[Quick Impressions] Who Has Gotten The Lumia 950?

[PanWorks]

I received my phone around noon yesterday, but I didn't get time to set it up until late last night.

Appearance: I have the matte white AT&T version, and I think that the phone is quite attractive in person. The camera ring looks way better than I had expected--it's an obvious visual flourish, but it's clean and minimal.

In-Hand Feel: I think the phone feels very good in hand. Size is manageable (especially with one-handed mode), and I have always preferred the in-hand feel of quality plastic to metal or glass. (I know that opinions differ on "premium" materials, but I prefer the in-hand feel of the Nexus 5x over the 6p, so that shows where I stand on size and plastic vs. "premium" metal.)

Buttons are clicky and responsive, but I wouldn't call them the highlight of this device. It's nice to have a dedicated camera button back.

Screen: It's a great screen. No complaints.

Windows Hello: I would have preferred a good fingerprint scanner to iris recognition. I wear glasses (very nearsighted), and I need to hold the phone closer to my face than I'd prefer to activate Windows Hello. That said, it does work well in the dark (but so do fingerprints).

Software: I like what MS has done with W10 Mobile. I wouldn't want to go back to Windows Phone 8.1, and I prefer W10 Mobile to Android and iOS. That said, if there was a clean, Nexus-like Android phone with a one-handed mode like Apple's "Reachability" (or W10M's one-handed mode where the top half of the screen slides down toward the bottom of the phone) I would be very tempted.

On the 950, Window 10 Mobile is fast and fluid, and I have seen exactly zero "resuming" screens.

Windows 10 Mobile still has growing pains. Outlook Mail resets swipe settings at unexpected times. The new universal messaging app has the potential to be excellent, but it's still in its early stages. Edge is fast and fluid, but it's also buggy. Occasionally, Edge will manifest an odd bug where the my input registers significantly above where I'm touching. This only happens in Edge, so I'm hoping MS can fix this soon (bug report submitted).

Camera: Seems excellent, but I need to test it more thoroughly.

Battery Life: Too early to tell--I'll report back.

Overall: I like my Lumia 950. If you enjoy Windows 10 Mobile, I think it's a good pick.

 

[theefman]

f1.8 aperture, with full manual control over photos and video, shoots in raw, and you can adjust the audio level when recording through front or rear microphones.

Sounds impressive and apparently is in real world use. This is the level of advancement I'd expect of a Lumia camera flagship phone in 2015, seems the android OEM's have again raised the bar once set by Lumias.

 

[John M Beauchemin]

Some updated thoughts after using it for an entire day. Be forewarned, most of these are bad. I already gushed about how awesome the phone is, so don't get me wrong, I love it... but here are the 'growing pains':

-Played Fallout4 for a few hours last night and used my Lumia950 as my Pip-Boy with the PB app. When I was done, I grabbed my phone and HOLY MOSES was it hot. I don't mean warm, I mean HOT. Even my table was hot to the touch. It was very concerning. Prior to last night, I would use my iPhone as my Pip-Boy for hours, and it never even got warm.

-Messenger app crashes a lot. You click on the app and it loads for a split second, then goes away. Click on it again, and it loads. Annoying.

-I'm sure this is a 'me not knowing how Win10m works' problem, but I cannot figure how to get back to active apps. So, for example, I'm browsing my movie library on Plex and decide I want to check the web or send a txt real quick, so I hit the WinHome button, launch the other app, do my thing, hit the home button again... now what? If I launch Plex again, I have to sign in again, and it puts me back on my Plex home screen and not where I was in my library. So is there a blade-like screen for active apps like iOS has, or can you literally only run one app at a time?!

-I set up Windows Hello and am not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it's neat. On the other hand, I have to move my phone so close to my face in order for it to scan my eyes that I go cross eyed and cannot read the screen. The sweet spot for Hello to work seems to be 6" off of your nose, and that is unnaturally close for me.

