Microsoft is degrading their flagship Lumia devices!

[Unauthorized]

I'm just not a fan of leather on a phone. It looked tacky on the Galaxy Note and that came with the phone. With the 950 you have to actually pay to get that couch look.

If I liked Android, I think I would have considered the Galaxy Note. But I am not a fan of leather on the couch. I agree that the Mozo back should be a first hand option with the MS logo on it.

 

[sikurunana]

I agree the 950/XL feels a bit neutered. Double Tap to wake missing. No volume rocker button. Fumbling for the Power button is a real chore. While it does have Glance Screen, it does not have the Glance PEEK option where the screen turns on when/if you look at the screen via eye tracking. That in itself is not Glance at all. It's just a dummy timer option then, nothing 'Glance' about it. No front flash or lighting of any kind. I swear, these phone makers just randomly throw darts at features they can remove. It makes no sense at all.



Some pluses:
- do not have to remove the battery to remove the SIM1 nor SD card (But I wish I don't have to remove the back cover at all)
- metal frame/cases is a no-no since it can over heat, cause shorts, no qi charging, electrocute you, fry the phone by accident, cannot unbend
- Hey Cortana (when she decides to work if at all)
- Iris scanner (that I don't use because it's takes too long, even at 1sec. I just leave my phone unlocked for Hey Cortana commands so I don't have to unlock my phone every time), so it's basically useless now without Glance PEEK
- native FLAC support in Groove

wait what.. did you just say there is no volume rocker button? then how do you change the volume?

 

[sikurunana]

Apparently, only metal phones are "premium".

Nevermind bendgate on the metal iPhone, scalding hot frame of the Lumia 830, the El cheapo Galaxy phones or a metal back meaning no wireless charging.

Glance works fine on the 950.

My 950 is a well built phone... and it's light. The screen, camera and all specs are high end. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I don't know how anyone could not think the brown leather back looks good. Not sure how much more premium you can get.

On-screen navigation buttons allow more screen space while allowing smaller overall phone. They can be dismissed, something I wish I could have done on so many of my other Lumias while playing games or watching movies to prevent accidental touches. It also eliminates hardware failures, something that was rampant on the Lumia 830 (I went through 4 of them because of this).

I've been using my 830 for well over a year now, never had any hardware faults.

 

[GizmoEV]

wait what.. did you just say there is no volume rocker button? then how do you change the volume?

He did. However, on my 950XL the buttons in order from top to bottom are volume up, power, volume down then the camera button. This technically means there is no volume rocker button but two individual buttons. It actually is a nice placement. Nothing to get all bent out of shape over.

On the other hand, the 950 has the button placement similar to the 920 with volume rocker, power, then camera.

 

[Vishca]

I don't get the fuss about the button placement on the 950xl. On the first day it took some getting used too, by day 3, finger and thumb memory kicked in, just like typing on a keyboard. You finger or thumb, depending on how you hold your phone know where to go. Besides the buttons on the xl have an edge too them, so not difficult to work out where the top or bottom button is, unless you have no feelings in your hands. It's a phone, not your new date, and from my experience one that's getting better and better. But I must admit I prefer function over form.

 

[Thomas Dewangga]

Anyone has experience bad audio quality on 950xl? After a month using this phone I just realized that the audio quality on my L920 is way better than 950xl. I'm using same headset, same volume, same equalizer and same external speaker. The result came that the 950xl audio can't catch up my 3 years L920.

Has anyone feel the same?

 

[Vishca]

I agree totally,and some of the online reviews point this out. It does sound better with headphones ,than through its own speakers, the speakers are a little harsh.

 

[sikurunana]

He did. However, on my 950XL the buttons in order from top to bottom are volume up, power, volume down then the camera button. This technically means there is no volume rocker button but two individual buttons. It actually is a nice placement. Nothing to get all bent out of shape over.

On the other hand, the 950 has the button placement similar to the 920 with volume rocker, power, then camera.

That's a very interesting piece of information which I did not know at all. Thank you

 

[sikurunana]

Anyone has experience bad audio quality on 950xl? After a month using this phone I just realized that the audio quality on my L920 is way better than 950xl. I'm using same headset, same volume, same equalizer and same external speaker. The result came that the 950xl audio can't catch up my 3 years L920.

Has anyone feel the same?

Nokia devices were known for having superb audio quality. I guess Microsoft devices are using cheaper audio chips maybe?

 

[cracgor]

Sadly it doesn't feel so premium as it should, but when people realize that there is Microsoft brand name printed on the phone's front side, they are like whaaaaaatttt....? Then you only say, yes baby, it is windows 10, and you see how they low or high end android mobiles slide quietly to pockets... So i'm happy with it.

Glance screen is super, but yes, tap to wake - i miss this option from my Nokia N9 few years ago.

I don't think people care enough in my marketplace. Also, are you on Miami Vice? What is this "yes baby" business?

 

[midnightfrolic]

I apologize, I actually have the 950 XL dual SIM. SIM1 and the SD card can be removed without removing the battery. The SIM2 can only be removed after removing the battery.

Also the 950 XL has no volume 'rocker' button, but separate volume up & volume down, separated by the power button in between.

My apologies. But I agree with all the points here. Feels the handset and software engineers left out features on purpose. But, maybe there are larger forces at work we don't know about.

 

[Unauthorized]

I apologize, I actually have the 950 XL dual SIM. SIM1 and the SD card can be removed without removing the battery. The SIM2 can only be removed after removing the battery.

