Would a beautiful Lumia 840 keep you on WP despite flagship disappointment?

[hasasimo]

Pretty straight forward question. With many of us being disappointed (for the first time ever in my case) with the design of a Lumia flagship, some have declared they may be leaving for more aesthetically appealing devices, like a Galaxy, Note, or Xperia.

Well, what if a Lumia 840 is announced that ends-up resembling or being as beautiful as Lumia flagships under Nokia? Would you change your mind about leaving WP, even if the specs don't quite match those of the flagship 950 and 950 XL?

I currently have a Lumia 830 and think it's a terrific device (switched from a 1520), but it would take a lot from a Lumia 840 to make up for the 950 and 950 XL for me, especially given how stunning some of the 2015 designs have been in the world of mobile.

 

[FAHMI BASSEM]

If it has the same design, and a newer CPU + better selfie camera...I'm getting it!

 

[Zachary Boddy]

I would like to point out that the flagship devices have NOT been released or even announced yet, and that we have seen absolutely no official renders or pictures from Microsoft or any partner of Microsoft. All we have seen is a render done by someone else who may or may not have seen the finalized device, and a couple of blurry or uninformative pictures. So please, do not pass judgement on these devices quite yet.
That being said, it would really depend on the specs. I love my Lumia 830's design but from an 850 I'd like to see this:
5 inch FHD screen
13MP camera with OIS and dual-LED flash
2-5MP front facing camera
Snapdragon 620
Better capacitive keys, hardware keys, and a more refined design
Larger battery
2GB RAM
Slightly thinner bezels on the side
Gorilla Glass 4
Improved loud speaker

If the 850 had all or at least most of those improvements I'd be happy to spend money on it. Some of you may think that sounds unrealistic but the 830 was supposed to be the affordable flagship and was really just a solid low-mid midrange with a lovely design and good camera. The 8xx series is right below the 9xx series and really should come close to it in several if not all ways.

 

[imnotevenhererightnow]

Honestly, given the specs, the 950 is what I would expect from a high mid-range phone. The primary exception is the QHD screen and the 20MP Pureview.

That said, if you could do an L850 with the following specs:

SD808
5.2" 1080p
13MP Pureview
5MP front
2GB RAM
2800-3000mAh battery
SD card expansion
$350

I'd probably pick one of those up.

 

[xandros9]

I'm sold on the hardware regardless, as long as they don't screw up. (and make it too big)

software's the only thing here. Although Touch ID is spoiling me.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

xandros9 has a good point. I want to see fingerprint scanners on Microsoft phones. Good fingerprint scanners.

 

[ArtificiallyYours]

Because the looks are the only thing that will determine a purchase full-stop right? Give me a break...

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Because the looks are the only thing that will determine a purchase full-stop right? Give me a break...

Design is a big deal for some people, not a problem at all with others. More of an issue is price, and the 9xx series is inevitably going to be more expensive than the 8xx series. Many of use are hoping the Lumia 850 will be a far better value than the Lumia 830. The Lumia 830 is a fantastic little device, but far too expensive for what it is.

 

[vinscg]

love the 8xx series.

 

[jmshub]

I like an aesthetically pleasing phone, but I'd take the function of the 950XL specs over a lower specc'ed 8xx series phones.

Until actual pictures are shown of the products after the October event, calling the 950 a dud is premature.

 

[Kram Sacul]

The problem for me is it's just not the hardware. Even if a 850 or fantasy Surface phone is released and is gorgeous in every way it's going to be negated by clunky and awkward to use Windows 10 Mobile being on it.

 

[slivy58]

If everything gels as a whole for WM maybe, my L830 kind of underwhelmed me with its known issues (1st hand experiences) and although it is by no means unusable, it did take the overall "joy" out of owning a Window's Phone. Really dig the design though and will be something I'll be keeping an eye on, a 5" display is almost a must as my L1020 feels a tad too small now, more oomph under the hood and definitely a decent camera/related software would help round it out.

