Which is better, Lumia 950 or Lumia 950 XL, and why?

[Alyeldiin]

So I've been planning to buy a new Windows 10 mobile device (waiting for the price to drop a little more, my 925 still does the job) and I just can't decide between the two. a lot of people said The 950XL was better but recently I saw many comments that said otherwise.

I really can't decide between the two so I'm asking the owners of these devices on these forums : What are the advantages and disadvantages in The Lumia950 and The Lumia 950 XL, based on your experience?

 

[xandros9]

The biggest deciding factor is the size. I personally can't stand XL phones so it disqualifies the 950 XL from the get go. (even the 950 is pushing it)

The XL is a tad more powerful I believe, but it isn't worth it for me. Phablet or no phablet pretty much is the question here.

 

[PepperdotNet]

950XL: 8 cores, bigger screen
950: 6 cores, smaller screen

Side by side, the size isn't really that different, may as well get the bigger one (IMO). I was carrying a 1020 in an otterbox, the XL was almost the exact same size except for thickness. Even in a case, it fits better in the same pockets where I carried the 1020.

 

[Alyeldiin]

I honestly don't see size as a huge deciding factor. It's more about performance, battery life and stability for me. if it were only a matter of size I'd just buy the cheaper one.

 

[mtf1380]

950, for hand topography
950XL, for everything else";^)

 

[pankaj981]

The XL has a better battery and the SoC heats less under load than the 950. I've had both simultaneously and chose the XL. Can't be any happier (though I still love my 1520)

 

[Zulfigar]

Then if it's about performance, the Lumia 950 XL is the better phone. It's everyday performance, as well as gaming performance, is noticeably better than the Lumia 950. This game is actually the perfect example to show off the GPU difference (Adreno 418 vs Adreno 430).

In other words, it's the Snapdragon 808 (Lumia 950) vs Snapdragon 810 (Lumia 950 XL).

 

[Alyeldiin]

Thanks for the replies guys. XL it is then.

 

[Cyril Richard]

Hi guys. For me it's not really about performance in every day situations, unless the XL has a noticeable advantage for that, which I doubt. However what about the performance in Continuum? I expect to use Continuum quite a lot, at least I'll try it and use it often if it's good, so performance when using Continuum could be a deciding factor.
I'm also wondering about battery life, would the XL be significantly better in that department?

Overall, I must say that I find the XL slightly too big, I have small hands and I don't think I could use it one-handed. I also doubt it fits easily into jean's pockets, what's your take on that?

Cheers guys!

 

[Alyeldiin]

Pretty sure I saw a lot of people say the XL has better performance in Continuum. But that was way back and many updates were released so I'm not sure if that's the case now

 

[tweet2nowhere]

950 for me. XL was too big to pocket. It also has much greater battery drain during usage, the sd810 is just a battery hog. My 950 is at its hottest when charging, and unless you are doing benchmarks and gaming, the 950 is a good choice. I think continuum performance is smooth.
I did find it strange how a small difference in size on paper translated to a big difference while in hand. But again, it's all about personal preference.

 

[Alyeldiin]

Like I said, I don't care if it's too big. But that's exactly what I'm talking about. I've seen many comments before saying that The XL's battery drains faster because of the higher chipset and slightly bigger screen size. - as for continuum I don't think I'll be using that too much and I'm not really a big mobile gamer.

 

[Allen Rhodes]

Depends on your needs, more powerful will take longer to need replacing due to tech age. Either way, fan boy that I am, the battery life on this platform and 8.1 is pathetic. You shouldn't need a monster like a 1520 to get a full day of moderate+ use(not GAMING or NETFLIX). I don't know what they see as acceptable but even on a clean install on my 950xl with only stock apps, my 60min commute costs 5% before I even start to work. Been on the platform since 7, not 7.8, so don't nit pick my usage habbits. I WANT a full day and purposely don't use it more and it still needs charging by 8hrs in off the charger. Anyway, I vote the XL, faster and bigger battery with potential to last longer due to its tech. The 950 will likely be dogged down by end of 2017s updates. Typical cycle to force buying a new phone, update til it's too slow to use.

 

[Cyril Richard]

Hello guys. Thank you for all your answers. I've been in shops today where I could compare both. Well actually the 950 was functional and the 950 XL was just a mock-up, but at least I could hold it in my hand to have an idea. The 950, even before anniversary update, runs very well and everything is snappy. I couldn't try Continuum though.

