Are the 950/XL as disappointing to other people as it is myself?

[Grant Butler]

Firstly I have to say I did not enjoy Windows Phone 7 or 8, I sold my Nokia 1020 not only because it was so slow, but also because Windows 8.1 was just terrible. However I'm really hoping Windows 10 Mobile is where Microsoft finally get it right, I also hope developers finally jump on board now they're trying to unify it with the Desktop experience.

The problem I have right now though is there isn't the hardware I want, while they were in bed with Nokia, I could always look forward to their camera flagships. Sadly Microsoft messed that whole thing up, then earlier this year they wrote that whole thing off and fired a load of people. I'm just sad because it definitely means there will be no more camera flagships any more, Microsoft just don't care about doing that stuff.

I look at the 950 and the XL, straight away I think they're ugly, I look at the specs and I think they're unremarkable, they're just on par with Android phones from earlier in the year. No part of them is impressive and sadly even the camera will just be the norm, most like a 1/2.4 20mp sensor or something, no push forward...

The worst thing is though, I hate large phones, the XL is too big, the one I'd want to get, the 950 is being treated as the crap version. It's missing tons of features over the XL and yet the price isn't going to be cheap enough to reflect that. If I was spending ?250 on a phone, I'd think fair enough, but it'll most likely only be ?100 less and when I'm spending ?500 on a phone... I don't want to feel like I bought the compromise. I want all the features of the bigger boy inside the smaller one, otherwise I'm just not going to be interested.

I just look at them both and they do nothing for me, it is a case of how much longer am I going to have to wait for a handset I do want? I just want them to be sexy again like what Nokia would have achieved, I don't want this ugly bland plastic slab.

I'm also unimpressed with the use of the Snapdragons tbh with you, I wish they'd do what Apple or Samsung do and design their own.

 

[Amano800]

Just you.

 

[Ian Too]

Your problem Grant is that you're jumping to conclusions and that there is no need to; the 950/950XL will be announced tomorrow. There is no need to make a decision on them now. The latest renderings do look somewhat better than before and seeing the devices in the plastic may well be better still. Bare in mind that the Nexus 5X is no stunner and the Nexus 6P is pig ugly.

Spec wise, the 950/950XL are on a par with or slightly better than the latest Google Nexuses, so the out-of-date-before-it's-launched brigade are just wrong. Facts are facts, get over it.

Camera wise, there probably will never be another device like the 808PureView/Lumia 1020, unless the new Nokia steps into the gap. However the Lumia 930/1520 cameras are only now being matched by the competition and there is a lot more to a camera than megapixels. Even if the cameras in the 950/950XL were the same units as in the 930 and 1520, they'd still be really good and the assertion that they aren't new or significantly improved is pure speculation.

If you didn't like WP8, I don't see WM10 making you very happy. Although there will be many new features, I actually expect WM10 to be a step backwards in terms of usability at first, though that will soon change as all the cross platform goodness starts to come through. Though I accept that WP8 is not to your taste, I disagree that they are bad. My experience has been exemplary and I'm not going to value anyone's unsupported opinion over my own direct experience. Windows Phone/Mobile has been superb for me, so any other option is not a rational decision for me. You may disagree and are free to follow your own opinion, but to me there is no advantage big enough in Android to justify the security/privacy concerns.

Like you, I am already considering about options for the future and mulling over Lumia 950, 950XL, Acer Jade Primo, ???... Unlike you, I'm leaving my options open until I know a lot more.

 

[Beijendorf]

Well, the phones have now been released. As expected the designs are bland, the cameras have a tiny sensor with tiny subpixels and the phones don't seem to have any remarkable features at all compared to the competition.

If Windows 10 isn't a massive step up from Windows 8, I don't know why anyone would go for Microsoft. I've been wanting to smash my Lumia 1020 more times than I can count purely due to the terrible OS.

 

[dakken]

Well, the phones have now been released. As expected the designs are bland, the cameras have a tiny sensor with tiny subpixels and the phones don't seem to have any remarkable features at all compared to the competition.

If Windows 10 isn't a massive step up from Windows 8, I don't know why anyone would go for Microsoft. I've been wanting to smash my Lumia 1020 more times than I can count purely due to the terrible OS.

If thats what you believe then you must have been sleeping for the last few days. Wake up and wash the apple juice out of your eyes and take a look around,,,these phone are amazing and if yoi cant see that then your just looking for reasons not to.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[ven07]

I'm just sad because it definitely means there will be no more camera flagships any more, Microsoft just don't care about doing that stuff.

Lol MS is looking to get back to making profits with there phone business, before going back to making "niche" phones. Phones were being sold at a loss previously

 

[Beijendorf]

Lol MS is looking to get back to making profits with there phone business, before going back to making "niche" phones. Phones were being sold at a loss previously

What phone was sold at a loss..?

They may not have been profitable, but they were definitely not sold at loss, which would imply they were sold at a cheaper price than the cost of manufacturing.

 

[greedo_greedy]

I'd gladly take your Lumia 1020 if
you'll give it to me

 

[jmshub]

If you didn't like Windows Phone 7 or 8, then you probably won't like Windows 10 mobile. The OS is bound to fail to appeal to everyone, so it may not be your cup of tea.

I never owned a 1020, but I have a 1520 and the camera is pretty good, for "just" 20 MP. It still uses the same oversampling technology that the 1020 utilized to get pictures with great detail, or that can be zoomed digitally to get remarkable pictures. So, I don't think the new cameras have lost the Nokia magic that they had before. Now that we're post announcement, we know that they are also updating the Nokia camera software to improve quality and performance as well.

We also know that the 950 is not an also-ran against the XL model. The processor is slightly lower and it lacks Continuum, which is an interesting feature, but we won't know well it will work until it's in the public market and people are trying it.

Speaking of processors, the OP suggested that Microsoft should ditch Snapdragon to make their own processors. I'd like some discussion on why we'd think that would be necessary. Just from anecdotal evidence, Windows is faster and more battery efficient that comparably specced Android handsets. Microsoft doesn't currently have anyone designing processors in-house, they'd have to spool up SoC-development. That seems needlessly expensive, in both money and time.