My theory on why the 950 and XL designs kinda suck.

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The Surface Phone In my eyes is just as real as the 950 & 950 XL, because not only have good sources windows central heavily suggested its existence in the rumor mill

What "good sources" have heavily suggested a Surface phone exists? Can you please be specific?

From what I've read, it seems to me that Cityman and Talkman are Microsoft's Hail Mary flagships. They offer all of the neat tech that has been promised over the past few months, and I really don't think we should expect another flagship anytime soon.

If nobody buys these phones we're probably screwed, and I wouldn't expect Microsoft to dump more cash into bringing another flagship to market. What more could a Surface phone possibly bring to the table other than a better looking design? Is that really what everyone is hoping for?
 
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What "good sources" have heavily suggested a Surface phone exists? Can you please be specific?

From what I've read, it seems to me that Cityman and Talkman are Microsoft's Hail Mary flagships. They offer all of the neat tech that has been promised over the past few months, and I really don't think we should expect another flagship anytime soon.

If nobody buys these phones we're probably screwed, and I wouldn't expect Microsoft to dump more cash into bringing another flagship to market. What more could a Surface phone possibly bring to the table other than a better looking design? Is that really what everyone is hoping for?

1000x this.

The increasing tendency to again move to, 'Oh these do suck, but just WAIT for (fill in rumored unicorn device) that will surely change the smartphone game, for real this time" is irksome.
My eyes roll so far back into my head, I probably resemble a slot machine.
 

bijak_riyandi

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I have the best "theory": we haven't seen any designs, only renders not from Microsoft and a few fuzzy leaked photos, so we don't know what the phones will look like.

exactly
I could see that the bottom bezel on the docked 950 XL picture is definitely smaller than the leaked "official render"
 

bijak_riyandi

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Other than the hideous worded logo on the front, that device is absolutely beautiful (front he perspective in getting of the front at least)

I hope you weren't one of those guys who lamented the 950 (XL)'s leaked pictures for having big bezels, because this one got even bigger bezels
 

Kram Sacul

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You know why they signed off on them? Because fanboys were getting their panties in a twist about not having a flagship device. Why else would they be releasing a Surface phone just six months later? They went with what they had from Nokia to SHUT YOU UP. And now you're upset that they're not taking longer. Awesome.

Excuses everywhere. They could've easily given us a better/more high end design. It's not like they have a shortage of design inspiration over at MS there unless that wasn't part of the deal with the badly thought out Nokia purchase.

Surface phone. lol
 

Eisenhorn76

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I agree, Huawei makes some beautiful phones now.

The funny thing is Huawei doesn't always insist on putting their logo on their devices. I was just curious to try one of their devices so I bought a Huawei Honor 4x. Pretty good device -- it's around on-par with a Lumia 640XL, specs-wise, if you're curious. There is no Huawei logo at all on the device -- the rear cover has an etched stylized 'Honor' logo on the back (it's actually not that bad) but there's no Huawei anywhere.

I sold it after 6 days of owning a new one but, by and large (it was too awkward to carrying four 5.5"+ smartphones around), it left me with a good impression of Huawei's phones. In fact, it got a 5.1.1. Android update (albeit as a public beta) much earlier than the vast majority of Samsung's Note 4 line (at the time, the Note5 was still just leaks and renders), which shows that the manufacturer is at least more conscious of providing after-sales support than in the past.

20 years from now, we might all be speaking of Huawei and Xiaomi in the same frame of reference that we speak about Samsung and LG today. We might also be thinking of MediaTek in the same manner that we think of Qualcomm today. It really shouldn't surprise anyone -- Apple, Sony, MSFT/Nokia et al have had their devices built/assembled there for a decade or so now. It was only a matter of time before their design and technical expertise flowed through to the local talent pool. It was never going to stay inert. I mean, who's leading the iOS Jailbreak scene now? It's Chinese talent.
 

iamakii

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There were nicely designed polycarbonate phones like 930, 1020, 1520 to name a few. 950 clearly isn't. And it's a flagship for J sake.
 

iamakii

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I have a better theory. Phones just don't pop out of know where. It takes years to produce a phone from design to market. So I think MS is simply just finishing up some old Nokia designs that were already in the works, although with some tweaks. The next wave, perhaps including a Surface Phone, will be MS true phone vision.

Just a theory 😉

I hope this is true because I am waiting for a true flagship phone from MS aka Surface Phone. That or it's time to say goodbye.
 

