Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy?

[Scott Pisciotta]

As I sit here using my 950XL and how disappointing it has been from the 1020. As I relive how miserable the windows phone 10 rollout has been. As I see MSFT's quarterly numbers basically saying their phone business is dead.

Where do us long term die hard MSFT fans go? I can't go back to AAPL, I despise the whole iPhone ITunes debacle that made me almost throw away my early iPhones?

Android???

Sad day in MSFT land...

 

[mggm100]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I came to a 950 XL from a 1020. I was hesitant to do so, but after using it for about 6 weeks now I'm glad I did.

I have no idea what my next phone will be. The reason I came to WM is because I became bored with Android and grew tired of looking at it. So far, I not getting bored with WM10 and still like the way it looks. So I won't be making a decision about another phone in the foreseeable future.

 

[PepperdotNet]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I too got a 950XL to replace a 1020 and sure there have been the occasional bug but I have no regrets at all. It has been even better with the recent Redstone builds, if you're not on Insider you will get that on August 2nd.

 

[Mad Cabbie]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Will it be the last? Not according to MSFT. They have withdrawn from the craziness of the past couple of tears when there were more devices than users! There won't be anything every 5 mins, but more likely a yearly cycle. I guess that depends on OEM's efforts and sales.

The 950xl is somewhat hamstrung on the threshold builds (10586.xx). It feels sluggish. However, the anniversary update (RS1) liberates the phone. It feels so much more responsive, more useable and generally a better device. The current preview build is very stable. It should be, its only a couple of weeks until the rollout of RS1. The smoothness of operation is on a par with 8.1, and surprised me when I went insider.

I have no interest in Android. Been there, done that, cooked roms etc. I'm not a fan of gimmicks like stupid curved screens, or LG's so called new modular system. Why would I want to carry a pocket full of modules?

When I look for a device, I look for something that offers something different, oddball or just plain interesting. I use continuum a lot. Shame the Iris thing is hit and miss...

 

[PGrey]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

The one feature that may break this for me is WiFi calling. During the winter we're often at a location where I've got great WiFi, and no cell signal, and it's frustrating to miss calls, texts, etc.
I realize this is a combined MS/provider issue, and if my provider would just provision as-is, it would likely work (they currently only support the 950, branded, and the same for everything but iOS, it must be branded, frustrating).
If this changes though, and they start to support other un-branded devices, this would likely be my breaking point. I've been on WP since the inception too, struggled through those very early devices...

 

[DCW1000]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I came to the 950XL from a 930 and was mildly disappointed in the somewhat limited scope seen in the first insider releases of Windows 10 Mobile. But a year's worth of improvements to the OS have left me feeling comfortable about the prospects of even more polish and expanded features as months go on. If I get run over by a bus tomorrow, I guess the 950XL would have been the last W10 device I bought, but my expectation is that I will probably continue to upgrade every year or two if the feature set continues to grow. I don't see any reason to drop it in favor of either iOS10 (which I am running in Beta on a 6S+) or Android N (which I am running in Beta on a Nexus 6P). I have Fast Ring build 14393 on my 950XL. Not one of these has been less than adequate, and not one has in the aggregate moved out in front of the other two. I just like the Windows system a little more.

I think the rule of thumb here is that anyone who has a bad or unsatisfactory experience with one of these OS choices should walk away and never look back -- at least until later bad experiences with the other two have put them all on an equal footing again, at which point the challenge will be to pick the least annoying alternative.

 

[anthonyng]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

As I sit here using my 950XL and how disappointing it has been from the 1020.

I don't understand how people can say this. Ok I came from only Lumia 920 (and 930 inbetween) but the only real difference was the camera. It's an aging device and the OS is old.

Otherwise the whole W10m today on redstone insider fast especially is way better overall than windows 8.1.

W10m with my W10 surface 3 both insider fast, this windows 10 thing is great. Continuum fantastic... especially for traveling light!

