Hands-on Experiences with the 950XL

[CygnusOrion]

Flat out I think Lumia 950 series are the best Windows Phones ever created.

 

[bo_woods]

I also got to play around with the new Pro 4... My store sadly doesn't have the Surface Book Yet, and is currently petitioning for it.

I Love the new Keyboard, Pen, and Larger, Higher Res Display (same foot print but larger display due to smaller bezels). The MS rep told me since I have a Pro 3 It would be better just to buy the new pen and keyboard, instead of getting the new Surface but from the iris scanner, to the thinner body, to the larger and sharper display with slimmer bezels, and improved cameras all the way down to the new shiny MS square logo... I STILL WANT IT

I would set the Surface Book as my goal, but since I'm more of an "Artist/Creative Software" based Surface™ User who is often dabbling in Toon Boom Harmony, Sony Video Editing Programs, and Art Rage instead of tasks that are more suitable for a laptop, I don't think I would really benefit that much from it... I like the idea of the larger display, but I like how the Pro series has the flippable keyboard that can simply be folded back, and you can ease the Surface lower with the Kickstand to create a Cintiq-like set up... With the Surface Book, it appears to be Laptop, Clipboard, or clipboard with a keyboard on the back.... from what I've seen in videos the hinge doesn't look stiff enough to hold still while someone rests their palm on the display and pushes down their pen all over and across the display. The screen would simply have to lay on the way down, which creates a slant that slopes down towards the direction I am facing which is the opposite effect artist want IMO.

Surface Pro 4- Tablet/Small Clipboard, Laptop with light thin board, or angled display with keyboard out of the way

Surface Book- Large Tablet/Big Clipboard or Laptop with Sturdy board

(taking the tablet off, flipping it around and clipping it back on backwards essentially achieves the same effect as using it as a stand alone tablet, just without USB ports, and the extra powerful GPU ( onto the S-Book only) which is why I don't include the positions of having the keyboard folded on the back of these devices)

The maxed out S-Book essentially has the better gpu, more ports, thinner chassis, larger display (same PPI), and sturdier laptop mode going by videos, review and spec sheets.

I would somewhat like the Surface Book more for the better gpu, extra USB port, thinner chassis, LARGER DISPLAY, and sturdier laptop mode.... but I like how quickly I can switch between laptop and "Cintiq mode" on the SP3... but to really come to a firm conclusion I'll need to actually experience for myself this 'ultimate laptop' going by the name of Surface Book... It might just in fact be able to perfectly produce the 'Cintiq mode' position just fine and I'm just a stupid mouse.... I'll find out

 

[ClixT]

Re: My Experience with the 950 XL

So I went to my local MS store to check out the Surface Book, but they didn't have it in that store so I checked out the 950XL and to my surprise, it's not a bad looking device at all. It's definitely lighter than my 920 and 1020, it's bigger but I can hold it with my small hands. Screen is superb as well. Conclusion: I went from disliking the device's design to I may consider getting it. Oh and they didn't have the 950 so I couldn't try it. I'll go to the other store to try that and the Book. Also the new Surface pen works for SP3.

 

[Nikita Van Vinci]

What about autofocus speed? How fast is it compared to l930?

 

[bo_woods]

What about autofocus speed? How fast is it compared to l930?

As fast as the 950 XL took photos in my experience, it was damn near instant... as matter of fact... It IS instant

 

[Kram Sacul]

These phones remind me of the 535... Looks cheap.

The 535 came in different colors at least.

Still not feeling the 950XL or the 950. On one hand the inside hardware is great. Probably everything a flagship device should have (-on screen buttons). That's about it though. The 1520 had way more style going on even if it was a monster.

Whenever I see the back of the 950XL I think of the back of the HTC One X with the camera circle from the 830 tacked on. They must've had a lot of those leftover.

 

[TechFreak1]

Thanks for the info everyone, relieved to hear that the demo units were actually dual sim models. As typically we don't get the dual sim options on the high end, here's hoping we get the dual sim versions in the UK too.

Anyone have any comments about the button placement on the XL?

