Microsoft Lumia 950XL: both leader and outsider

HighRabbit · February 6, 2016

Hey guys, as always, I have copied the whole article from my blog (except images, text under them, and some outside links) here, so you can simply scroll down and read. However, if you enjoy the full experience of reading, you can read the same text in my blog, here. Enjoy reading, and comment!

I have said many things about the Windows 10 Mobile before I even had a chance to try it out. Well, now I’ve got a chance – Microsoft gave me to try out its Microsoft Lumia 950XL – the newest company’s flagship device with the successor of Windows Phone on the board. Let’s see, if was I right about the Windows 10 Mobile and is the Lumia 950XL worth the attention?

Design is dull

Many flagships nowadays look like no other phone – LG G4, Galaxy S6 and even iPhone 6 – all these phones are unique. However, Lumia 950XL’s design is quite… boring. It’s not bad by any means, but let’s understand that “not bad” is not enough when we are talking about flagships.

The face of Microsoft Lumia 950XL looks pretty much the same as on the Lumia 550, but they have a huge price difference. Screen, a logo and the front-facing cam. That’s the case with most of the phones, but I’d like to see something more spectacular.

The back side of the phone is a bit better – it’s made from polycarbonate, it has a nice aluminum Microsoft’s logo, and, of course, a huge camera module that makes this phone look at least a little bit different than others.

So, it’s not the worst flagship phone design ever (I’d say it probably was Samsung Galaxy SIII), but Microsoft is not a leader in the market and this company definitely needs something more.

But the screen is fantastic

If you are that type of person who looks at the screen more than at phone’s design, Lumia 950XL may be the right choice for you. It has a 5.7-inch QHD AMOLED screen and it’s amazing – black is perfectly deep, and other colours are just fantastic. Visibility in the sunlight is fine, viewing angles are great. I love AMOLED screens!

My opinion about Windows 10 Mobile hasn’t changed too much

Windows 10 Mobile probably won’t catch up its competitors soon. Yeah, it is better than Windows Phone 8 was, but that’s not enough – there are quite a lot bugs: speakers are hissing and discharging the phone sometimes, also, it tends to reboot or just get stuck. And not to mention that app gap – apps such as Facebook or Messenger are insanely buggy and they have such little functionality, it drove me nuts. And there are no Feedly, Todoist or Snapchat apps – whooot?

Although Windows 10 Mobile performs fine, I think that there are way too many loading screens and animations that make the phone feel not as quick as it should. Of course, while gaming or browsing the internet, Snapdragon 810 and 3 gigs of RAM does its job.

What else is good? Windows Hello and Continuum. Damn, I loved these two and I want these to become a standart on smartphones! Windows Hello simply unlocks your phone by scanning your eyes with front camera and IR blaster and it works even when it’s dark (it’s slow, but it works), meanwhile, Continuum is basically our future. If you use your computer only to browse the web, check your email, watch some YouTube and work with Office, Continuum is fully enough for your needs. Yeah, it’s a bit laggy, especially when watching YouTube video, but at least, it gives us a peek how our future might look like.

But overall, my opinion about the Windows 10 Mobile hasn’t changed yet – let’s give it some more time.

Camera is almost perfect in light and terrible in dark

Well, the title says it all. Microsoft Lumia 950XL has a perfect camera if you take pictures in good lighting – colors are vivid, everything is very sharp (not too much), white balance is okay – everything is just fine after all. Although, the autofocus could be a little faster.

However, when I tried to take pictures in the dark, 950XL just couldn’t focus. I think it’s more a software issue, but that again proves my point that Windows 10 Mobile is pretty much in beta. I really hope that it is really not a hardware issue as I believe that this phone could take some really great pictures in the dark. You can check the photos with your own eyes here.

Battery that will last you a day

If you use you’re an intensive smartphone user (and if you buy a flagship device such as Lumia 950XL, you should be), the battery will last you no more than a day. I’m not impressed, but it’s fine. You can even go through two days if you use your phone very moderately. The only thing I was dissapointed in this department is the stand-by time. That was quite bad, even without the speaker hissling (one of those software issues).

Microsoft Lumia 950XL is a different phone

People usually use the word different when they want to say that something/someone is bad in a polite way. So, yeah, Microsoft Lumia 950XL is a different phone, it is not for everyone, it is created only for a very specific group of people. That group is so specific that Microsoft should even reconsider their tactic, the group is way too specific.

Microsoft Lumia 950XL is a smartphone for those who don’t need apps, who are really patient and for those who won’t be annoyed by all the temporary (I hope) bugs of Windows 10 Mobile, and for those who are ready to pay a lot. It is a phone for those who need only a good pocket camera with a beautiful screen. It may be a phone for those, who are really enthusiastic about futuristic devices. It is a phone for real Windows Phone fans. In a conclusion, Microsoft Lumia 950XL is a phone for very few.

atrash · February 11, 2016

You should write down what W10M build the phone is on. I'm currently on Insiders Preview fast ring (build 105686.107) and every latest update I get makes a whole world of difference in terms of stability and performance. Autofocus in dark especially with no real close subject to focus on is generally bad with almost all phones. Rich capture should be turned off when taking photos at night, at least from my experience. Loading screens are usually because of the app not being optimised for the OS. Spotify is one of the worst offender in my book. First party app and those Universal Apps work fine. The age old app gap argument has already been discussed too death and I think no point of pointing it out any further.

I agree the phone is not for everyone and the OS is not yet ready for major public adoption. But at the rate Microsoft is pushing updates to the OS, it won't be long before it will be almost perfect to use (it already is kinda perfect for me right now anyway)