AMA with Dan Rubino: Everything Lumia 950

[Daniel Rubino]

Haven't seen this one asked yet:
Does the 950 support the Nokia sensor core functionality? Step counter, low power GPS access, etc?

Yes, it is there.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Hey Dan

I wondered why The Verge would say that the camera of the 950 is slow and unimpressive is this the case(think they gave 950 7 and iPhone 10 i camera? I use the camera a lot and if the iPhone is so much better as they make it sound I wonder if 950XL is the right phone for me. I don't use a lot of apps and the ones I need are in WP, also I happen to like how WP looks.

Thanks

They may have conflated 'speed' with processing and Rich Capture, which can take a long time. However, this is not the same as speed of the camera for launching and taking photos, which is very fast.

Just having the dedicated camera button makes the 950 faster than the iPhone. For the record, I think the iPhone's camera is pretty bad. Not even sure why people hold it in such high regard. No 16:9 images, stupid placement on the body, no camera button, low MP count for zoom and pretty awful low-light performance...

 

[Daniel Rubino]

I was wondering if Lumia 950 (and the XL too) supports all the features of MHL including touch from an external display.

I'll have to see if I can test that today. I have to get the display dock home to try on my XPS 27, which is my only large display touch device.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Every review mentions 2 choices to use Continuum : wiring to a dock, on wireless with miracast. Isn't it possible to just plug your phone to a screen with a HDMI to USB-C cable ? That would enable Continuum without the need to buy a Miracast dongle (and without the latency), and without the need to spend 100$ for a dock.

We'll be testing that today.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

is there an Audio APP in seting with an EQ???

Yes, it has the same EQ has other Lumias.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

i was wondering if it is possible to use only "iris" scanner for unlocking the phone? (without PIN)
is it something that you could recommend?

No, PIN is always there as a backup

 

[Daniel Rubino]

have you had any issues with the Gyroscope? my 930 seems to have a lot of issues even with the latest build. is it only to move you towards the new hardware?

No, no issues.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Is the "3g only" mode available in the network settings in the lumia 950. As I can see it has been removed in the last insider build

Not as far as I can tell, but this is an AT&T phone so such a setting would be out of place for a US carrier.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Can you use the lumia 950 with an Xbox one controller? Xbox one wireless adapter? 1d/2d hand held barcode scanners? Usb printers (think small portable barcode labeling machines by Brady)?

No for Xbox One.

We don't have those other products on-hand to test directly, but will look into the printer.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

With the launch of the lumia 950 and pending launch of lumia 950XL, do you think these devices will have the capability to run Win32 application in the future.? Or should we just stick with something like a lumia 1520 until the true "Surface" phone comes out later in 2016 ? (hopefully....)

No, they won't.

Re: Surface phone it is not even clear what the intention of that device is yet, so I wouldn't bank on that either until we learn more.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Hey Dan,
Thanks for doing this. Since I have seen on twitter in the past that you have an s6, how would you compare the screen of the 950 to the s6? Would you say that its close, given that the s6 is pretty much the best AMOLED screen you could get on a mobile device?
Thanks

Hard to say as different OSs use the display differently.

S6 still has likely the best display around, plus I have the Edge, so curved. But still, 950 display is very good.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Dan,

Unless I missed it, it doesn't look like anyone asked about the battery life in this AMA, and it wasn't touched upon heavily in your review. My main questions are on the battery life.

I have a Lumia Icon on Verizon and am switching to AT&T for the 950. One of my only complaints on the Icon is that I wish the battery life was better. How does the 950's battery life compare to the Icon?

Another question: How does the speaker compare on the 950 compare to that on the Icon? That is my only other complaint about the Icon as I feel the speaker is a bit weak.

I'd say it is better than 930.

Speaker on the back is okay. It's loud, but not that impressive.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Any news about the phone coming to singapore?

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

I have no info on Singapore.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Dan,

I like to see the difference in performance for apps on the L950 and on an external screen with continuum. Can you run the Peacekeeper benchmark in 3 different scenarios and post the results:

1. Without continuum, screen in landscape,
2. With continuum connected with the dock,
3. With continuum connected by Miracast.

Will try to do this maybe today or tomorrow