Vishca

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Personally I think the prototypes and renders ,and I repeat renders look OK. Remember renders can end up being better or worse in real life than presented. I tend to buy a phone based on what it can do for me at the time of purchase and how it fits in the hand, and as I have large hands I like a phone with a bit of weight. As stated by others most phones do live in a case, mine do until I get to my work place office or home as I like the feel without the case. Looks for me are secondary, functionality comes first. Be patient all, MS are giving you Flagship specs and possibly looks also. Besides you should be buying a phone for what it can do for you now, not purely it's looks. Would you partner up with some that looked good but are useless? I guess some of you would lol.
 
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bo_woods

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What "good sources" have heavily suggested a Surface phone exists? Can you please be specific?

From what I've read, it seems to me that Cityman and Talkman are Microsoft's Hail Mary flagships. They offer all of the neat tech that has been promised over the past few months, and I really don't think we should expect another flagship anytime soon.

If nobody buys these phones we're probably screwed, and I wouldn't expect Microsoft to dump more cash into bringing another flagship to market. What more could a Surface phone possibly bring to the table other than a better looking design? Is that really what everyone is hoping for?

Windows Central has posted quite a bit of articles detailing Microsoft's phone strategy, saying there would be six different MS phones released a year divided by three different phone tiers.. Budget Devices, Flagship Devices, & Business Devices (so most likely two phones in each tier)
After a few articles detailing on this strategy, not too long ago Windows Central posted an article stating their business device may be Surface branded

Microsoft may release as few as six smartphones per year going forward | Windows Central
Satya Nadella: Microsoft currently lacks good flagship phones, but 'we hope to change that with Windows 10' | Windows Central
Satya Nadella still 'committed' to Microsoft's phone business despite layoffs | Windows Central
Microsoft execs say Windows 10 Mobile 'is significantly feature complete', hints at Surface Phone | Windows Central
 

theefman

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You know why they signed off on them? Because fanboys were getting their panties in a twist about not having a flagship device. Why else would they be releasing a Surface phone just six months later? They went with what they had from Nokia to SHUT YOU UP. And now you're upset that they're not taking longer. Awesome.


Like the procession of low end crap was such a success at 2.5% marketshare and falling, right?
 

aXross

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replace the yellow polycarbonate with rose gold metal and it's an iPhone 6s. kinda.

Yeah, I actually realized that too since I saw iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. They're looks really like an inspiration 620 series of Lumia but in a metal body and done in a good way, but not all. I find the new iPhone from 6 up to now got a quite bit hideous back. Those thick plastic bands kinds of ruin the sleekness of iPhone 6 series, I wished that even Apple tries to do something about it. My first reaction about the leaked image of iPhone is also quite negative, but at least overall it wasn't that bad, its just not as good looking as iPhone 4 to 5s.

Now back to Lumia.
These low-midrange Lumia devices are actually look beautiful, they're minimalistic and still got a great sense of style and it shows how well thought the overall look of the device. The body showcase the color very well...no the body is designed for colors.

What I find with 950 and 950 XL are even quite a black sheep from these previous Lumia, design-wise. They some associated them that they're come from mid-range Lumia design, well in some ways I see it but I find mostly not. The only similarities they share is having a rounded corners and having a flat glass thus lacking curve glass in a shape that is generally a rounded rectangle slab. Well yeah but that's all about it, there are several areas that they don't share at all.
- The body doesn't look wrap around the screen bezel at all, which this where it shows what the color of the device at the front. This something what Lumia is mostly about, colors. This 950 and 950 XL deviates that Lumia (Fabula) design philosophy.
- Second the 950 and 950 XL have rather shaper edges and flat sides, unlike those low-midrange device got more rounded sides and edges. Though 640 and 640 XL got a flatter sides, but the tapered back is still naturally rounded to the back. The back are well design for ergonomics and that's why the back wraps around. 950 and 950 XL now got sharper edges which doesn't shows continuity.
- Speaker design in those photos of low-midrange Lumia got rather minimal and clean looking speaker designs. 950 and 950 XL got this dotted speaker design that looks it tries to borrow from 830, 925 and 1520 from the back, but the implementation are rather horrible. It speaker looks now like a cheap toy instead of supposed to be minimalistic beauty.

Maybe that 950 and 950 XL are indeed from Nokia portfolio, who knows. But the end-result seems like they're like a rejected designs but are archived for reference purpose only. Then Microsoft took over and reuse those templates and maybe did some modifications. Those modifications are less thought-out and only done for practical purposes while beauty comes 4th-class.
I actually even think that maybe 950 and 950 XL reference designs might originally looks better but the modifications ruins it.
 

nohra

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No matter how hard it is for you to believe,,its still true. These are NOKIA Designed phones.

I don't doubt this at all... but it's like we're getting the leftover, tossed-in-the-trashbin designs of Nokia. These look like they were possible designs for the 830 rather than a phone coming out a year after the 830...
 

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