-Also, as a previous user mentioned, it's a bit cumbersome to even get into the phone when you've got a lock on it. I've got it set to not require a password for 5 minutes after use, yet for some reason when I hit the power button it does not bypass the lock screen so I still have to 'swipe up' to enter the phone. That's not really any different from how any other phone works, but Windows Hello still tries to identify me which makes me think my phone is locked, so then I go through the whole Windows Hello process which is shove the phone into my face so it can scan me... and the whole thing ends up taking way longer than it takes me to rifle off a 4-digit pin. Also, now, Windows Hello has disabled itself because of 'too many sign-in attempts'. I really wish there was just a fast way into the phone when it's still unlocked.

-On a similar subject, I cannot seem to find a setting for when the phone goes to sleep. It is way too fast by default. Sometimes I'll just stop and think for a few seconds, and my phone goes to sleep. Super annoying.

Here is a shot of my ugly mug, testing out the front-facing camera. The front camera on this thing takes better pictures than the back camera on my old iPhone. I haven't really used the back camera much at all yet, this is the ugliest time of year around here for pics. New England in late fall/winter is gray and hideous.

 

[gemini5150]

Sure... So, I have my phone set so that it locks (requiring a password) to unlock after a delay of 5 minutes. This way I don't have to re-enter the password if I've just done something with the phone. I assumed the iris scanner would follow the same rule, but it doesn't.

Now, to be clear, if the phone is unlocked you can ignore than scanner and just swipe to home. It just seems odd that it would come on at all in that situation.

I will add that there is a setting that automatically jumps to home from the lock screen using the scanner. I've got it turned on, because with it off the scanner comes on anyway, even when the phone is unlocked. It just confirms your identity and leaves you at the lock screen.

That functionality strikes me a bit odd. I'm not sure why it wouldn't just function like a traditional password unlock always has.

Thanks for elaborating.

 

[Cosmyc]

ESS Technologies high resolution DAC and headphone amplifier built into the phone. It sounds freaking amazing through my Audio-Technica headphones

Really? Source?

 

[zeke009]

-I'm sure this is a 'me not knowing how Win10m works' problem, but I cannot figure how to get back to active apps. So, for example, I'm browsing my movie library on Plex and decide I want to check the web or send a txt real quick, so I hit the WinHome button, launch the other app, do my thing, hit the home button again... now what? If I launch Plex again, I have to sign in again, and it puts me back on my Plex home screen and not where I was in my library. So is there a blade-like screen for active apps like iOS has, or can you literally only run one app at a time?!

Press and hold the back arrow

-I set up Windows Hello and am not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it's neat. On the other hand, I have to move my phone so close to my face in order for it to scan my eyes that I go cross eyed and cannot read the screen. The sweet spot for Hello to work seems to be 6" off of your nose, and that is unnaturally close for me.

Same thing happens to me. I go cross-eyed getting it so close.

-Also, as a previous user mentioned, it's a bit cumbersome to even get into the phone when you've got a lock on it. I've got it set to not require a password for 5 minutes after use, yet for some reason when I hit the power button it does not bypass the lock screen so I still have to 'swipe up' to enter the phone. That's not really any different from how any other phone works, but Windows Hello still tries to identify me which makes me think my phone is locked, so then I go through the whole Windows Hello process which is shove the phone into my face so it can scan me... and the whole thing ends up taking way longer than it takes me to rifle off a 4-digit pin. Also, now, Windows Hello has disabled itself because of 'too many sign-in attempts'. I really wish there was just a fast way into the phone when it's still unlocked.

-On a similar subject, I cannot seem to find a setting for when the phone goes to sleep. It is way too fast by default. Sometimes I'll just stop and think for a few seconds, and my phone goes to sleep. Super annoying.

Try the Settings - Lock Screen area, is that what you're after?

 

[jdballard]

Windows Hello: I would have preferred a good fingerprint scanner to iris recognition. I wear glasses (very nearsighted), and I need to hold the phone closer to my face than I'd prefer to activate Windows Hello. That said, it does work well in the dark (but so do fingerprints).

Thanks for including this. Someone I know said they couldn't get it to work with glasses, which would really be irksome. I'll be curious to see how it works for me. I wear progressive lenses and I'm wondering how well that will work.

