Should I buy a 950XL or wait for the "Surface Phone"??

[lankylars]

If you can afford to do a one to 1.5 year upgrade cycle, get the 950 or 950 XL now and then await the Surface Phone. The 950 XL has been a positive experience overall for me. There are still many kinks to be worked out of W10, but Microsoft has moved to a frequent update model which is a welcome change for how smartphone updates are handled.

 

[kodos78]

My hand was forced - I was planning on waiting for the mythical "Surface Phone", to see how 2016 would shake out. But then I broke my old phone, and needed a new one. I bought the 950XL. It has been a great phone so far for me. Very quick, and stable. Would have liked a better build quality, but I figure if you want to have a phone that has features like Continuum, it really was a great choice. Plus, we will have a couple of years to watch Windows 10 Mobile grow with the phone. I'd also give MS a whole generation of improvements to the first-gen Surface Phone (can you imagine how many bugs will be in that thing?).

Anyhow, I am very happy with the 950XL so far. Looking forward to seeing how the next Windows Phones will push the envelope but for now am very happy with what I have.

 

[koffiejunk]

Better wait for the iphone 12 it is gonna be a beast..

 

[jcrod73]

It depends on how long you are willing to wait for the surface phone. I'll probably be getting a 950xl if Vodafone UK ever decide to stock it.

I will say this the 930 is a very good phone to run w10 on, so if you can find one for a decent price it might make a good stop gap if you decide to wait.

Here's the reason you should upgrade now. Plain and simple!

950 XL all the way i switched from VZW to ATT for the phone and i love it, have really no problems with it. And IF there is a SPhone it will be a first gen product like the SBook and do you really want that? It might not be all its cracked up to be EVEN IF it comes out

If you're not happy with your current device, why would you wait?...

If you can afford to do a one to 1.5 year upgrade cycle, get the 950 or 950 XL now and then await the Surface Phone. The 950 XL has been a positive experience overall for me...

My hand was forced - I was planning on waiting for the mythical "Surface Phone", to see how 2016 would shake out. But then I broke my old phone, and needed a new one. I bought the 950XL. It has been a great phone so far for me...

Thanks everyone!!! LOOKS LIKE I'LL BE PICKING UP A 950XL SOON!!! :excited:

 

[snakebitten]

I gotta admit that I was NOT expecting the overwhelming majority to advise FOR, vs against.
I clicked this thread with total expectation of seeing yet another bash-diverted mess. How refreshing to be wrong!

Count me in as someone who actually recommends the 950's to anyone over 18 (slap at snapchat culture...couldn't resist) and has direct deposit. (Cuz it IS painful to lose the mobile deposit features of bank apps)

As for the Surface Phone, whatever it is or isn't when it actually gets here doesn't matter to me as much as some. And that is simply because it is just the next phone. There is going to be one after that and another after that. Technology marches on. And that's a good thing.

 

[signal-2-noise]

Better wait for the iphone 12 it is gonna be a beast..

At least 0.2mm thinner!

 

[nausky]

Honestly, my family members all look at my phone with envy (for ui and camera mostly, some also love the sleek professional look of it). But due to the overwhelming amount of negativity I see about the 950s online, I've told them to look elsewhere for a phone. I know all too well that online PR and uninformed/loud voices with bad experiences can completely ruin someone's perception or enjoyment of something.

But personally, I highly recommend it. All devices are going to have issues, regardless of what brand is on it. The worst of mine are that I have to restart Bluetooth occasionally and Hulu doesn't have a continuum enabled app, so i can't use it to cast to my Chromecast.

But beyond that, the day to day experience with this phone is great. These are all 3rd party apps that I adore far more than the official versions on Android:

Aeries (twitter)
Readit (best reddit client feature-wise, better performance would make it perfect)
PerfectTube (YouTube is ad free on windows mobile btw)
Ouga (Tumblr)
Unstreams (Twitch)

Bookviser is also so much better for an epub reader/organizer than anything I've been able to find on competing platforms.

As far as Microsofts own offerings go, Groove is best on Windows Mobile. The Android app is terrible, but Groove is Imo very good now. And nothing quite beats live tiles for calendar and email accounts.

But the real winner here is the camera. I have so much fun with it. It does such a good job on the auto settings--completely effortless.

 

[Grodelj]

The phone is fantastic..but unfortunately you must be prepared to do some BETA testing, beacause there are still a lot of annoying bugs. Do not expect it to be running smoothly and without problems. You might see an ocasional restart, bluetooth connection dropping, noise cancelling not working, etc. I am not saying that this is always happening, but sometimes it does.

 

[beman39]

The phone is fantastic..but unfortunately you must be prepared to do some BETA testing, beacause there are still a lot of annoying bugs. Do not expect it to be running smoothly and without problems. You might see an ocasional restart, bluetooth connection dropping, noise cancelling not working, etc. I am not saying that this is always happening, but sometimes it does.

disagree with your post, I have NONE of those problems with my phone 0, zilch, nada... maybe YOUR phone does, but don't project those problems on other phones...

