Any Android flagship to 950XL converts

[sguy156]

Yup lack of developer support for apps on WP is not there .Even major apps don't get updated on regular basis .

 

[TitanChandu]

I have been using a windows phone from 7 onwards, I had a HTC Titan then moved to a 920 and then finally to a 950XL.
In between due to the 920 not supporting 4G in India, i purchased a OnePlus One and used it for an year till the 950XL became affordable.
I love the windows UI far more than the Android UI (i used the default launchers as well as the MS Arrow launcher). Unfortunately, there were lots of issues with many apps causing the OS to crash and then an OS update totally screwed up my phone to a point at which it used to crash more than once a day and required reboots to work. It stopped ringing when people called and then i gave up when the 950XL had a price drop.
I have loved the phone since then, a few small issues that seem to get resolved fairly quickly when the OS or firmware updates. I dont use too many apps so have not really felt the app gap issue but I still keep the oneplus as a backup phone so i can use an app if i have to.

One thing I have noticed that Google Now used to recognize and update my flight information very well, with cortana its a hit and miss situation.

The battery life was certainly better on the OnePlus, but, many times i had problems with stuck apps draining the battery very very quickly and i had to constantly go to the task manager and stop the programs that were running in the background.

The biggest pain is that many local apps do not launch on the windows platfrom and stay only on Android/IOS so it helps that my wife is on IOS and i have a spare android phone just in case.
I hope that this improves soon.

I felt that there was a lot of goodwill for WM when the new lumia's launched but the high pricing put people off and they picked up various cheap android flagships and they would not come back to WM.
I knew a lot of people who used the 830, 730, 620, 520 who would have loved to get a 950/950XL but were put off by the high initial price ( $750 in India) when OnePlus, Xiaomi, "various chinese brands" flagships were available at less than $500.

 

[Aneres11]

I don't have the XL, but I did pick up a 950 yesterday and will be using it alongside my BlackBerry Priv (Android).

Early impressions of the 950 are positive. The screen is gorgeous, the camera is insanely good, and the whole Windows UI has always been a strong point for me.

I was using it yesterday, and wondering if I could cut ties with my BB Priv, and use the 950 as my main device.
I don't think I could. Mainly it's down to apps, but my purchase of the 950 was not really for personal use.
t will be used as a work device, for taking photos of rooms / spaces, before, during and after, uploading them to a PowerPoint / Word doc, editing these docs on the fly and then being able to hook up to Continuum when I'm home to make something of them.

In that sense, if I were to switch my current devices round, I wouldn't be able to use the BB Priv in this way. I could, wouldn't be anywhere near as effective. Same as if I was to use the 950 as my personal device.

It all comes down to how you use the device really.
I find it hard to recommend the 950 / 950 XL to someone who is app reliant, as the apps just don't perform as well on Windows as they do on Android / iOS.
Facebook for instance is particularly sluggish, and takes a long time to load new content, or notifications that have been received.

On the other hand, Instagram works perfectly, and all notifications come though on both Android / Windows in sync, with images actually looking better on the 950 compared to my Priv due to the display.

Music works better on my 950 too. Strangely, because everything I read before purchasing on these forums and elsewhere, is that Groove Music was a disaster, and XBOX Music should never have been replaced.
Well, I completely disagree.
Groove Music works flawlessly for me. Playing music through it in my car via bluetooth is seamless compared to my Priv which has both Google Play and Apple Music. And it stutters, disconnects, randomly pauses and the length of track / track number is all over the place.

With Groove and the 950, it is all there, with options to shuffle, repeat etc all on the car screen. Something that Android just does not give me - and it frustrates me. Weird thing to get annoyed about, ha, but I have my ways and when my music doesn't work in my car, I get frustrated!

So there are things that 950 does better than Android for my uses. I honestly wish that this app gap was not an issue as the 2 horse race we're seeing between Android / iOS, is not really healthy, and it's particularly boring to me.

All in all, I know I'll enjoy using my 950 for its intended use. And it gives me chance to tinker with it and have the luxury of using 2 devices that I really really like.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

For the last couple of years I have run both in parallel on and off. At the moment I am using a 950XL and Huawei P9. There is no comparison between the hardware, Huawei have nailed it with the P9 (never held a more premium feeling phone) and yes the still camera shots are excellent. I still find myself using my 950XL 75% of the time. It comes down to the look and feel of the UI for me. I forgive W10 a lot. I await the Surface phone with greasy palms, nervously tapping my credit card on the table...

If you don't mind me asking, on what service provider are you using your P9? I'm really tempted by the P9 Plus, but, on AT&T, I've never had a Huawei phone function with 100% reliability. MMS and notifications are always problematic. Thanks.

 

[Kerry2112]

Well, I went from an LG G3 (which I got when it was the flagship LG phone) to a Lumia 1320 this past February. I got the 1320 purely because I thought it was cool that you could run a new OS (W10M) on an older, lower-spec phone (which I had bought used for dirt cheap). I figured it was an inexpensive way to try out Windows for phones and that I would play with it awhile until I got bored. I never did. When I found out that the L1320 would not be supported officially on W10M, I got mad and put my sim back in the G3. I lasted one day before I went back to the L1320 (until I bought my 950XL a couple of weeks later).

What I liked about the L1320 was the big screen and insane battery life. Best battery life I have ever had on a smartphone (including Android and BlackBerry). Standby battery life is great on the 950XL, too (even if that beautiful screen uses a lot of juice when the phone is in use). And the camera is insanely good.

What I like about W10M is the start screen and customizability. I do find an app gap but there is only one lack that really bugs me - banking (my bank, BMO, doesn't have a Windows phone app and the mobile site does not work properly in Edge).

I'm never going back to Android. My big debate now is whether or not to buy the HP Elite X3 or stay on the 950XL until the Surface Phone emerges (or is definitively ruled out).

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Well, I went from an LG G3 (which I got when it was the flagship LG phone) to a Lumia 1320 this past February. I got the 1320 purely because I thought it was cool that you could run a new OS (W10M) on an older, lower-spec phone (which I had bought used for dirt cheap). I figured it was an inexpensive way to try out Windows for phones and that I would play with it awhile until I got bored. I never did. When I found out that the L1320 would not be supported officially on W10M, I got mad and put my sim back in the G3. I lasted one day before I went back to the L1320 (until I bought my 950XL a couple of weeks later).

What I liked about the L1320 was the big screen and insane battery life. Best battery life I have ever had on a smartphone (including Android and BlackBerry). Standby battery life is great on the 950XL, too (even if that beautiful screen uses a lot of juice when the phone is in use). And the camera is insanely good.

What I like about W10M is the start screen and customizability. I do find an app gap but there is only one lack that really bugs me - banking (my bank, BMO, doesn't have a Windows phone app and the mobile site does not work properly in Edge).

I'm never going back to Android. My big debate now is whether or not to buy the HP Elite X3 or stay on the 950XL until the Surface Phone emerges (or is definitively ruled out).

I've always loved the 1320! The camera wasn't great, but it was just a great feeling and great looking phone.