 

[jdballard]

-I'm sure this is a 'me not knowing how Win10m works' problem, but I cannot figure how to get back to active apps. So, for example, I'm browsing my movie library on Plex and decide I want to check the web or send a txt real quick, so I hit the WinHome button, launch the other app, do my thing, hit the home button again... now what? If I launch Plex again, I have to sign in again, and it puts me back on my Plex home screen and not where I was in my library. So is there a blade-like screen for active apps like iOS has, or can you literally only run one app at a time?!

Press and long hold the back button. Should pop up a list of open apps that you can swipe left and right through.

Thanks for the thorough observations on the new toy!

 

[phelme]

I cannot wait to walk into the conference room, use Windows Hello to unlock my phone, and fire up continuum to do a presentation. All this time being clowned for having a Windows Phone is about to pay off. hah!

They won't even notice as they'll all be on Snapchat on their phones. :evil:

 

[Visa Declined]

Do you think I'd notice a difference between my iPhone 4s and this phone when I listen to ALAC audio on my Sony MBR-10RBT?

Oh heck yeah.

 

[earl_z]

Would you say the back is thin and flimsy as the old Samsung Focus? The Focus was an OK phone for its time but for today's standards is very cheap. I had a Focus and now I have a 920. Looking forward to the 950.

 

[John M Beauchemin]

Press and hold the back arrow

...

Try the Settings - Lock Screen area, is that what you're after?

YES! Thank you, hahaha. So obvious, both of them. I kept doing long-press on the Windows Home button thinking that would do it, but that brings you into 'one-hand mode'.

Also, no idea how I missed that in lock screen settings.

 

[Lyndon Sanche]

Most definitely, if you have a good ear. If you don't know what to listen for, then you might not.

Oh heck yeah.

This makes me want this phone even more. Hopefully it comes into my MS store soon

 

[Visa Declined]

Really? Source?

ESS Selected by LG for High Resolution Audio in New V10 Smartphone

 

[zeke009]

This makes me want this phone even more. Hopefully it comes into my MS store soon

Your better off waiting for WM10 to hit RTM. It's current state on this phone is irritating and likely to crush my patience very soon. I'm tempted to get a SIM converter and move back to my 920 for a little while.

 

[ashram]

Your better off waiting for WM10 to hit RTM. It's current state on this phone is irritating and likely to crush my patience very soon. I'm tempted to get a SIM converter and move back to my 920 for a little while.

RTM stands for "Release to Manufacturer" so technically, this is RTM. Then again, when was the last time a NEW OS on NEW hardware worked 100% at launch? Android is built up and added upon, as is IOS, so it's been awhile

 

[Lyndon Sanche]

Your better off waiting for WM10 to hit RTM. It's current state on this phone is irritating and likely to crush my patience very soon. I'm tempted to get a SIM converter and move back to my 920 for a little while.

Is it not the full release on the 950?

I think I could used to bugs and things not working properly, I use an iPhone 4s after all.

 

[zeke009]

Is it not the full release on the 950?
I think I could used to bugs and things not working properly, I use an iPhone 4s after all.

Splitting hairs now. RTM is not the right term and I used it improperly.

RTM stands for "Release to Manufacturer" so technically, this is RTM. Then again, when was the last time a NEW OS on NEW hardware worked 100% at launch? Android is built up an added upon, as is IOS, so it's ea while

True, but missing VVM and it becoming a nag screen, double tap to wake is missing, and other annoyances is a little much (alerts not making it to Band 1st Gen, live tiles not updating, app crashing). It feels less than half baked and will not help the reputation of Windows Mobile now that these flagships have been released.

I was so excited for this device and now I am severely disappointed. I do have a tolerance for bugs and defects, beta this... blah blah blah and so on, Insider Preview here and there... blah blah blah. All the testing I've participated in for various products/companies means little. How I feel with this device in my hand is what matters to me now and it is total disappointment.

I'll continue with the preview program in the hopes that the releases solve some of my issues and concerns. I am not ready to give up on the platform, so I am holding out hope that it stabilizes soon. I've been with it for far too long to give up.

 

[MikeSo]

This makes me want this phone even more. Hopefully it comes into my MS store soon

They're talking about the LG V10 (which looks downright amazing), not the Microsoft Lumia 950.

 

[Donald Simard]

to see active apps - long press back buttons works on my L830 running 8.1