Nokia Lumia 830 review: Shining bright

Unboxing the Lumia 830

Nokia Lumia 830 comes in a moderate-sized retail box that contains just the basics - a charger and a microUSB cable. There is no bundled headset.

Lumia 830's retail package

Even though the phone supports wireless charging out of the box, you'll have to buy an additional charging plate if you want to use it as there isn't one included.

If you reside in the US, you will get two colored back covers in your retail box.

Lumia 830 360-degree view

Nokia Lumia 830 sports a 5" display and an aluminum frame, just like the flagship Lumia 930 model. It comes with a smaller battery though and a more compact camera hardware, which allows the Lumia 830 to keep an even thinner profile and a lighter body.

So, the Lumia 830 measures 139.4 x 70.7 x 8.5 mm and weighs 150 grams - that's a millimeter thinner and 15g lighter than the Lumia 930.

Design and build quality

Nokia Lumia 830 looks a lot like its flagship sibling - the Lumia 930. It has a metal frame, which is becoming a trend these days. It also features the so-called 2.5D screen glass, which has been around for quite a while too, but it is just recently when somehow it became a feature worth mentioning.

Nokia Lumia 930

Looking Nokia Lumia 830 at the front you can definitely see the resemblances with its predecessors - the Lumia phones have always been recognizable precisely by the front glass that's curved around the edges.

The rear cover is manufactured from matte plastic, which is grippy and resistant to fingerprint smudges.

The camera is part of a round black glass plate. The discreet PureView and ZEISS logos are around, surely boosting the phone's overall impression.

The battery cover is easily removable and you can buy some spare panels to freshen up your Lumia 830 wherever you are bored with the original looks.

Popping out the battery cover is easy

If you don't like your original battery cover, you can get one in a different color but the color of the frame will always be the initial one you've picked.

We spent some time with the black-framed Lumia 830 and it certainly has a classy, understated look to it.

Nokia Lumia 830 in black

The highlights of the Nokia Lumia 830 - the aluminum frame and the matte plastic rear cover - are the two major contributors to the phone's great grip and overall positive feel when handling it. The 5" footprint is neither small, nor big and the Lumia 830 is perfectly usable with just one hand, no special software modes or tweaks required.

Handling the Lumia 830

After spending a few minutes with the Nokia Lumia 830 we have already fallen in love with the design and build. Sure, the green paintjob isn't everyone's cup of tea, but that's why you can always opt for white, black or orange.

Controls

The entire Lumia 830's front is protected with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection. Above the beautiful ClearBlack display we find the 0.9MP front snapper, the earpiece and a couple of sensors. Unlike the Lumia 730/735 the front snapper is not selfi-centric.

A peek above and below the display

Below the 5" HD screen is where the traditional Windows control deck resides. You get three capacitive keys as usual Back, Start and Search. A tap and hold on the Back brings the multitasking menu upfront, while the Search key will either summon Cortana or pop up the Bing Search app.

The primary mic pinhole is just below the Start key.

The left side is completely bare, while the right is pretty busy - there are the aluminum volume rocker, power/lock key and the camera shutter. If you aren't keen on waking up your phone with a key, you can always turn on the double tap to wake option.

The left side is bare • all keys are on the right

The top of the Lumia 830 hosts a centrally-located 3.5mm audio jack next to the microUSB port, which is used for PC connections and wired charging. As we've already mentioned before, the retail package of the Lumia 830 doesn't come with a headset, so you'll have to get one extra.

There is nothing special to note on the bottom of the Lumia 830.

The top of the Lumia 830 • there is nothing at the bottom

We really like the back of the Lumia 830. The 10MP PureView camera with ZEISS optics is surrounded by a round black glass element, which looks gorgeous surrounded by the rear cover. The LED flash is also carved into the glass.

The back of the Lumia 830

Finally, the loudspeaker grill is at the bottom of the back, though it is much smaller than the dotted pattern suggests.

The battery cover of the Nokia Lumia 830 fits perfectly, but it's easily removable. Underneath lay the hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 128GB) and the nanoSIM bed. The battery is user exchangeable as well.

Removing the battery cover of the Lumia 830