[Real Users] My Lumia 950 Review

[kaktus1389]

I have been using the Lumia 950 for about 6 months and I thought this would be the appropriate time to review it in depth, even though there might not be a lot of users who are going to buy it in future.

Design
I don’t have anything against the design, though it really is a bit boring when I compare it to the 930 or design of phones from other manufacturers, though I do like design of the camera. I did buy 2 Mozo covers (red leather and walnut one) and I have to admit that it really feels better with the walnut cover because I find the original cover quite slippery. I dropped the phone once but I was lucky enough that it only left some scratches on the original cover and a crack on the screen protector.

Hardware
I have not had any problems with the Lumia 950’s hardware, never had resuming screens nor any other issues except for the headphone jack but I figured out that the real problem were headphones so I replaced them and now everything is working fine. I did have some issues with the Bluetooth sound quality when using Bluetooth headphones but I am glad it has been fixed on the previous fast ring build. The screen is fantastic, my only wish is that I could reduce the resolution to 1080p similarly to the option that is available on the Samsung Galaxy S8 so I could get better battery life.
My only complaint about the hardware part is the battery life which could be better as I barely get 10 hours on medium usage.

Software
Now I think we all know everything about the software. Windows 10 Mobile could surely use a lot of improvements and bugfixes. I experienced a lot of app crashes (particularly myTube when I was trying to listen to music in the background) in “normal” mode and in Continuum, but that’s not even the worst problem I experienced. I think that there is a major bug in W10M regarding the SD card, because several problems were probably caused because of the SD card. The problem was also present on my Lumia 640 XL, but it wasn’t exactly the same. On the 950, system crashed a few times when I was rapidly taking pictures (like 5 in a row) and whenever I rebooted the system I get the SD card error and it has to be scanned every single time which is pretty annoying. Other than that I knew what I was doing when I bought the 950 and I still think I like the phone, though MS did disappoint me with their latest moves.

Continuum
The first day when I bought the phone I decided to buy the Continuum display dock because I wanted to test all the features that are available for my phone. It is a neat experience but could still use a lot of improvements (windowed mode, multitasking, more pc-like Action centre, system tray and Start Menu, pinning shortcuts to desktop and the taskbar, etc.) which we probably won’t see. The phone did get hot when I was using 4 apps at the same time and multiple tabs in edge which also resulted in reduced responsiveness, but I managed to cool it down and everything was fine. I do moderately use Continuum when I am not at home or when I want to get away from distractions and only need to use Word and a few other apps.

Windows Hello
I really enjoy this feature and iris scanner has been working well for me, but of course it doesn’t always work perfectly, especially under direct sunlight. It is nice to see that even Samsung adopted it (hmmm, why would they do that?), which means that other phone manufacturers think it’s a nice thing to have on a phone.

Camera
Now I am not a huge camera user and I am by all means not insanely good photographer but I like to take pictures every now and then and excluding the problems I had with the Camera app I have no complaints about the camera. The pictures I took were sharp, they had the detail and that’s what an average phone camera user like me would probably call a great camera.

TL;DR
If we don't count the problems with SD card and app crashes, my experience with the phone as a Windows fan was great and I can recommend the phone for the current price to everyone that is familiar with Windows 10 Mobile situation and doesn't mind it.

 

[libra89]

I have been using the Lumia 950 for about 6 months and I thought this would be the appropriate time to review it in depth, even though there might not be a lot of users who are going to buy it in future.

Design
I don’t have anything against the design, though it really is a bit boring when I compare it to the 930 or design of phones from other manufacturers, though I do like design of the camera. I did buy 2 Mozo covers (red leather and walnut one) and I have to admit that it really feels better with the walnut cover because I find the original cover quite slippery. I dropped the phone once but I was lucky enough that it only left some scratches on the original cover and a crack on the screen protector.

Hardware
I have not had any problems with the Lumia 950’s hardware, never had resuming screens nor any other issues except for the headphone jack but I figured out that the real problem were headphones so I replaced them and now everything is working fine. I did have some issues with the Bluetooth sound quality when using Bluetooth headphones but I am glad it has been fixed on the previous fast ring build. The screen is fantastic, my only wish is that I could reduce the resolution to 1080p similarly to the option that is available on the Samsung Galaxy S8 so I could get better battery life.
My only complaint about the hardware part is the battery life which could be better as I barely get 10 hours on medium usage.

