Hands-on Experiences with the 950XL

[Devan Hammack]

I was told all 950xl are dual sim, only the 950 has the option.
The button placement was interesting. I found I could use my thumb to hit volume up and down without hitting the power button. Might take a bit of practice, but I think I'll like it

 

[o4komodo]

I stopped by the Microsoft Store at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto earlier this evening. The 950XL does look pretty good in person, not exciting, but genuinely a "clean" look. Here's a poor quality shot of my 1520 and the 950XL side by side courtesy of my Samsung ATIV S.

I didn't dig too much into the software, but I switched it from 4 columns of medium tiles to 3. The display does look really nice.

The only thing that stood out to me negatively was software related. I went to change the background picture, and it opened the camera roll, which was super slow to load.

Also, I was constantly trying to press the non-existent capacitive back and windows keys. I've never tried a software button windows phone before, and there is definitely a learning curve to re-wire your brain and develop a new habit of swiping up on the bottom of the display.

Wait... wait... 4 medium tiles?
Thanks for the pics and info. I still have yet to head to Yorkdale to compare to my own 1520 and 830.
Did you make a preorder?

 

[CeLL4one]

Re: Played with the 950XL today, Wow!

It brought a smile to my face when i saw the title of your tread ending with ,Wow! I was going to start one with only that "wow" word as a title. But for a totally opposite meaning than you did.

Before i go any further let me point out that i have bought 5 Lumias in the last 43 months. 4 of them for my personal use, so it is not like i can't appreciate the product
But holy crap, the 950xl that i did play with was seriously struggling. Just scrolling trough the home screen that thing was totally jumpy, lagging ,like really bad. I then went to nhl.com to watch a highlights video for about 2 minutes. The back and the screen of the phone got totally hot. When i tried to quit full screen mode the phone was not responding. I closed the screen of and regained control with that. I then tried to open onedrive and got a white frozen screen. Talk about a way to present a new product...

I had better luck with the 950 that was behaving like a high end phone should. I only had 5 minutes to spare there. The sp4 looks stunning.

 

[GSOgymrat]

Yesterday I drove an hour to check out the new devices at the Microsoft store in Raleigh. Initially I was interested in the Surface Pro 4 and Band 2 but when I got there I spent most of my time playing with the 950 XL. I broke my Lumia 1520 one year ago and got my first iPhone, which I didn't care for and traded it for a Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. I honestly didn't think I would return to Windows phone but after playing with the 950 XL I'm ready to come back. The 950 XL is easier to hold than the 1520, iPhone 6 Plus or the Note Edge. The thing I like the most about the 950 XL is the camera, which appears to take great pictures and starts right away with the touch of the dedicated camera button. I've come to appreciate the importance of a fast, high quality camera phone. The 950 XL is light but not slippery, which is something I really disliked about iPhone 6 Plus. Everything was fast and fluid, as a flagship phone should be. I really like the back is removable and that there will be leather options. The battery and microSD card can be swapped out, which is another big plus. The thing I like most though is the OS itself. Having used iOS, Android and Windows I just prefer the look and feel of Windows. There is really nothing I don't like about the 950XL... except the limited apps. When I returned home a went through each of my current apps and looked for Windows equivalents. Most were there but there are a couple of apps I will really miss (it sounds silly but I use the Subway sandwich app all the time). Still, I'm excited about the 950XL and disappointed that I can't preorder yet!

 

[narv]

Yesterday I drove an hour to check out the new devices at the Microsoft store in Raleigh. Initially I was interested in the Surface Pro 4 and Band 2 but when I got there I spent most of my time playing with the 950 XL. I broke my Lumia 1520 one year ago and got my first iPhone, which I didn't care for and traded it for a Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. I honestly didn't think I would return to Windows phone but after playing with the 950 XL I'm ready to come back. The 950 XL is easier to hold than the 1520, iPhone 6 Plus or the Note Edge. The thing I like the most about the 950 XL is the camera, which appears to take great pictures and starts right away with the touch of the dedicated camera button. I've come to appreciate the importance of a fast, high quality camera phone. The 950 XL is light but not slippery, which is something I really disliked about iPhone 6 Plus. Everything was fast and fluid, as a flagship phone should be. I really like the back is removable and that there will be leather options. The battery and microSD card can be swapped out, which is another big plus. The thing I like most though is the OS itself. Having used iOS, Android and Windows I just prefer the look and feel of Windows. There is really nothing I don't like about the 950XL... except the limited apps. When I returned home a went through each of my current apps and looked for Windows equivalents. Most were there but there are a couple of apps I will really miss (it sounds silly but I use the Subway sandwich app all the time). Still, I'm excited about the 950XL and disappointed that I can't preorder yet!

Apps are a big thing.. I have a lot of friends that use ios and android and are interested in switching and they love the OS, but they just don't have all the apps they want. I told them to email the companies and let them know they're interested in a WP app. Since if a company gets a lot of "we want this" messages they'll probably be more likely to do it.

