Lumia 950/950XL flagships design - like it or not?

[romancos]

We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Simon Hinton]

I'm waiting to see how the camera stacks up more than anything, though I truly hate how Lumia Camera 5 (and now Windows Camera) handles image processing.

If it's a marginally improved camera (as that's exactly what I'm expecting; the 1520/930 sensor with tweaked lenses,) I hope Samsung releases a Galaxy S6/Edge/+/Note for Windows and supplies their own camera app. As it stands, ever since LC5 I've hated my 1520, and as it stands, the best Lumia camera in the world can't make up for the **** Windows Camera will do to the photos captured...

Have you got any more details? I'm just about to upgrade from my Lumia 900 (essentially no image processing, good god the noise) and I've always been weary of the "watercolor" appearance of Pureveiw imagery after the 920. Not sure if that's still an issue, or if W10 Mobile (or Lumia Camera) makes it worse.

 

[ScubaDog]

The camera is NOT as good as the 1020 (20mp vs 41mp) so you can't make that claim. Also, they could add 1GB of memory and have the "best specs" if you count the camera. Many of us do NOT buy smartphones based on specs, unless there's a specific one (like the camera). We look at the entire package: responsiveness of user experience, apps, DESIGN, storage, etc. These do NOT qualify as flagships as far as I'm concerned. The specs are on par with competitors, and the camera is sub-par compared to the 1020. And Windows 10 Mobile is the worst operating system ever. I've been testing it since they made the OS available and there is simply nothing good I can say about it compared to Windows Phone 8.1. Nothing.

 

[ScubaDog]

I can tell you, having been testing W10Mobile for a while now, that the system is SLOOOOWWWWW (I hope you like seeing "resuming" and "loading" a LOT), the native apps are all half-baked, and you can't FIND anything on this OS. Oh, and texting is inconsistent. I can't tell you how many times I've sent a text--or been told someone sent ME one--that never arrived at its destination. Cortana is so incredibly disappointing on W10M, too. HUGE delays in getting any sort of response, I almost always here the "thinking" sound between every step she takes on a given task. On my 1020 I have Cortana set to "always on", so I use her more than anything else. But it's completely useless in W10M.

 

[Raman1234]

I am fine with 950 and like 5.2 inch screen as well

 

[isaac lee ishida]

Daniel Rubino was told "I can tell you that no" 1030 "or" 1040 "is currently planned. That was a thing to differentiate Nokia. Sorry!".

In my opinion, if Microsoft really wants to differentiate Lumia (Nokia) and Lumia (Microsoft), please change your Lumia phone designs.
Microsoft does not realize that there are no significant differences between the Lumia (Nokia) and Lumia (Microsoft).
Please change your Lumia design, because it is getting boring and outdated. Use the buttons on the screen is very suffocating.
Samsung galaxy 6 Edge has a curve on the side of the screen, that their identities. And LG G4 has a curve in the middle of the screen.
While Microsoft is only remained dull and there's nothing identity marks for Lumia Microsoft.

Polycarbonate for Body material that is "Nokia thing", Oreo at back cover for camera hump also "Nokia thing" and PureView technology still "Nokia thing".
So what it is "Microsoft thing???" what Microsoft identity???

Microsoft soon will be introduced Lumia 950 and 950XL, although it microsoft product, but still using a Nokia Lumia design.
The fact Lumia Microsoft still living in the shadow of the Nokia brand. If want make a difference, please do it thoroughly.
Where is your designer team? Dear Panos Panay please save this Lumia Brand, because they getting boring and old fashion.
Microsoft should look at Acer Predator 6, Samsung galaxy 6 Edge or LG G4 design...that what we want.

What i talking is about Phone Design, Phone shape and Phone materials. Not about sofware or hardware. So don't said live tiles is "Microsoft thing".

 

[infinitelurker]

You can't simply compare megapixels and say the camera is not as good. Internals matter. Wait and see what quality reviewers say about the camera before labeling it as not as good as the 1020.