Software
Now I think we all know everything about the software. Windows 10 Mobile could surely use a lot of improvements and bugfixes. I experienced a lot of app crashes (particularly myTube when I was trying to listen to music in the background) in “normal” mode and in Continuum, but that’s not even the worst problem I experienced. I think that there is a major bug in W10M regarding the SD card, because several problems were probably caused because of the SD card. The problem was also present on my Lumia 640 XL, but it wasn’t exactly the same. On the 950, system crashed a few times when I was rapidly taking pictures (like 5 in a row) and whenever I rebooted the system I get the SD card error and it has to be scanned every single time which is pretty annoying. Other than that I knew what I was doing when I bought the 950 and I still think I like the phone, though MS did disappoint me with their latest moves.

Continuum
The first day when I bought the phone I decided to buy the Continuum display dock because I wanted to test all the features that are available for my phone. It is a neat experience but could still use a lot of improvements (windowed mode, multitasking, more pc-like Action centre, system tray and Start Menu, pinning shortcuts to desktop and the taskbar, etc.) which we probably won’t see. The phone did get hot when I was using 4 apps at the same time and multiple tabs in edge which also resulted in reduced responsiveness, but I managed to cool it down and everything was fine. I do moderately use Continuum when I am not at home or when I want to get away from distractions and only need to use Word and a few other apps.

Windows Hello
I really enjoy this feature and iris scanner has been working well for me, but of course it doesn’t always work perfectly, especially under direct sunlight. It is nice to see that even Samsung adopted it (hmmm, why would they do that?), which means that other phone manufacturers think it’s a nice thing to have on a phone.

Camera
Now I am not a huge camera user and I am by all means not insanely good photographer but I like to take pictures every now and then and excluding the problems I had with the Camera app I have no complaints about the camera. The pictures I took were sharp, they had the detail and that’s what an average phone camera user like me would probably call a great camera.

TL;DR
If we don't count the problems with SD card and app crashes, my experience with the phone as a Windows fan was great and I can recommend the phone for the current price to everyone that is familiar with Windows 10 Mobile situation and doesn't mind it.

Great review! I agree with everything pretty much. I also wish that the display could be reduced too because that would make it just a bit better.

 

[mweflen]

:straight: Okay. Now I am nervous. I have been with Windows phone since wp7. I currently have a 640XL. It has been a great phone but it's slow due to the upgrades of apps , etc. I ordered a 950 and it's due here tomorrow. I am confused with all the comments. Battery life is a big thing with me. My 640 only has to be charged once daily. It lasts forever. I am hoping the 950 is close. I will not use 'retina scan', etc. I am worried about Microsoft not keeping Windows Mobile. If they are not, then why are they charging SO much for them? I did buy an Android to try it. Mostly because of the apps. I am an in-between user. I use mostly what they have anyway but I cannot get an app for my doc/health site, grocery store, the bank, cvs, etc. Apps are half the reason for the convenient smart phone experience. I loved that part of the Android, but the battery life was horrible and I sent it back. Next I tried an 'extra' iPhone 6 of a friend. What a pain in the backside. Just the setup alone was very tedious. I think they are over-rated. On the off side, iPhone is 'too' much. So I guess my question is, "Am I going to regret that I spent almost $400 (which happens to be a real lot of money for me) for a new windows phone? Yikes.

If battery life is your main selling point, you're not going to like the 950 very much compared to the 640. The high res screen and beefy CPU chew through battery pretty quickly during heavy use (though not more than a comparably specced Android phone, in my experience).

But the 950 is superior to the 640 in every other respect (speed, display quality), and far superior in terms of camera quality.

The 950 will never match the 640 in terms of value for the dollar. You're just not going to beat what the 640 gives you at $30-$60. It is worth it if you care about the aspects I just mentioned.

As far as W10M, we're all worried, but I don't think MS will stop updating the OS even if they abandon the platform. W10M seems to have some relation to their future "mobile computing" plans. So I think you'll get a few more years of supported use out of a 950.