I've been on WP for a long time so I don't have a ton of apps I miss though there are still some I wish I had. Subway was listed though on the Band 2 supported apps list, so perhaps they will be bringing an app to Windows 10 / Windows Mobile 10 if they're doing the band? I don't know but it's something to possibly mention to them via their twitter or emailing them.

You should have been able to preorder the 950XL in the store though, but not online yet.

 

[gazmatic]

I think the greates news I've heard so far... although not confirmed, is that all 950xl are dual sim.

I was convinced before but now only an impending Armageddon could stop me from buying this phone.

maybe not even the rapture. Heck... i could take some very nice photos of the world ending.

 

[d33pth0u9ht]

Re: My Experience with the 950 XL

Not sure what you mean, did not have to do this with the one at the store. You do not have to hold it up to your eye.

 

[d33pth0u9ht]

Re: My Experience with the 950 XL

That is not what I witnessed at the store. It worked very well at a normal distance from the phone. I expect speed will be improved with the final version of operating system.

 

[RJ Priest]

Wait... wait... 4 medium tiles?
Thanks for the pics and info. I still have yet to head to Yorkdale to compare to my own 1520 and 830.
Did you make a preorder?

Yes. Just like the Lumia 920 and ATIV S have the "show more tiles" option which toggles between 2 or 3 columns of medium live tiles, the 950XL can toggle between 3 and 4 columns. I did not check if the regular 950 also has this option. I didn't even try the 950, I just looked at it and thought, "too small". LOL. I should have mentioned that Canada MS store has the 950 as well.

I did not preorder. I only got my 1520 in May, and like the design of the 1520 better, so I'm gonna stick with it. Make no mistake though, if I didn't have a 1520, I'd be very happy with the 950XL as an upgrade over my ATIV S, and I would not hesitate to get one.

 

[freestaterocker]

So I don't really speak French, but did he said it did or didn't work with sunglasses? He does hold it in front of him instead of just glancing down. I don't really want to unlock my phone if I just happen to glance at it "accidentally".. but I under If the screen is off it's not looking (or even on the glance screen).

It might be slower than iPhone though in at, you can pick the iPhone up off the table and while you bring it to reading view, your finger is unlocking it. So when it gets to view it's open. Here you have to bring it to view, look at it, and then it unlocks. So even if the "unlock" is faster, the actually unlock it might take longer. I don't see why they couldn't have done both since W10 supports both... And then give the user the option of using Windows Hello Iris scanner or finger print, both, neither. password, no password. etc.

Also, does anyone know how well this works in the dark? So if I'm in bed at night and want to browse my phone a bit, do I need to turn a light on to unlock with hello (I understand I can just put the PIN in...) or because it's IR it works in the dark? I don't really know much about these things.

I would imagine they didn't include both because it would unnecessarily bloat the retail cost, and likely also the size, of the device. I mean, really; you're still unlocking your service in a moment without entering a pin or password or something else that people could see, enabling them to bypass your security without your permission. Can we not complain about waiting an extra fraction of a second to check your freaking Facebook notifications?

 

[anon(9140902)]

I think the greatest news I've heard so far... although not confirmed, is that all 950xl are dual sim.

I was convinced before but now only an impending Armageddon could stop me from buying this phone.

maybe not even the rapture. Heck... i could take some very nice photos of the world ending.

Both the 950 and 950 XL that will be available in Canada are Dual SIM

it's running build 10546. the same build that Dan showed in his hands-on video.

here are some more pictures I took. The Lumia 950 XL is RM-1116

This build has Continuum on it for anyone wondering. Coninuum can be set up to run either wired or wireless.

 

[o4komodo]

Both the 950 and 950 XL that will be available in Canada are Dual SIM

Is there an option for single SIM? I still haven't went to the store yet.

Yes. Just like the Lumia 920 and ATIV S have the "show more tiles" option which toggles between 2 or 3 columns of medium live tiles, the 950XL can toggle between 3 and 4 columns. I did not check if the regular 950 also has this option. I didn't even try the 950, I just looked at it and thought, "too small". LOL. I should have mentioned that Canada MS store has the 950 as well.

I did not preorder. I only got my 1520 in May, and like the design of the 1520 better, so I'm gonna stick with it. Make no mistake though, if I didn't have a 1520, I'd be very happy with the 950XL as an upgrade over my ATIV S, and I would not hesitate to get one.

Hmmnn that's very interesting.
I just saw the recent video about Skype from Daniel Rubino and saw the 4 medium tiles you were speaking about.
I wonder how I'll like that... as 3 medium tiles look semi-squished on my L830 (5") and 3 medium tiles look pretty great on my L1520.

I'm with you. I'd stick with my L1520 too. Except I got mine the moment the 1520.3 was found---and the in call mic broke. Also Cortana doesn't seem to want to work in any other language/region except USA even though it's an unlocked/unbranded phone. They're easy fixes probably (at least the former is) but I think I'm going to upgrade rather than fix it (and then maybe use it as a spare)

 

[narv]

Is there an option for single SIM? I still haven't went to the store yet.


