Should I buy a 950XL or wait for the "Surface Phone"??

[RealBboy360]

Uber app and mobile failed on me tonight. Battery as well, 950XL is a terrible phone. Batter was great for about a month, now it's like my old 1520 that I sold.

 

[signal-2-noise]

Could have fooled me. The 950 is the best phone I've ever owned.

So....the 950 is your first phone?

All kidding aside, after 2 days with the 950 XL and getting it set up to my liking I'm discovering it's not all cracked up to what it should be as a so-called "flagship". The 950 & 950 XL have some nice features hardware-wise but when it comes to functionality my 930 is much much better. I will hang on to the 950 XL in hopes things will improve with W10M & firmware updates but I cry a little on the inside whenever I look at the phone knowing how much I paid for it.

 

[ak1520]

Glad to hear you ordered your own 950XL!

I've been really happy since I've picked mine up from a B&M Store.

Iris scanner's quick, continuum's great with my free dock, the camera's fast (and great quality) all the radio's working fine and dandy, and still feels great to hold about a month later.

 

[jacky_h]

Creaking and flex in the cover, dust collecting in the gap between screen and edge, screen itself not perfectly flat (looks plasticky and warped in the light), plasticky logo, on-screen buttons (ok I knew that when I bought it), WhatsApp calling doesn't work (recipients say I sound like I'm on the other side of the room), notifications in action centre are about 10 messages behind and also don't sync with status of messages in the app itself (includes outlook and WhatsApp), Outlook notifications don't work at all (no banner notification, nothing on lock screen)... Want me to go on..?

Nothing personal but you must have owned some crap phones in your time if the 950 is the best you've had. My L830 is significantly better than the 950 and the 640 is about on par.

 

[dgardel]

I had 920 & 930, I have a 950XL and am happy with it and my iPhone 6S stay on the desk....

 

[DMCarver]

Y'all are funny. Rip snorting ready to buy a phone that we have only marginal information on, no true specs for, no release date, and no pricing information. That is too much speculation for me.

I have a AT&T 950 and am happy with it. I've got Black Leather Mozo Back Plate on order which should look SWEET! I'm hoping my Orzly flexible/transparent case will fit over that. Windows 10 Mobile is working well for me. Clearly MS needs to work on a few issues like the Beta Windows Hello, focusing at night and I'd like to see some WP 8.1 features brought forward like geofenced Wi-Fi and rotating Glance backgrounds.

I can buy a Surface phone a year and a half to two years or so from now. In the short term I have a very nice phone and I am supporting the platform.

I'm in the same boat and agree with you 100%. I love my 950 on ATT. Let me know how the case works out with the Mozo back plate. I am going to do the same thing. Already have a clear flexible case so you can see the phone - and I want to put the Mozo back plate on it so hoping it will fit in the clear case versus going case-less.

 

[jcrod73]

Well, once I receive my 950XL, I'll give it a go and try it out. Worst case, I'll just return it if it's as bad as people say...being an IT guy I'm very particular about my electronics...

 

[argenys]

I hope I have the mental strength to not buy the 1st gen Surface phone and just enjoy my 950 XL for the next 18 months or whatever it may be for the 2nd gen Surface phone. But I'm sure I'll cave in somehow.

 

[ordivergens]

I hope I have the mental strength to not buy the 1st gen Surface phone and just enjoy my 950 XL for the next 18 months or whatever it may be for the 2nd gen Surface phone. But I'm sure I'll cave in somehow.

Lol, I know. I will probably end up selling my Note 5 Duos and the 950 XL to buy it

Of course, that will be difficult as I am sure I will be tempted by the Note 6...

If only I had an endless stream of flowing money... or maybe if I won that powerball....

 

[snakebitten]

Creaking and flex in the cover, dust collecting in the gap between screen and edge, screen itself not perfectly flat (looks plasticky and warped in the light), plasticky logo, on-screen buttons (ok I knew that when I bought it), WhatsApp calling doesn't work (recipients say I sound like I'm on the other side of the room), notifications in action centre are about 10 messages behind and also don't sync with status of messages in the app itself (includes outlook and WhatsApp), Outlook notifications don't work at all (no banner notification, nothing on lock screen)... Want me to go on..?

Nothing personal but you must have owned some crap phones in your time if the 950 is the best you've had. My L830 is significantly better than the 950 and the 640 is about on par.

I have no reason to doubt your specifics. But you'd be equally mistaken to assume everyone's 950(XL) has suffered the same malady.

No dust, not even a spec, has collected anywhere that I can see. I'm kind of old, and my vision isn't that of an eagle-eye, so maybe I don't see this?
I don't notice the screen being anything but flat. Seems like a sheet of flat glass to me.
I know that plastic cover is controversial to many folks, but my phones are always in protective covers. Not as sexy, I suppose, but my 2 year old phones look brand spanking new when I take the cover(s) off. (1520's. Gorgeous to this day)
Onscreen buttons are the bomb to me. My only complaint on the 1520 is the accidental launches. No more!
My Outlook App is my bread & butter app. It works wonderfully. In fact, it has come so far over the last few builds. My notifications for my corporate account are perfect! Love this app.

