Lumia 950 DS or Samsung Galaxy S7 Duos or wait for the Surface Phone

[Igor_BL]

I'm sort of in dilemma... I've been using Windows phone since 2012, and really like it. My first phone was L820, then I moved to L830, and had L920 for some time. Didn't get L930 because it didn't have glance screen.
Now I'm in search for dual SIM phone, and thought about getting L950, but there are some things I don't like about that phone. I don't like the physical appearance, the fact that it has onscreen buttons, and there's also buggy software, for which though I think will improve.
Having said that, now that Galaxy S7 is out with some pretty interesting specs, I'm seriously thinking about switching to android. S7 has always-on screen, which is important to me. It also has notification led, and appealing design. Hardware is also very good (RAM, camera, speed...). It can be found in dual SIM version, which is something I've been looking for quite some time.
On the other side, in light of expected release of Surface Phone, do you think I should wait for it? Would it be worthwhile?
So, basically... L950 because I like the platform, Galaxy S7 because it's a great phone or wait for the Surface phone?

 

[libra89]

If you would like to try a phone, or feel the need to, you shouldn't wait for the Surface phone.

I think a question that you should ask yourself is, am I willing to try a new experience and deal with possible quirks because you want to be loyal? Do you mind possibly having some things not work the way they should? Also, is there a way you can test W10M without putting down so much money (i.e. a 550, or even 650)? Other people might disagree with me, but to me, it's scary to try a phone with an OS that is still being formed, and have this phone be so much money.

 

[Igor_BL]

I had installed WM10 on my L820 which I use as my second device, and it's not so bad. Only few things that I'm used to in WP 8.1 are missing, but hoping it will change soon (setting weather app as background, etc.).
But for the same amount of money, I can get Samsung S7, and let's be honest, S7 is great powerful device.

 

[NICK TOALE]

Stick with Windows. Been testing a couple of Galaxy Phones and reading about the S7 its what should have been released last year. There seems to be a few compromises like no usb c and the storage issue. I think the droid user experience is lacking compared to windows and what I find is having to restart the Samsungs frequently as they just slow up. The S5 I have has had 1 update in the last year. At least MS actively support their platform. The Onscreen buttons is not really a problem and I actually prefer it now. I find just as much buggy software in Android. I have a 920,1520 & 950XL and the 950XL is a fantastic phone that just keeps getting better. Love the USB C especially as I can plug a usb sound card in and digitally play back files straight in to my mixer. I will buy the Surface Phone if and when it becomes available. I just don't have the flexabilty in android compared to windows mobile.

 

[theotherian]

I preordered the 950XL after I cracked the screen on my 1520, so I've had it for several months. I really like the Windows phone UI, and I see a lot of potential in W10M. However, the execution so far is just terrible.

The most important parts of a phone to me are the camera, calendar, email, and ease of use.

1) Camera: The camera on the 950 XL is mostly great, but I have two complaints. The first isn't a really big deal, but I think that the image processing overly smooths out faces, so people look a little bit weird. The bigger problem, however, is the processing time. If you take 3 or 4 pictures in quick succession (which I do all the time with my three young children) the phone won't let you take any more for 5-10 seconds. This is because the post-processing on photos is SLOW. If you jump to the gallery to take a look at the pictures you've taken it will say "processing" on each one for 5-10 seconds. This is a major problem to me, because it causes me to miss shots.

2) Calendar: I dislike the UI on the calendar. I have a hard time getting a good feel for my upcoming events because the way they are presented isn't intuitive to me. Now this problem isn't a deal breaker for me, just mildly annoying. Frankly, the android caldendars I've used are only marginally better EXCEPT the widget is preferable to the live tile (to my mind, your experience may vary!).

3) Email: Normally I wouldn't include this as a significant feature, but the outlook app has been so buggy for me that at times it's been unusable. This was a reason I started using insider builds, which did make it a bit better.

4) Ease of Use: There is nothing that comes close to the convenience and user-friendliness of the Live Tile system. I tried out an LG V10, but returned it in favor of the 950XL over battery life (marginally better on 950XL, but disappointing on both) and UI issues. I hate paging through different screens of apps on both Android and iOS. The Live Tiles are also useful at conveying information quickly, although they are pretty limited. Widgets on Android work better to my mind, but they also aren't as efficient.

I got so frustrated with the bugs that exist on both the insider builds and the released to consumer builds on W10M that I bought a Galaxy S7 Edge. I've had it just under a week, and so far I really like it. There are things I miss about W10M, but the overall experience is so much more polished and filled out (not just apps, but W10M is still unfinished to my mind).

If you love W10M, the 950 XL might be worth it to you, but I got so frustrated that I left. I'll check in with my 950XL periodically to see if things are improving, and I hope Microsoft makes me regret my decision. But so far, I'm much happier with the S7 Edge.