 

[Steve Adams]

You can't simply compare megapixels and say the camera is not as good. Internals matter. Wait and see what quality reviewers say about the camera before labeling it as not as good as the 1020.

I agree, to a point. At this point for pure PHOTO use, nothing touches the 1020. Yes Samsung and apples phones have cool gimmicks like slow mo cameras, etc, and yes they may be faster, BUT, NO picture I have seen from another phone looks a pleasing as ones from the 1020. Just how it is.

 

[Chris 6]

Hey Ben I am using the 930 on AT&T and it works great no issues at all so far, best windows phone I have ever used.

 

[Peter Langenkamp]

It's true that megapixels don't tell the whole story, but that's not all we know. Assuming the renders we've seen up till now are correct, these new phones won't have xenon flash, essential for capturing moving people or objects in low light. Also, the phones are thinner, which leaves less room for the optics and limits the sensor size. Furthermore, less pixels means less 'lossless' zoom, less (if any) oversampling and less maximum resolved detail (although to be fair the 1020's doesn't fully utilize the sensor in this regards, with blurring in the photos' corners resulting from the lens)

 

[Krystianpants]

agreed the lumia camera app was brilliant, however the windows 10 update (TP) forces you to use the Windows camera app which makes the photos horrible and washed out. rolled back 8.1 immediately on my Lumia 1020

My windows 10 mobile forces me to use Lumia Camera. I can't change it to Microsoft and have a separate tile for it. There are times when I want to use the MS one. For the most part the Lumia one is better.

 

[Viipottaja]

Kinda surprised Windows Central has not posted these, perhaps they are considered fakes by Daniel:

Lumia 950 XL sketches & video. Thickness & size specifications

New Lumia 950 XL press images leak now. Shows device with Black / White covers. | Nokiapoweruser

 

[0neder]

As an industrial designer, what first attracted me to the Lumia 800, 900, and most recently 1020 was the industrial design. A lot of people here can tell the leaked renders don't look prem ium, but don't specifically talk about WHY. I would like to get into the details on that.

No Curved Glass:
Lumia 800 was the first curved glass smartphone. Curved glass feels comfortable and achieves the disappearing bezel look. Apple has now used this on the Watch and iPhone, and MS is walking away from it? Why? This screen edge looks identical to that on a cheap $100 smartphone.

No Unibody
A flagship phone does not have a pop-off panel that comes off when you drop it. My wife ruined her 635 and 730/830 by dropping it because of the cheap removable panel. I have dropped my unibody matte white Lumia 1020 about 50 times with no case on asphalt and other rough surfaces. It took about 50 for the angle to be just right for the screen to crack. The corner design is what protected it the previous 49 times.

Unimproved Camera Hump
The hump isn't bad per-se, but it allows the phone to rock when a case is not used. Huawei solved this elegantly in their new Nexus 5 flagship. It seems Microsoft didn't think much about how they could continue to improve their (Nokia's) previous nice efforts like the 1520, 1020, 920, etc.

Horribly tacky metal trim ring around camera lens(950)
This looks like a blackberry or droid element from 2005 and has nothing in common with anything that people loved about past Lumias.

Summary
Now if Microsoft had bothered to keep at least one or two of the major vestigial features people loved about previous Lumia flagships, I would still be a shoe-in for the new flagship. BUT, they seem to have eliminated every one of these great features, so if I am not pleasantly surprised when I handle one in store, then I will be reluctantly going to Apple (I like the Nexus 5 but hate Android and am skeptical of Huawei's camera chops).