What's App........I don't know anything about it. But I agree that there are non-core apps that are far from mature in W10M. But that's not anything you can be shocked about. This is very early in the development life of W10. Drives some folks crazy, I know. But I'm betting that's not a 950XL specific issue?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the 950's have lots of happy customers, especially after the first patches and updates were released that addressed the widespread first-release issues. It might seem irrational to those that have their legitimate gripes. But it shouldn't seem so impossible that some folks aren't affected.

I will admit these flagship 950's aren't flagships for everybody. But for me, it's the most amazing phone I've ever used for any length of time. Not perfect, mind you. But I know of no gripe I have that is of serious consequence, or not improvable with further maturing of apps and updates.

 

[Captpt]

Can you tell me where did you buy brand new Lumia 1520?

They are still available from sellers on Amazon and eBay, the seller I purchased mine from had 16 brand new sealed AT&T, a few Windows Central members jumped on them before they ran out...

 

[jacky_h]

I really have had these issues and more seem to develop every day (now there's an electrical popping noise when I charge - this is well documented and today the new feature of a blank (black) screen for 1 or 2 seconds after I press the unlock button...). Don't get me wrong please - I have carried a Lumia since the 700 and I really wanted to like the 950 but I really can't. These types of problem should be ironed out by now. Sure, I don't expect absolutely perfect but having produced Lumias since 2011, surely nearly perfect isn't an unreasonable expectation.. In any case, will be interested to read the OP's opinion.

 

[ROBBIE HALL]

Get the 950. By/If the time comes for the surface phone you would have gotten a few great months of the 950. And you can simply sell it. There will be someone who can't afford it now who is just waiting for a nice 2nd hand device. Can put that money towards your surface.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Flavio76]

950 XL is a beast and windows 10 on it make sense, works right, snap, good, no regret!

 

[Blacklizted]

This phone is premium! I've had all iPhones since the beginning except the 6S. I've owned the 720, 1020, 1520, and now the 950XL. Most bang for the buck. USB Type C, Gorilla Glass 4, 2TB MicroSD card support, removable battery, iris scanner, cooling, 5mp ffc, 20mp rfc with f/1.9 aperture, 4 mics, dual sim, dual antenna, 2k display, snapdragon 810, 3GB ram, continuum, wireless charging, NFC, Bluetooth, dedicated camera button, etc.

How many got all of these features in a phone? And people hate the design because its made up of plastic? I see a lot of phones with cracked glass, and aluminum/metal backs full of dents and scratches. And guess what, they can't replace it. They can't and won't because its too expensive to send for repair. They are now just relying on people who would willingly buy a damaged 'PREMIUM' phone for less. I've always loved polycarbonate since I owned a 720. I wished for a removable back cover and the 950 XL is a dream come true for me.

 

[GMC262]

"I see a lot of phones with cracked glass, and aluminum/metal backs full of dents and scratches. And guess what, they can't replace it. They can't and won't because its too expensive to send for repair."

Not with HTC. They will replace the aluminum case, sometimes for free depending on the age of the phone.

 

[Chatumbabub]

Could you please check Hardware revision number? I have 4.0.1.0. I was trying two 950XL and there was no differences between devices.

Your phone is JACKED UP man. I use the iris scanner and as far as the speed? let me say this..by the time I whip out my phone to type in my 4 digit pin IRIS has ALREADY welcomes me to my phone! it works so well I cannot avoid USING IT. The phone only has to be close enough for me to view the text (normal length when unlocking a phone) and it friggan works ! and its FAST! much faster than typing in a pen. I keep mines updated and have not experienced any of the buggy stuff ur talking about... Not saying you are lying just that maybe you got a dud model. There is no faster "SECURE" way that I know of right now to access a smart phone

 

[snakebitten]

Mine reads Hardware revision number: 4.0.3.1

(FW 15506.02005 & OS build 10.0.10586.63)

 

[Krystianpants]

Mine reads Hardware revision number: 4.0.3.1

(FW 15506.02005 & OS build 10.0.10586.63)

Mine is same and works great.

 

[Krystianpants]

This phone is premium! I've had all iPhones since the beginning except the 6S. I've owned the 720, 1020, 1520, and now the 950XL. Most bang for the buck. USB Type C, Gorilla Glass 4, 2TB MicroSD card support, removable battery, iris scanner, cooling, 5mp ffc, 20mp rfc with f/1.9 aperture, 4 mics, dual sim, dual antenna, 2k display, snapdragon 810, 3GB ram, continuum, wireless charging, NFC, Bluetooth, dedicated camera button, etc.

How many got all of these features in a phone? And people hate the design because its made up of plastic? I see a lot of phones with cracked glass, and aluminum/metal backs full of dents and scratches. And guess what, they can't replace it. They can't and won't because its too expensive to send for repair. They are now just relying on people who would willingly buy a damaged 'PREMIUM' phone for less. I've always loved polycarbonate since I owned a 720. I wished for a removable back cover and the 950 XL is a dream come true for me.

I have the brown leather mozo case. People eye the heck out of my phone.