 

[chezm]

If I were shopping for a new WP, personally I'd go with a 1520 right now and wait for the surface phone. But that's me.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Alain_A]

Zenfone 2 android already has a Intel chip in their phone: Z3580 and 3590

 

[isaac lee ishida]

I will wait Surface Phone (if they exist). But if Surface phone does not exist, I will buy next High End Lumia. Given that Microsoft may launch Surface Phone and High End Lumia at the same time. Or Microsoft will launch the High End Lumia first, and a few months later, they will launch Surface Phone. You do not have to wait too long for both smart phone. At that time you will have more choices. I will not buy the Lumia 950 or 950 XL now, because I've seen various issues on the phone. Although they have been replaced with a new phone, but there are still many problems occur. 950 and 950 XL seems to experiments product by Microsoft. I will wait until Windows Mobile software becomes more stable and mature, possible when Surface Phone launched later , if they exist, or next High End Lumia come.

 

[winboy]

I will wait Surface Phone (if they exist). But if Surface phone does not exist, I will buy next High End Lumia. Given that Microsoft may launch Surface Phone and High End Lumia at the same time. Or Microsoft will launch the High End Lumia first, and a few months later, they will launch Surface Phone. You do not have to wait too long for both smart phone. At that time you will have more choices. I will not buy the Lumia 950 or 950 XL now, because I've seen various issues on the phone. Although they have been replaced with a new phone, but there are still many problems occur. 950 and 950 XL seems to experiments product by Microsoft. I will wait until Windows Mobile software becomes more stable and mature, possible when Surface Phone launched later , if they exist, or next High End Lumia come.

I got my 950 XL since day one of release on Thanksgiving and my phone has been running smoothly without any major problems ever since so don't assume all 950 XL are problematic. I have already retired my aging outdated 1520 since the day I replaced it on Thanksgiving night and it is now collecting dust on the shelf.

 

[Axeelant]

Here are my 2 cents

I was waiting so bad for lumia 950 xl to come out, so i could buy it on day 1. So the day came, went straight to one of the stores, cash in my hand, then i saw they only sell single SIM. So i decided not to buy it, and look for it online. A few days later, i got lucky with Surface pro 4 and won an ebay auction. This way my need to buy a 950xl disappeared, for now. Also, to be honest, my Lumia 930 is still a quite powerful phone, runs quite good considering win 10 technical preview. So i will just save some money and wait for this rumored Surface phone or a new flagship lumia, and buy that

How i would like a surface pone to look? Take SP4 and scale it down, use the same materials, and that would be it

 

[isaac lee ishida]

Maybe your Lumia 950 XL works fine. But do not assume that all Lumia 950 or 950 XL also works well ... In my place there are two Microsoft store that were forced to stop selling Lumia 950 and XL 950 because there are many problems, including restart unexpectedly. This happened globally ... I am a windows fan and Lumia users. But what happening is the fact...

 

[Grodelj]

disagree with your post, I have NONE of those problems with my phone 0, zilch, nada... maybe YOUR phone does, but don't project those problems on other phones...

Are you using BT headset or car connection a lot?
As for noice cancelling, there are other users with exactly the same problem, it seem so have something to do with hey cortana. As I said => BETA.

 

[Jean Claude Lopez]

Ok...I have a 640XL now. Not happy with it. So at this point should I buy a 950XL (it would be an unlocked one) or should I wait it out and see what becomes of these "Surface Phone" rumors??

Good luck on that rumor. Because it's not confirmed by Microsoft, plus the 950 just came out, and Microsoft took 1.5 years to come with a flagship. So, if you're willing to wait until 2018, then go ahead and wait for the "surface" phone.

 

[winboy]

Maybe your Lumia 950 XL works fine. But do not assume that all Lumia 950 or 950 XL also works well ... In my place there are two Microsoft store that were forced to stop selling Lumia 950 and XL 950 because there are many problems, including restart unexpectedly. This happened globally ... I am a windows fan and Lumia users. But what happening is the fact...

So, you never owned one and you automatically assume if you get one it will have problems? Ok whatever works for you.

 

[Krystianpants]

Maybe your Lumia 950 XL works fine. But do not assume that all Lumia 950 or 950 XL also works well ... In my place there are two Microsoft store that were forced to stop selling Lumia 950 and XL 950 because there are many problems, including restart unexpectedly. This happened globally ... I am a windows fan and Lumia users. But what happening is the fact...

If your willing to wait till September and use the first generation of whatever they put in it. Qualcomm socs have been around for ages and ms still had issues that require firmware updates and such. Look at surface book and pro 4. Many issues that require lots of updates and firmware. I rather use xl till they get a 2nd gen surface phone. Latest firmware update and os had made the xl awesome fixing many issues including the Bluetooth ones. So your complaints are all being fixed. They were pulled because the firmware and software was just not stable enough for general audience but as they sort things out can only get better. Honestly I love my xl. Spend more time in it than on pc. I also use it in continuum as my main non gaming pc. It's still early stages so I'll use new rdp app to gaming machine if I need anything where apps don't support continuum or w32 apps.

 

[Hildr]

Well, for me, this is easy:

950 is not the best looking, but it has the best spec for now.
Surface phone will be top notch in 8-10months. But:
Well, it's possible they will not be ARM, so, somewhat really inovative for that form factor. Look at the first surface, and at the surface book, there were (and are, for the SB) lots of problems, regarding the build conception, or even the firmware/software. The first really amazing surface tablet for me is the 3rd, and I'm pretty sure the surface phone 2 will be a huge improvment over the first one.

So all in all, I prefer to have a good phone now, let the "test phone" be, and go for the second iteration of the surface phone, which in any case will be better than the 950 AND the surface phone of this year.

Now that I have the 950XL in my hand,I have no doubts I will keep it for two year, whatever the first surface phone will be.