Lumia 430 vs Lumia 435: How different are they?

But, coming not long after the Lumia 435 and being pretty close to it in the naming scheme, there are going to be those asking "so what's different?" It can get confusing, so here we try to break it down and see how, if at all, the Lumia 430 differs from the Lumia 435.

The first place to look is the specs. You might imagine that the Lumia 430 would be a lesser model on the hardware front, after all, 430 is lower than 435. On paper at least, that's not necessarily the case.

If you weren't confused before, the comparable specs above won't help you out with that. Aside from a slightly smaller battery and a slightly smaller RRP, the Lumia 430 is using almost identical hardware to the Lumia 435.

The only real difference on the hardware front is the design. The Lumia 430 is perhaps the true spiritual successor to the Lumia 530, with a similar appearance and less of the hardware compromises. The Lumia 435 on the other hand is square and a little blocky, resembling the Android powered Nokia X more so than any of its Lumia siblings.

The dual-SIM nature of the Lumia 430 isn't a stand-out point, either. The Lumia 435 is also available in dual-SIM form in selected markets, indeed the unit we reviewed from Vietnam was a dual-SIM phone, but in markets like the UK the second SIM slot isn't available.

Regional availability may play a factor, and honestly, if you're looking to buy one or the other that might be the differentiator. If you can't buy one or the other of these phones, then your decision is made for you. We'll have to spend some actual time with the Lumia 430 to see just how similar it is, but presented with the information we have right now, it's still a little confusing. They're both similarly priced and on the hardware should give almost identical experiences. Just don't ask us to pick one over the other.

So, are the two phones much different to one another? Honestly, no. It raises a couple of questions as to why these two different, yet incredibly similar devices launched so close together, but from a consumers perspective there's one thing we can say. You'll get the same quality of experience on whichever you choose.