I assumed that, but did you swap your SIM1 and SIM2 labels? If I found out correct, the SIM1 should be the same as on my Single SIM and that is definitely not accessible without removing the battery.

 

[midnightfrolic]

You ARE correct. Must have been remembering a, diff phone then. Even SIM2 requires battery removed, even though it looks accessible without removing battery.

 

[KrisYYC]

Regarding the so called "non-premium" feel:

I agree it doesn't feel AS premium as say the latest and greatest Samsung or something. But it definitely doesn't feel cheap to me. I actually like the matte black back on mine. But two things the 950 has completely trump any premium feel: Removable battery and microSD slot. All the premium feel in the world isn't going to help me when I'm traveling and running low on storage space for pictures and videos...

Anyone has experience bad audio quality on 950xl? After a month using this phone I just realized that the audio quality on my L920 is way better than 950xl. I'm using same headset, same volume, same equalizer and same external speaker. The result came that the 950xl audio can't catch up my 3 years L920.

Has anyone feel the same?

I have a 950. Previously I had a Lumia 1020. The 950 has better audio quality with earphones in my opinion. Not a huge difference though.

 

[sikurunana]

Regarding the so called "non-premium" feel:

I agree it doesn't feel AS premium as say the latest and greatest Samsung or something. But it definitely doesn't feel cheap to me. I actually like the matte black back on mine. But two things the 950 has completely trump any premium feel: Removable battery and microSD slot. All the premium feel in the world isn't going to help me when I'm traveling and running low on storage space for pictures and videos...





I have a 950. Previously I had a Lumia 1020. The 950 has better audio quality with earphones in my opinion. Not a huge difference though.

I feel that my 830 feels more premium and sleek than the 950. Also that battery is removable and has SD card slot. But then again, that's just my personal opinion. I guess it differs from person to person.

 

[alodar101]

You know, how do you define flagship? Quality of hardware? Quality of the Software? Overall experience? Most of this is individualistic.
I have, now, an iPhone 6s Plus, a Galaxy Note 5, and the 950XL. So I know from experience, what is what.
Each of my phones are listed as Flagships. Each are top of line for their area. Each one of them is attractive to some and hated by others. Each phone reboots, hangs, freezes and does weird stuff. Each phone has issues with apps. Each phone has specialty as well as detractions. This is the way I describe each phone line's plus's and minus's:
iPhone: Nice to hold, smooth. Lots of apps. Everyone knows iPhone. But...The phone still hangs, freezes and crashes. Some apps have issues. The cool interchange of iCloud, is not always so cool. Apple music intragration is cool...But hangs just like groove. Biggest complaint...great phone..but way over rated.
Note 5: Cool phone. Samsung Pay is the greatest. Has so many options...which, for me is an issue. Too many options, too many settings. Apps, some really really suck. I basically do not trust a lot of android apps. Battery life on this phone...sucks. Wireless charging is intermittent. Stylus is cool, but rarely used. Biggest complaint, too hard to figure out a lot of the cool features.
:sweaty:: Starting off, way over rated and a huge disappointment. But, I still love the phone. Apps, forget the app gap. The apps that are there are not the equal of Apple or Android...think, Starbucks, bank apps, Face book, Twitter, and any of the more popular apps. Audio is horrible. I love the tiles. I love the new improved OTA delivery system...getting fixes faster. Groove integration..love it. Reliability is not there. Too many times touch stops working, tiles stop working. My wife has the 950...after 2 replacements and a bad experience, she threw it away and is now on an iPhone 6s. Not because its great, but because its better. I would love to make this my main use phone. But overall reliability has relegated it to occasional use.

In order of preference for me, its iPhone, 950xl, and note 5. In fact, as of yesterday, the Note 5 was removed from my list.
I also have the 1520. Loved it. Still do...but even that phone, it had its hangups. and sometimes, it was just too darn big.

So, to say Microsoft is doing something with its flagships, I would not agree, since most of the points are personal. And in being personal, we all might never agree. All I know is I'm not greatly satisfied with any of the Top Flagship phones out there. I am satisfied enough with all of them to play with them when it strikes me.

 

[sikurunana]

For the flagship status, I would say the build quality could be loads better. The Lumia 1020, 1520, hell even the 720 had great designs - It's a shame, but there are sacrifices to be made when you want a replaceable battery. Personally I wish they have followed the design language of the 1520, sealed the battery up if they needed to but keep the MicroSD slot.

Hell, the 830 also has a removable battery, yet the design is simply solid!

 

[SnailUK]

The 950 isn't the best looking Lumia. But it is by far my favourite to hold.

Going back to my 920 or 930 from the 950, is like holding a brick. The curves and texture of the 950's case make it really nice in the hand. Far nicer than the missus' cold metallic iphone too.

 

[sheldon cohn]

The design of the 950 is nice, however I find it doesn't work better then other Lumia devices. The
950 works for me better when it's on a flat surface, not in the hand. As others wrote, they find
there phone works much better, and the removable battery is a must in the phone. I also have
a Nokia 520 and several times it froze, where I had to pop the battery out, then back to get the
phone working. Both phones are Windows 10 insider. The phone 950 works with Continuum,
but most people are looking to use it as a phone, some may not even looking to use it with
Continuum. Continuum is good for meetings and teaching.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Continuum is good for meetings and teaching.

Something I plan to be doing a lot of, so Continuum is good for me. The 950 feels very much premium to me in terms of how it feels in the hand and in specifications, but the software needs work.