 

[mckoo]

Nice....I'll be going to play this thing on the first day it appears in my country...

 

[ArtificiallyYours]

The jelly is real...

 

[narv]

Thanks for the info everyone, relieved to hear that the demo units were actually dual sim models. As typically we don't get the dual sim options on the high end, here's hoping we get the dual sim versions in the UK too.

Anyone have any comments about the button placement on the XL?

I was surprised too by the dual sim but I'm glad it's an option though I personally wouldn't use it I know there are a lot of people who will. When you mean button do you mean the onscreen keys or the buttons on the side of the XL? I'll address both from my perspective at least.

For the on screen buttons, coming from the 920 I've never had on screen so I was hesitant and only real info I had was reading comments on here about how "low end" it is. But honestly I LOVED them. They have a vibrate response when you hit the buttons so it's like pressing a button. And then you can hide them. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves with the 920 is when I turn my phone side-ways to watch a video, I will occasionally hit the back button or god forbid I hit the effin Cortana button. On screen you can swipe to hide the keys to avoid that. Adds a little extra room too on the screen. I absolutely love these now (plus they have color with your theme color too if I'm not mistaken so that's pretty cool! adds more personalization)

As for the side buttons, they were small and took some getting used to but weren't really an issue. I don't hate the broken up power and vol keys but it is different. With the bigger screen size I feel the buttons are more "centered". I assume so you don't have to reach to get to them. But I felt myself having to almost reach IN to hit the buttons. But I'm sure that is just something I can get used to. The buttons are actually part of the back and not the phone itself. So to me it looks like backs COULD (in theory) have buttons that have a themed design as well. For those interested in that kind of look.

 

[TechFreak1]

I was surprised too by the dual sim but I'm glad it's an option though I personally wouldn't use it I know there are a lot of people who will. When you mean button do you mean the onscreen keys or the buttons on the side of the XL? I'll address both from my perspective at least.

For the on screen buttons, coming from the 920 I've never had on screen so I was hesitant and only real info I had was reading comments on here about how "low end" it is. But honestly I LOVED them. They have a vibrate response when you hit the buttons so it's like pressing a button. And then you can hide them. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves with the 920 is when I turn my phone side-ways to watch a video, I will occasionally hit the back button or god forbid I hit the effin Cortana button. On screen you can swipe to hide the keys to avoid that. Adds a little extra room too on the screen. I absolutely love these now (plus they have color with your theme color too if I'm not mistaken so that's pretty cool! adds more personalization)

As for the side buttons, they were small and took some getting used to but weren't really an issue. I don't hate the broken up power and vol keys but it is different. With the bigger screen size I feel the buttons are more "centered". I assume so you don't have to reach to get to them. But I felt myself having to almost reach IN to hit the buttons. But I'm sure that is just something I can get used to. The buttons are actually part of the back and not the phone itself. So to me it looks like backs COULD (in theory) have buttons that have a themed design as well. For those interested in that kind of look.

Thanks for the detailed post :smile:.

You wouldn't be able use cases with different button layouts as the buttons have a small rubber contact inside the phone and the buttons on the case have a little nub on them (inside the case).

So when the case buttons are pressed, the nub pushes down on the rubber contact on the phone thus initiating an action on the screen. This principle is true for all physical buttons - keyboard, mouse etc.

You could of course use cases with different styled buttons but the layout cannot be altered.

 

[narv]

Thanks for the detailed post :smile:.

You wouldn't be able use cases with different button layouts as the buttons have a small rubber contact inside the phone and the buttons on the case have a little nub on them (inside the case).

So when the case buttons are pressed, the nub pushes down on the rubber contact on the phone thus initiating an action on the screen. This principle is true for all physical buttons - keyboard, mouse etc.

You could of course use cases with different styled buttons but the layout cannot be altered.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, yes that is what I meant. The layout can't change, but they can be styled.

 

[TechFreak1]

Sorry if I wasn't clear, yes that is what I meant. The layout can't change, but they can be styled.

Ah okay, I don't suppose you got check if the surface pen works with the XL?