Hmmnn that's very interesting.
I just saw the recent video about Skype from Daniel Rubino and saw the 4 medium tiles you were speaking about.
I wonder how I'll like that... as 3 medium tiles look semi-squished on my L830 (5") and 3 medium tiles look pretty great on my L1520.

I'm with you. I'd stick with my L1520 too. Except I got mine the moment the 1520.3 was found---and the in call mic broke. Also Cortana doesn't seem to want to work in any other language/region except USA even though it's an unlocked/unbranded phone. They're easy fixes probably (at least the former is) but I think I'm going to upgrade rather than fix it (and then maybe use it as a spare)

Even if it has dual sim you can still just put one in

 

[Indistinguishable]

Re: Played with the 950XL today, Wow!

It brought a smile to my face when i saw the title of your tread ending with ,Wow! I was going to start one with only that "wow" word as a title. But for a totally opposite meaning than you did.

Before i go any further let me point out that i have bought 5 Lumias in the last 43 months. 4 of them for my personal use, so it is not like i can't appreciate the product
But holy crap, the 950xl that i did play with was seriously struggling. Just scrolling trough the home screen that thing was totally jumpy, lagging ,like really bad. I then went to nhl.com to watch a highlights video for about 2 minutes. The back and the screen of the phone got totally hot. When i tried to quit full screen mode the phone was not responding. I closed the screen of and regained control with that. I then tried to open onedrive and got a white frozen screen. Talk about a way to present a new product...

I had better luck with the 950 that was behaving like a high end phone should. I only had 5 minutes to spare there. The sp4 looks stunning.

The overheating thing isn't a hardware problem. Firstly, the phone is still on a technical preview software that occasionally runs into glitches, which causes the phone to work really hard, and the battery to overheat. All phones running the technical preview will occasionally have this problem. It'll likely be fixed before the actual OS is released.

Secondly, demo units are prone to heat. They're constantly plugged in, with the display on, and people playing with them. Opening apps, running media, running the demo software they have playing on it non-stop.

Heat = Slow & laggy experience.

 

[emigrating]

Can we not complain about waiting an extra fraction of a second to check your freaking Facebook notifications?

Fraction of a second? The iris scanning process can take to to 2 seconds. That's way too long in almost all circumstances. Sure it's cool tech, but I'll likely stick with my PIN.

 

[GSOgymrat]

Subway was listed though on the Band 2 supported apps list, so perhaps they will be bringing an app to Windows 10 / Windows Mobile 10 if they're doing the band? I don't know but it's something to possibly mention to them via their twitter or emailing them.

You should have been able to preorder the 950XL in the store though, but not online yet.

The Subway app for Band sounds encouraging. I didn't realize when I was in the store that online preorders were not open yet and was hoping to avoid another road trip to pick it up. I may be na?ve but I'm hoping now that Windows 10 is out, generally well received and because Microsoft has made it easier to design universal apps that more companies will come onboard.

 

[jgbstetson]

Re: Played with the 950XL today, Wow!

I had better luck with the 950 that was behaving like a high end phone should. I only had 5 minutes to spare there. The sp4 looks stunning.

The Scottsdale store didn't have a 950. Which store did you go to?

 

[argenys]

Re: Played with the 950XL today, Wow!

It's a very good thing that there is still a month left to polish the OS. And maybe more of a month of polish if the build is a few weeks old like it very well might be.

 

[o4komodo]

Even if it has dual sim you can still just put one in

Yes of course, but will the sim2-nosim still show?

 

[onetwright]

I'm about 1 mile away from the Chandler store so I popped in to check out the 950XL. Size is manageable, I think.

But, the demo units at this store were kinda awful. Running the same W10 version others have mentioned, but very buggy and the photos, IMHO, were not that good. Viewed on the screen at normal size, color is very good, but zooming in it had TONS of artifacts. I'm really hoping it's just a pre-production software or firmware issue. I have a 930 and a 1020, and I think both of those perform better for detail than the 950 did, though the 950 was better for color.

The camera was FAST too. One reason I went from 1020 to 930 is the slow 1020 camera performance. 950 blows 930 out of the water for speed! Huge benefit, in my opinion.

Then there were the bugs that might do more harm than good with the display phones.
1. Took a picture and the screen froze
2. Couldn't edit photos (touching the icon did nothing at all)
3. Couldn't review photos after taking them

For a phone with such a great camera, probably not a great idea to display phones where the camera isn't representative. If I were unfamiliar with the phone, I wou'dve walked out thinking "what a piece of crap." In fact, first thing I did was say to my wife "look how great the camera is" and I took a picture of her. The screen froze. She was like "nice." Then I went back to home screen and back to camera. Took another photo and it was blurry. She was not impressed and went next door to H&M =)

Anyway, a promising device, but if the production units have artifacts like the demo units did, I will be hugely disappointed! I watched the detailed camera video posted here, so I'm confident it won't be the case, but the demo units were disappointing.