I have decided for the 950. As I said I have small hand and even without using the 950XL, it already felt quite uncomfortable in my hand. Just to hold it I had to stretch my hand a bit. I think the 950 is the maximum I could have in terms of size to be able to use it comfortably, even double-handed. It could be a bit higher but not wider - I have tried the 5.5" galaxy S7 Edge and I was fairly comfortable with it but the S7 Edge is just like the 950 in wideness, it's just higher. The 950 XL is just to wide, which is why I had to stretch my hand just to hold it.

So, for this physical reason, I will go for the 950 despite the fact it's probably less future-proof. But if it's updated and runs well until the end of 2017, as you say, that would already be enough for me, that's a year and a half and after all if it runs well I could even keep it longer if I wanted to (I have kept my 920 for three years before switching to Android OnePlus X in November - which I don't like as you can see). Obviously I hope that in a year or a year and a half, whether it's a Surface Phone or a phone from any OEM, very good phones with W10M will exist (and W10M will probably have improved by a lot) and I will be able to upgrade at this point. If not well...I'll see in due course.

Overall, I found the 950 very good. It's snappy, apps launch very fast even on that device used and turned-on all day in the shop, the screen is great, the camera will be great as well (couldn't properly test that). And I actually like the on-screen buttons as they allow to use the full screen in apps. 5.2" is already plenty of real estate on a phone. I'm on W10M on my Lumia 920 but it's painfully slow, whereas on the 950 it's a totally different experience. And I know it will get quite a lot better after the anniversary update, in just a few weeks (I'll go to insider production ring if it allows to get it a bit quicker).

So now...I'm waiting for my exam results! I have sat the final exams of my professional qualification recently and the results are due soon...so I told myself I would buy my a very nice treat if I complete this qualification successfully. If not...well, the 950 will wait a bit until I the qualification is complete!


PS: something is very sad with the current state of W10M, it's how it's sold in the actual shops. I was at John Lewis (In London) and the 950 was presented as the 950 XL - the label with the name, price, characteristics, etc was the one of the XL! Next to it was supposedly the 950...which was a 550! When you see the price on the label (price of a 950) and you play around with a 550, yes you would believe that W10M phones are really crap in terms of price/quality ratio. I had the same the other day in a Vodafone shop, a phone was labelled as the 950 and I found something really weird when using it...after 30 seconds I realized it was a Lumia 640, on Windows Phone 8.1! No wonder it doesn't sell when the sales people can't even recognize which phone is which! You can imagine they must be even more clueless about the OS inside. And again, it happened in both a Vodafone shop and the John Lewis flagship store...

 

[anon(50597)]

OP, congrats on the completion of your exams. You have bought yourself a very nice device that will last you for quite a while. It's hard to get advice on a forum like this because everyone's needs are different. From what you have spelled out, I believe you made the right choice.

 

[Cyril Richard]

Thanks mate but it's not done yet, results are coming tomorrow! Fingers crossed - the 950 white dual-sim is already in my Amazon basket, I'm waiting for the confirmation e-mail and if it's good I am definitely ready to pull the trigger

But yes, last time I tried the 950 XL it did not seem that big to me, but after trying again yesterday clearly I can't even hold it comfortably. Let's hope that the mythical surface phone (or maybe surface phone 2 if I can keep the 950 long-enough!) will be very good, and will me more around the size of the 950. Or, for that matter, that in a year and a half, any other OEM will have a very compelling proposition around that size.

 

[mtf1380]

Thanks mate but it's not done yet, results are coming tomorrow! Fingers crossed - the 950 white dual-sim is already in my Amazon basket, I'm waiting for the confirmation e-mail and if it's good I am definitely ready to pull the trigger

But yes, last time I tried the 950 XL it did not seem that big to me, but after trying again yesterday clearly I can't even hold it comfortably. Let's hope that the mythical surface phone (or maybe surface phone 2 if I can keep the 950 long-enough!) will be very good, and will me more around the size of the 950. Or, for that matter, that in a year and a half, any other OEM will have a very compelling proposition around that size.

Good Choice!

 

[Roderick Aspiras]

I would recommend the XL. Since the SoC is current and powerful, it will last for 2 years or more without sacrificing performance and now that Windows mobile is always being updated you need that extra power. My only concern for the XL is battery life. It's like hit and miss as far as the reviews that I have read.