 

[wayn1ak]

Saw the Lumia 950 XL in store tonight. I was set on white but the black actually looks quite classy. The side buttons have a nice solid feel when you press them. The bezels are very nice. Actually, the phone isn't that much bigger than my HTC One M8 so that's good for pocketbility and it felt really light.

Software wise, W10M is quick and fluid. There are some glitches I came across but I know this is all being improved. For example, the slider for display brightness in settings wasn't very smooth and stuttered when you moved the slider around. Making app folders on the start screen was finicky and wouldn't cooperate.

The camera was super fast!! Although, the autofocus had a bit of trouble sometimes (software can fix it I'm sure). Picture quality was amazing and crisp.

BTW, my store had a Surface Book but they were still prepping it. One of the employees was nice enough to bring it out (powered off) so that a bunch of us can fondle it for a few minutes hahaha

 

[MikeSo]

About the bezel, yeah I was surprised how small it was. On the sides, it was actually a tiny bit smaller than on the Icon, I believe. Very nicely done.

 

[narv]

Ah okay, I don't suppose you got check if the surface pen works with the XL?

I feel like this is something they would have announced and I know it was in the original rumors for the phone. I'll have to check, but I'm not sure if they will let me take a surface pen and move it to the phone but i'll try asking one the people. I want to go back again and play a bit more now that I've spoke to all of you and got question ideas. But unfortunately it'll be a few days before I can get there again so hopefully someone else can go sooner and see!

 

[Zachary Boddy]

It's great to see all these good experiences.

 

[Tomika1234]

I went in myself and checked out the 950XL and surprisingly the rep said they will only carry 950XL in the US..not sure how accurate that is but definitely interesting. I really liked the phone and agree with most of the folks black looks much better, white is somewhat cheap looking. The rep also said they will have a bunch of options in the store to customize the back, so it does not really matter which you buy. Phone felt super nice but I did not like the iris scanner, to enable it you need to press the power button for like a good second, you cannot use it with double tap, and you need to hold it up to your face which is not convenient most of the times. It felt more hassle than just double tap, and type the passcode. IPhone fingerprint reader seems faster and more practical at this point and I am not an iclone fan..

 

[TechFreak1]

I feel like this is something they would have announced and I know it was in the original rumors for the phone. I'll have to check, but I'm not sure if they will let me take a surface pen and move it to the phone but i'll try asking one the people. I want to go back again and play a bit more now that I've spoke to all of you and got question ideas. But unfortunately it'll be a few days before I can get there again so hopefully someone else can go sooner and see!

Thanks :grin: we don't have Microsoft stores in London unfortunately... I was hoping they would at least repurpose some of the care points as Microsoft care points or something...

 

[narv]

I went in myself and checked out the 950XL and surprisingly the rep said they will only carry 950XL in the US..not sure how accurate that is but definitely interesting. I really liked the phone and agree with most of the folks black looks much better, white is somewhat cheap looking. The rep also said they will have a bunch of options in the store to customize the back, so it does not really matter which you buy. Phone felt super nice but I did not like the iris scanner, to enable it you need to press the power button for like a good second, you cannot use it with double tap, and you need to hold it up to your face which is not convenient most of the times. It felt more hassle than just double tap, and type the passcode. IPhone fingerprint reader seems faster and more practical at this point and I am not an iclone fan..

Well it's still "Beta" so here is hoping it gets to be a bit faster. Should probably start a few uservoices though to vote on it and the request to put a fingerprint scanner in addition to iris for those interested. Or have it work from glance screen (idk if the tech can allow for that).

So they will have more backs sold in the MS store? That's good to know. Did you by chance ask if the other backs they'll sell will have Qi wireless charging included? Since that is built into the case itself.

That's odd too if they will only carry the 950 XL and not the 950. Did she by chance mean prior to release of the phones? If not then I'm a bit confused by this strategy. I can understand selling it basically through AT&T and MS Store only, though I know everywhere would be ideal. But to only sell 1 variant in store and the rest online seems odd to me. Perhaps an inventory issue?