Who knows, if the new offerings in the "flagship" arena turn out for the better (in my eyes) and aren't priced out of this world we may go that route, my sneaky suspicion though is that it may be a tad shocking $$$ wise, we're laying back now not getting overly excited.

 

[RumoredNow]

If an 840 (or 850) were to entice me it has to bump up off the SD 4xx level and get on the SD 6xx series. 2GB RAM would be nice as well.

830 is a beautiful design, IMHO, just underpowered.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

If an 840 (or 850) were to entice me it has to bump up off the SD 4xx level and get on the SD 6xx series. 2GB RAM would be nice as well.

830 is a beautiful design, IMHO, just underpowered.

Agreed. One of my only criticisms was the performance. It was smooth but not enough for the price. I had a few design niggles as well (which is why I want a more refined design).

 

[spiff_p239]

I like an aesthetically pleasing phone, but I'd take the function of the 950XL specs over a lower specc'ed 8xx series phones.

Until actual pictures are shown of the products after the October event, calling the 950 a dud is premature.

Yep, this is how I feel as well. When it comes down to it, the performance is what matters the most to me. At the end of the day, my phone is a tool for me, and as long as it does its job, I'll be happy. Plus, it's not like the 950/950XL are ugly devices, they're just somewhat plain Jane.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

The problem for me is it's just not the hardware. Even if a 850 or fantasy Surface phone is released and is gorgeous in every way it's going to be negated by clunky and awkward to use Windows 10 Mobile being on it.

I don't know about that. The latest build is actually starting to improve performance over Windows Phone 8.1. It's not perfect but it sure is looking up.

 

[slivy58]

The problem for me is it's just not the hardware. Even if a 850 or fantasy Surface phone is released and is gorgeous in every way it's going to be negated by clunky and awkward to use Windows 10 Mobile being on it.

Can't comment on W10M much as I've only tried it once and because of its bugginess I reverted back to 8.1, my initial impressions were favourable though and looking forward to trying out a more stable build.

Going to take far more than a new device or two along with a revamped OS to continue my loyalty towards WP, hardware/OS/updates/apps/carrier acceptance/availability/accessories have all been lacking for me making owning a WP somewhat of an annoyance that is resonated daily, not seeing anything at this time that indicates we'll experience a inrush of popularity that will ramp up WPs status in the marketplace substantially, kind of a downer to think its prominence overall won’t change for some time to come.

 

[Iain_S]

Pretty straight forward question. With many of us being disappointed (for the first time ever in my case) with the design of a Lumia flagship, some have declared they may be leaving for more aesthetically appealing devices, like a Galaxy, Note, or Xperia.

Well, what if a Lumia 840 is announced that ends-up resembling or being as beautiful as Lumia flagships under Nokia? Would you change your mind about leaving WP, even if the specs don't quite match those of the flagship 950 and 950 XL?

I currently have a Lumia 830 and think it's a terrific device (switched from a 1520), but it would take a lot from a Lumia 840 to make up for the 950 and 950 XL for me, especially given how stunning some of the 2015 designs have been in the world of mobile.

How do we know if the flagship will be disappointing, or are you one of the people that are basing your opinion from a ****ty leaked internal render of the phone? I actually think the 950 takes is design cues from the 830, and think it will be a nice device.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

A guy has done a bunch of renders that are just like the renders we saw except the shadows, lighting, and angles are all way better. For once you truly see how beautiful the device will be. His renders aren't perfect (funky hardware buttons and such) but they're a whole lot better than the crap ones we've seen previously.

 

[JasonSCarter]

I love my 830. I am holding on until I see if Windows Mobile 10 final release on the 830 works well enough to keep it until another 8xx series phone comes out. I just can't bring myself to jump on the 950/950 XL at those prices. If they get a Snapdragon 6xx series CPU in the next 8xx series phone, it's going to perform really well.