Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

Microsoft has finally woke up to refuel its slowly dying windows phones. After acquiring Nokia’s mobile division Microsoft has had a dull phase as not a single new Microsoft branded flagship phones were introduced. Finally on Wednesday, ahead of upcoming holiday fever, Microsoft unveiled two new phones - Lumia 950 and its bigger sibling Lumia 950 XL. The lowest price of Lumia 950XL in India is expected to be 42,999 INR. Here’s a short review of Microsoft Lumia 950XL based on its specification.

As we all expect from Microsoft, its new phones will be running on mobile version of Windows 10. The extra-large Lumia 950XL ropes in a 5.7 Inch (1440 x 2560) OLED display with pixel density of 518ppi. It features a top of the line Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset coupled with 3GB of RAM. Since the handset houses best of the best SoC, it is expected to be a buttery swift performer.

Unlike Apple and Google, who gave a miss to expansion slots in their premium phone, Microsoft has ensured that its users won’t have to limit themselves to 32GB onboard storage. Beneath the rear casing, Microsoft has placed a microSD slot which supports storage expansion up to 200GB.

The handset also sports a 20MP rear camera with a triple-LED RGB flash module, optical image stabilization sensor and an f/1.9 aperture lens. The camera comes with capability of shooting 4K video. At the front, a 5-megapixel sensor with an f/2.4 aperture is present to capture decent selfies, even in low light. The front shooter is also capable of full-HD video recording.

Unlike most of the flagship phone what sets Microsoft new phone apart is its removable battery with built in wireless charging. Microsoft has used a USB Type C port, with rapid charging, which charges 50 percent battery in just 30 minutes. The Redmond giant also integrated Windows Hello biometric system in this new phone. A much awaited software feature is Continuum, with which you can connect your phone to a monitor and peripherals, to directly use it as a full-fledged Windows 10 PC. We expect availability of Lumia 950 XL online in India by the end of this year.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL fails to champion Windows 10 before the better, faster, stronger competition of Android and iOS phablets. The operating system is still in need of improvement and doesn't make for the kind of polished user experience that we're used to from competing devices. The phablet itself feels undercooked, as if it was quickly put together so that the new platform would have a launch device.read more →

While the Lumia 950 XL has the specs you'd want from a top-end phone, the Windows 10 experience offers no compelling reason to switch from iOS or Android.read more →

The Lumia 950 XL will work for existing Windows Phone users – but iOS and Android fans will remain disappointed.read more →