My 950 and W10M Review After 17 days
Ive had the 950 since November 19th, still disappointed. Lumia 950 Version 1511, OS Build 10.0.10586.0
I have owned the 920, 925 and 830 prior to my 950. The 950 has been a disappointment, every other phone felt like a flagship and also felt like an improvement in one way or another over the previous phone. This is my second post about the 950, neither of them favorable to W10M or the 950. I have been a fan of Windows and the Nokia devices for a long time but feel like I am always waiting for better apps, more apps, fixed apps; new hardware, better hardware, NEW hardware. People are excusing Microsoft saying that this is not a finished product, sorry, it is finished but like always it just doesnt feel that way. Of course we will get updates to improve things but Im getting tired of waiting. The first update for the 950 better be a major one because an extra 15 seconds of battery life isnt going to cut it.
Buttons - The buttons on the 920, 925 & 830 felt better, not much else to say about that.
Case/Back Cover - Like it or not the 950 feels and looks cheap, not like a flagship. The fact that the plastic doesnt come all the way up the side of the phone just blows my mind. It actually looks like a separate piece/component, since when is that acceptable.
Speaker - Its OK but the last few versions of the iPhone have us beat. Not crazy about a rear facing speaker.
Battery - I expected better battery life, the 950 has a 3000mah battery and my 830 had a 2200mah. Not much of a difference in battery performance between the 2 phones.
Camera (Photos) - This is where I start to get annoyed. I dont know if this is a hardware, firmware or software issue but this camera is a huuuuuuge disappointment. I can take a nice picture of a flower or a building but I cannot take a decent picture of my kids in any setting if my life depended on it and it seems to be the autofocus that is screwing up so many pictures. I simply cannot take a picture of my kids in front of the xmas tree with the lights on, the picture is blurry, it never ever focuses. The chances of shooting a picture with multiple faces in it and it all being in focus is nearly impossible. Rich capture n or off just means some faces are blurry and others arent depending on where you slide the lighting bar. Shooting an action shot, I dont even bother trying anymore. My daughter is a cheerleader and I havent taken a decent photo of her at cheer in 17 days. Ever here of panorama or an action setting, night setting, these are features every phone on planet earth have. Comparing pictures taken from my 830 and the 950 is a toss up, more consistent good photos with the 830.
Camera (Video) - 4k Video is hit or miss, literally, sometimes I am missing frames other times the color is changing during the video and I have often experienced the focus hunting or screen pulsing. I dont have the ability to record slo-motion at any resolution, I show a disabled icon under my turtle icon. I have also experienced audio clicking and noise but that seems to be while recording video to the sd card. Its a high end sd card but I guess not high end enough
Screen - The screen is better than my 830 but not by much yet the specs tell a different story. According to the specs, I expected to see a screen that was going to blow away my 830 and should be better than the iPhone 6s and Samsung Galaxy s6, not in my opinion.
W10M - Not much wow here. Continuum seems like a great idea but its a bit buggy and i dont know exactly when i would ever use it instead of using my own laptop or PC and I cant see carrying around a monitor, keyboard, mouse and dock rather than carrying around a laptop or surface that can connect to the same cloud content that my phone can. A little buggy but not terrible. The windows start screen sometimes crashes or gets stuck resuming. The Maps app crashed a few times on me. Video streaming from the internet has crashed about half a dozen times, mainly while in MSN news. How about a granular sound profile editor like blackberry had 100 years ago?
SKype/Messaging - Skype and messaging seem a bit disconnected but im not sure exactly how to describe it. Some of my contacts have duplicated since the merging of the 2 apps.
Skype - The skype Video and Skype app actually have different features and believe it or not perform differently. The Skype video app sometimes doesnt give you video depending on if you are initiating the call or receiving the call but the original Skype app always seems to work. The Skype video app doesnt give me the option to switch cameras on the 950 but it does on the 830. The skype use of the camera on the 950 appears to optimize the camera for a face that is close to the camera which is great except sometimes you want to show someone something with the good/main camera and the quality is very poor because the focus is optimized for objects 1 foot away from the camera.
Windows Hello - The iris scanner works very well, sometimes scanning me in faster than me entering my 4 digit PIN. Works well in different light conditions as well. I have read other opinions on Windows Hello but my experience has been positive.
Movies & TV - Small complaint but I want a great refined experience, sorry that i am no longer willing to except mediocre. The preview tiles in My Videos are displayed with a low resolution and the look is just plain terrible.
Groove Music - Sort of odd user experience when searching for music in groove or with cortana and you are pushed toward the music store to buy the song/album instead of using your music pass to play the song/album. Its almost like you have to search for the music twice to play it with your music pass. And then sometimes it plays a different song than the one you just searched and selected.
Email/Calendar/People - I like it however the circle tiles would be better as squares, Im sure everyone has already heard this 100 times.
Phone - Not much to complain about here but since Im on a roll, when dialing fast it will often pause for a second after the first number you type. Its a weird behavior, a minor annoyance.
Facebook - Facebook is a popular app, you would think MS would have made some major improvements to this app prior to a few days ago. Its starting to look and feel like a nice app that was developed by a professional instead of in some guys garage. But even after the latest update, its still a let down. I get an error at the top of the page "we werent able to sync right now" yet it loads the new content 9 out of 10 times. Viewing likes and comments are still hit or miss and have been for 3 years. I have not tried to post photos or check-in with the updated app.
Photos App - I like it but do something great and make it feel more like Windows Live Photo Gallery. Add support for people and description tags and star ratings, take it to the next level. Less than 2% of the market isnt going to keep a mobile OS relevant for very long, wake up and do something great.
Case/Cover - I bought 3 different cases, the Orzly Flexicase clear silicone gel case is the best one. Great control and feel of the buttons and a nice fit and feel.
I dont know what the return policy is but Im seriously thinking about sending this phone back and making the move to a Samsung or iPhone, something I have resisted for a long time.