 

[Ertonimus]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

If you really want to appreciate a windows phone try switching to Android. My 950 was stepped on a few weeks ago and the digitzer/screen was damaged to the point that I couldn't use it. Instead of buying a new one I picked up a Blu Vivo Air LTE so I could check out Android while I wait to hear what the camera's like on the HP Elite X3. I thought it would be fun to try all the apps I haven't been able to use on W10m like Snapchat, Bumble, Pok?mon Go etc... So far after three weeks of use I'm amazed at how horrible the Android OS is. Apps crash much more frequently than they do on w10m, it took three days and a lot of tweaking settings in individual apps and in various places in the android settings to finally get my contacts to sync from my gmail and outlook accounts, when I add contacts they often only appear temporarily and then the name is disassociated from the phone number if I look at my call or text history, I add widgets one day and then they are gone the next and I have to add them again, yesterday all my text convos disappeared and wouldn't come back until I did a hard reset... I could probably go on but I think you get the idea. Although, it's kind of fun using Snapchat I would much rather have a stable, intuitive, aesthetically pleasing OS than another means to broadcast my life and check in others.

As an aside, I'm truly amazed at tech reviewers who laud Android while giving W10/W8 lukewarm at best and scathing at worst reviews. For an OS that's been out for almost 10 years now I can't believe I'm having so many issues with my android phone... how reviewers overlook all the problems Android has solely because it has apps yet trash w10/18 I have no idea. Although, I'm not na?ve to fanboyism I'm surprised at how great of lengths tech reviewers will go to promote a half baked OS like Android...

P.S the Vivo Air is by far the slickest looking and feeling smartphone I've ever owned. It would be amazing if they released a w10m version...

 

[JRDEMASKUS]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I probably wouldn't choose an off brand "budget" device to make a comparison against a "flagship" offering, or general determination of an OS.
That is just not a fair and reasonable test.
My "spare" HTC M9 (Android 6.0) runs better than my "Primary" 950 XL.
Hopefully I won't be able to say That much longer.

When it comes time to replace my 950 XL, depending on the devices offered, and the standing of the OS, I would choose Windows Phone again. Why? I just "Want" it. My device Lust knows no better. That is the Only reason I bought the 950 XL. Sure, I came up with enough rational to justify the purchase, but the letdown has been equal to the high price I had to pay.

I would also consider Android, and probably keep a second device as I do now. I find no more fault in the function of the OS than I do in WP right now.

Android is only 1 function short of being my primary OS. At this point I am a "mindless Windows Phone ******" who doesn't know when to give up the ship.

 

[rollindice]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I came also from 1020, now I have Lumia 950 DS Unlocked NAM Version, I prefer it much to over my 1020,i'll say i'll have this phone for quite sometime cause it has everything most windows phone fans asked for, I might give wife mine and get 950 XL, I won't be changing platforms, I love the Windows EcoSystem, I just hope market share goes up, I made over 100 persons switch from other phones to Windows Phones and assisted them all get Windows 10 on theirs(Lumia 640s mostly through Upgrade Advisor), my wife has 830, her experience hasn't been that nice despite having similar specs to the 640 + better cam, i'm from Caribbean and many persons here have Android but have lots of issues with it and they don't have access to apps ,they have to use other stores other than playstore, when I show them the simple interface and Start Screen, they love the simplicity but yet it works.

 

[jlzimmerman]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Only if Microsoft gives up on Windows Mobile.

 

[Kevin Rush]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

No. Don't be ridiculous.

 

[Jorge Barrios1]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

not quite sure I recently drop my 950 XL for a Galaxy S7, the difference has been really enormous, but maybe its because i was on official builds, and suffered for daily reboots and lags in whatsapp and the keyboard and I don't really like the idea of doing a Hard Reset I't just dont fit in my mind that you have to do that to a "flagship phone". Lets hope it gets better with redstone but meanwhile I'm rocking the S7.

 

[anon(5326758)]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I've had a 1020, 930 and now 950XL. I've had the 950 since basically the new year, and by now I'm not sure what there is to miss from the older two phones. After trying to find something to do with my old 1020 and failing (it is just too slow), I used it as trade-in credit to get my wife a 950.

Really when you talk about whether to keep a phone, you should consider how well it works for you right now - not six months ago, not in the future, but now in your hands. If it works, keep it. I wouldn't pay too much attention to market share or app numbers unless you are a dev or really need an app that's not here. For me the Win10 ecosystem doesn't lack anything and the 950s are easy to use, fast and stable. For someone else that might not be true, and they need to make a move. Don't sweat it - you don't owe Microsoft anything.