 

[Jordan_Musser]

I was skeptical at first but I think with it being 7mm thick it looks like a stealth device. I won't really know until I get one in my hands but I do seem to like the pics thus far. As for the camera sticking out of the backend... They all do it. iPhone 6, 6+, 6s and 6s+, Galaxy S5, S6, S6 edge, S6+ S6 Edge + and now the Lumia's. The thought is users will put a case on the device and that will create the even layer when laying the device on a flat surface. I for one do not like having a case and can agree with you that the camera hump does stink. But it is the norm these days, especially with the types of cameras that are going into the devices now.
I love Continuum and what that has to offer.
I am skeptical now at the Windows Hello feature it states in the revelead doc's the other day - Facial Recognition? We were all under the assumption it would be an iris scanner.
32gb is a nice place to start off especially with so many cloud services adding additional storage elsewhere. however it would still be nice to see a place for an SD card.
USB c is nice unfortunately the S6 + and the S6 Edge + are still using micro USB and Apple is still using it's lightning charger. Will the general public be inclined to go to a device that has it's own charger for the time being?

 

[tmoore71]

They seem to follow the design of the 930. I would prefer something along the lines of the 925, but that's just me. I'll withhold judgement until I actually see the new devices.

 

[madapo]

For me, the design of both phones is terrible, because they even look cheap.
FAIL

 

[John M Beauchemin]

The high res screen needs the extra power though.

For sure. That's only a few hundred vertical pixels shy of my 30" desktop monitor's screen resolution. That's insane for a 5" or so screen.

*edit: I'm honestly baffled by all the complaints about the design. It looks like every other smartphone on the planet to me. Maybe it's because I don't really pay attention to phones so I'm not attuned to the subtleties of design, but it looks to me like everyone is throwing a fit over nothing. There's nothing 'new' about this design, but there's also nothing bad or weird about it, imo.

 

[cdb033]

I didn't like the design at first, but now its starting to grow on me. I see the advantage of having a removable cover, but I don't like the idea design wise. I'm trying to reserve judgement until I'm able to hold the product in my hands. I know for sure that I'm getting the XL version, but after spending time with my Lumia 1520 it has spoiled me greatly!! I've held and played with the 640XL while comparing it size wise to my 1520 and it seems small and toy-like. If this is the same footprint, I know that I'll feel cheated out of screen space. I truly love the 1520 in all of its glory. Too bad the screen size was cut to 5.7.

 

[Krystianpants]

For sure. That's only a few hundred vertical pixels shy of my 30" desktop monitor's screen resolution. That's insane for a 5" or so screen.

*edit: I'm honestly baffled by all the complaints about the design. It looks like every other smartphone on the planet to me. Maybe it's because I don't really pay attention to phones so I'm not attuned to the subtleties of design, but it looks to me like everyone is throwing a fit over nothing. There's nothing 'new' about this design, but there's also nothing bad or weird about it, imo.

It's because people think this is Microsoft's crazy phone that will change everything. But it's for fans. Packed with goodies and made durable so these goodies don't break easily. But honestly latest pics make it look decent and swappable cover means you can get covers that likely use different materials as long as the dimensions fit. Ones that are glossier or whatever people like. It's customizable. To me it's mostly the choice of colours. For example this device would not look so great if it was a loud plain colour. But they chose such a nice colour and the shiny aspect makes me want something in this colour.

 

[mariusmuntean]

you expect an Android user or iphone user to switch when they see these? )) what a joke. I have switched to wp when 930 was released, then I bought a 1520, but these? no thanks, I ain't gonna spend over 700 euros on these. there are true flagships, gorgeous devices that stand out in front of these two: s6 edge, s6, xperia z5, iphone 6,6s, note 5. It's not the fact that these are polycarbonate, I could care less about the material used, but the overall design and blending look cheap made. poor design, very poor. and the OS, well spending such money on a phone with a beta OS...because let's be honest, MS ain't gonna finish the OS until these are launched, it's not gonna do it. bad OS, simply horrible, lack of quality in apps, ohh continuum...for me it's not a wow factor, I wouldn't be using it anyway, I do not need it, iris scanner? no thanks, I have better things to do than to stare at the phone and wait for it to unlock the screen). I am not even using the touch id on my iphone to unlock it...specs? yes those are nice but, when I am looking at the phone I am seeing the design first, not the specs, and potential users, most of them will see also the design first which really does not stand out.