reflected in the responsiveness of the phone, e.g. in the speed of opening applications. The processor frequency indicates how many instructions phone can process in 1 second. The higher the frequency, the better the performance. Standard processor frequency range today is between 1.8 GHz and 2.8 GHz. Microsoft Lumia 550 reaches the frequency of 1.1 GHz.

The phone´s internal memory capacity is 8 GB. The size of the internal storage determines e.g., how many photos, songs, movies, or applications you can store on your phone. This memory capacity is ideal for those who have a few basic apps and a few dozen photos on their phone. If you don't expect to use your phone to play games or need to store high-resolution photos, this size should be sufficient. There is almost no probability you're likely to see this low capacity on new smartphones. The standard memory today is around 64 and 128 GB. The best phones have internal memory of 256 GB or more. Luckily, most smartphone manufacturers nowadays offer models with different memory sizes to suit every user.

An additional option to increase the storage capacity of this model is to insert a memory card.

RAM memory of the Microsoft Lumia 550 is 1 GB. Most powerful phones currently have an operating memory of 12 GB or more, which is especially useful for demanding users such as gaming enthusiasts. Normally, phones nowadays have 6 to 8 GB of RAM, which means that the phone can easily handle normal operation and more demanding applications. Operating memory of less than 4 GB is found in lower-end phones or older models, and they are suitable for low-end users who don't use demanding applications and have the phone more for basic use.

The rear camera of the Microsoft Lumia 550 has only one lens. Single lens is more typical for older phones or lower-end phones with lower quality cameras. The rear cameras of modern phones nowadays are usually equipped with two, three and sometimes even five rear camera lenses. The resolution of the main lens is 5 Megapixel. Higher resolution does not necessarily mean super high quality photos. Furthermore, it depends on the pixel size but also on other important factors. The aperture of main lens reaches F/2.4 value. The best phones have a lens with an aperture of up to F/1.5, where more light can pass through sensor and photos will be of a high quality even in low light conditions. However, lenses with apertures around F/1.8 to F/2.2 are the most common. The lower the number after the slash, the better the photo quality.

Digital zoom in this case offers zooming up to 2x. Of course, the higher the lens value, the more distant object can be zoomed in. Nonetheless, the disadvantage of digital zoom is that the quality and sharpness of photo deteriorates when using it.

Front camera
The front camera of phone Microsoft Lumia 550 has one lens. This number of lenses is standard on most smartphones nowadays. The main front lens is designed as a Wide-angle lens. The resolution of front lens reaches 2 Megapixel. Again, it should be noted that resolution is only one of several other significant factors that affect resulting quality of a photo. The main lens is also equipped with aperture of F/2.8.

The battery size of Microsoft Lumia 550 is 2100 mAh. Nevertheless, battery capacity is not the only factor that affects the phone's battery life. For example - the size of the display, the performance of the processor, the use of data functions and, of course, the intensity of use of phone in general all have a significant impact on battery life. Standard for most smartphones today is a battery capacity of around 4500 to 5000 mAH. Phones with this battery size usually guarantee a phone life of at least 1 day. Older or cheaper smartphone models can then reach battery capacities typically around 2500 mAH and below. With this capacity, you may find that if you use your phone heavily, you may need to recharge your phone during the day.

Standby time is 672 hours and it expresses the maximum time your phone can last on a single charge when you are not actively using it. Talk time, or we can say battery life when making calls, then indicates amount of time your phone will last from a full charge if you are constantly on a call. Microsoft Lumia 550 is provided with a talk time about 1020 minutes.

Microsoft Lumia 550 supports 4G. 5G connectivity, which is slowly replacing standard 4G connectivity, is still more the preserve of the latest phones. The operating system in this case is Windows 10.

Basic connectivity standards also include Bluetooth 4.1, making it easy to communicate wirelessly with other devices such as headphones, tablets, speakers and smartwatches.