The Microsoft Lumia 950 and its bigger brother, the XL, were released this week, exactly a year ago. While the hardware did not change, at all, the phone itself feels a lot different now than it did a year ago. So what happened?
Hardware and Design
At the end of 2015, both 950 and 950 XL had flagship-grade specifications. However, a lot changed since then. Qualcomm released their new 820 Snapdragon chips and the newest high-end Android smartphones pushed the new RAM standard well above the Lumia's measly 3GB. Nokia set new standards for phone cameras on the "classic" Lumia line, but Microsoft did their best to carry on that legacy. Samsung and Apple both managed to catch up in the last few years, but the 20MP shooter on the 950 (XL) is no bad camera. It manages to hold its own against all competitors. It just takes beautiful pictures. The battery is large enough at 3000mAh ( 3400mAh for the XL) to last you through a full day and the QuickCharge 3.0 support comes to the rescue, should you forget to plug in the phone at night.
What the Lumia is certainly lacking, is that distinctive design. The industrial matte plastic design does not look worthy of the name "flagship" at all; it does not stand out from the crowd.
Software
The most noticeable changes occurred on the software side of things. The 950 (XL) was plagued by a lot of issues at launch, including but not limited to: WiFi connections dropping or restarting for no reason, Bluetooth not working, no Glance Screen support, apps freezing and so on. Surprisingly, Microsoft fixed most of that with the Anniversary Update. Camera and app support also improved along the OS.
Comparison with new high-end Windows Phones
Hewlett-Packard and Alcatel both introduced new Windows Phones this year, equipped with new hardware, namely the Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM. However, Windows 10 Mobile is a lightweight OS and you will only notice a difference if you use Continuum. Here, the 808 on the 950 and the 810 on the XL paired with the 3Gb of RAM will show their true "age". Universal Windows Platform apps will load somewhat slower and connect to a wireless display or PC using Miracast will feel sluggish.
Should you buy it?
Considering everything I wrote above, the Lumia is a solid all-rounder Windows Phone. Compared to the new Windows Phones, the 950 will set you back significantly less (about 300$ compared to the 700$ you will drop on the HP Elite X3). It is an amazing phone, build for Windows Phone fans. To those who are just getting into Windows 10 Mobile: you have come to the right place. Although you will hate the lack of apps, you will love just about everything else the 950 has to offer. As a bonus, the devices have been discontinued by the manufacturer (namely Microsoft) and the prices went down abruptly… You will hardly find a flagship for less than 350$ that can do so many great things like the Lumia 950 and the 950 XL…
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