Windows Mobile isn't going away. Microsoft-built phones will probably go away, but Microsoft is committed to continuing Mobile development for the long haul.

 

[jerreldulay]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I am not excited about being stuck and an iPhone or an Android. I could live with Android, but my battery certainly won't. I would prefer WP to be stronger and more active... That's a big reason why my team and I keep aiming to publish games on WP. It's the only proactive thing we can do to help the WP platform. The UI on 10 mobile is so sleek.

 

[Narathan]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I'm not really happy with my 950XL but thats more because it doesn't feel and look like a flagship. I've paid ?650 for a phone that looks like a mid-range phone. But a lot has changed after half a year and the phone still functions amazingly well, albeit a bit short on battery life from time to time.

But I'm definitly interested in other OEMS coming along and introducing me to something good looking. I love my Xiaomi Mi5 but the thing has been in the drawer because of the software on it. I bought the device, hoping they would release a W10M rom for it like they did for the Mi4. *sad face*

Ahh, and the Vaio Phone Biz. If that thing were cheaper and 100% guarenteed to get RS1 till RS3, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[Kevin Rush]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I'm not really happy with my 950XL but thats more because it doesn't feel and look like a flagship. I've paid ?650 for a phone that looks like a mid-range phone. But a lot has changed after half a year and the phone still functions amazingly well, albeit a bit short on battery life from time to time.

But I'm definitly interested in other OEMS coming along and introducing me to something good looking. I love my Xiaomi Mi5 but the thing has been in the drawer because of the software on it. I bought the device, hoping they would release a W10M rom for it like they did for the Mi4. *sad face*

Ahh, and the Vaio Phone Biz. If that thing were cheaper and 100% guarenteed to get RS1 till RS3, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Buy a leather back for it. It'll give your phone a premium look. http://www.mobilefun.com/55706-mozo-microsoft-lumia-950-xl-wireless-charging-back-cover-cognac.htm

 

[Witness]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

As I sit here using my 950XL and how disappointing it has been from the 1020. As I relive how miserable the windows phone 10 rollout has been. As I see MSFT's quarterly numbers basically saying their phone business is dead.

Where do us long term die hard MSFT fans go? I can't go back to AAPL, I despise the whole iPhone ITunes debacle that made me almost throw away my early iPhones?

Android???

Sad day in MSFT land...

I came back from iPhone 6 after a MicroSIM adapter broke my L920 and I cracked the L640 screen a week after I bought it. Traded in the L920 during the MS sale and got the 950XL for $350. It still has some issues, but generally I'm happy with it. The platform has a lot of potential and I don't think it will be my last WP especially if the rumored Surface Phone comes out. I have an Android phone too, but the UI on that along with the security issues you see almost every week is just awful. iPhone UI is dated, but polished, so I'll just be using that along with my 950XL until WM finally starts taking off.

 

[JRDEMASKUS]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Buy a leather back for it. It'll give your phone a premium look. Mozo Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Wireless Charging Back Cover - Cognac :: MobileFun.com

Lipstick on a pig. Cosmetics are not the only problem here.
Otherwise, That might help, but I am more of an Oterbox type and the "leather" case would be lost.
Yes, I know there is no OB for us, but I am still using "rugged" cases and boxes to keep my phone "safe" when mobile.

My Android battery life is equal to my WP.
Myself and everybody else who visit these sites are looking for facts.
Please drop the "******" generalizations. WP, at this moment, is no better than any other OS.

 

[Jorge Barrios1]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Lipstick on a pig. Cosmetics are not the only problem here.
Otherwise, That might help, but I am more of an Oterbox type and the "leather" case would be lost.
Yes, I know there is no OB for us, but I am still using "rugged" cases and boxes to keep my phone "safe" when mobile.

My Android battery life is equal to my WP.
Myself and everybody else who visit these sites are looking for facts.
Please drop the "******" generalizations. WP, at this moment, is no better than any other OS.

This is ****** heaven hahaha...