640XL vs 950XL

[Snaffie]

Hi. Now I know this may sound like a silly question, but it is a genuine one.

I have a 640XL and love it, but I know I could upgrade to a 950XL of course, which is the same size.

Obviously I understand the basics.
950XL = better camera, better screen, wireless charging, eye scanner. build quality, well, I don't think there is THAT much difference from what I've heard.

Putting the items above to one side. Mainly a bit nicer camera and screen.
In actual reality of using the device, the speed of the UI (which seems perfectly quick enough on my 640XL) and app loading, which again seems fine.

Would there be any dramatic noticeable differences?
Would the 950XL feel like lightning fast in comparison?

Unless I wanted to play high end games (are there any?) I'm wondering, would there be any point?

Thanks

 

[arjan wolthuis]

An eight core CPU and 3 GB ram against quad-core and 1 gb ram is a lot of performance improvement

 

[Rugish Dapeca]

Some of the most notable differences I see between the two phones are:

640XL: 1GB ram / 8GB internal storage / SD up to 128GB running Windows 8.1 Denim (W10 on Insider only at this time)
950XL: 3GB ram / 32GB internal storage / SD up to 200GB running Windows 10

640XL: 1280x720 (259ppi) IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3
950XL: 2560x1440 (518ppi) AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 4

640XL: Snapdragon 400 Quad Core 1200 MHz
950XL: Snapdragon 810 Octa Core 2000 MHz

The 950XL has Continuum, Windows Hello and a few more built in sensors than the 640XL.

Overall, the specs would indicate that the 950XL would be a far superior phone in most regards. Some people have had a great experience with their 950XLs while others have had the worst experience. This could come down to the individual phones, a combination of software and firmware levels, and/or what apps are installed and being used.

 

[Snaffie]

Thanks.

As I say, Yes Camera is a bit better
Yes screen will be better, though if I'm honest the 640XL screen looks just fine.
More RAM is good, however a 64GB SD Card helps there

It's more the speed of the device I'm thinking about.
Let me put it this way.
If I buy a low power PC and try to do photo/video editing, or play high end games it will be terrible, a horrid experience.
If I buy a high end PC I can do all those things buttery smooth and it will be lovely

Is there actually software for our great Windows phones to show this difference? and really be obvious how much more power the 950XL is?

 

[Rugish Dapeca]

More RAM is good, however a 64GB SD Card helps there

The 64GB SD card helps with app and data storage space, but not the extra 2GB of system RAM that the 950 has.

It's more the speed of the device I'm thinking about.
Let me put it this way.
If I buy a low power PC and try to do photo/video editing, or play high end games it will be terrible, a horrid experience.
If I buy a high end PC I can do all those things buttery smooth and it will be lovely

Is there actually software for our great Windows phones to show this difference? and really be obvious how much more power the 950XL is?

The 8 core processor running at the faster clock speed will definitely give you a boost. You can always try a benchmark app like AnTuTu to see what the differences are, but that's not really going to give you a real-world indication of the performance differences.

 

[Snaffie]

yes yes.
I'm sure a benchmark would wiz along given the extra RAM and better CPU/GPU combo.
It's just that windows 10/Mobile thankfully seems to run gorgeous and smooth without needing OMG power hardware to keep it going, which is superb and I love it.

So let me ask this question in a slightly different way as I'm not getting very far at the moment

Are there many apps (Games/Utils) for windows phones at the moment that will show, easily the benefit of all the extra power the 950XL has?

I will admit, I don't have any real games installed on my 640XL, but all the apps, news, little photo editing things, the maps etc.
For me, they all seem to run fine. I've never looked at my phone and thought. My god this is slow if only it was faster.

So, will it just come down to needing perhaps heavy games to actually show the benefit of the higher end phone?

 

[raycpl]

If you use both as just basic phones, it's not much different. But once take both a step higher, video editing, watching movies, heavy gaming, taking picts/videos in difficult conditions... the 950XL will outperform the 650XL... and then there is continuum...

 

[Mad Cabbie]

I, too, have both in my possession. For the money, I think the 640 and 640xl are VERY underrated devices! I love 'em. My 950xl has slowly grown on me. I find that it should be lightning fast, BUT, side by side, both on .122, running the same apps, the difference isn't as big as you would think. Really!

The big plus is the gorgeous screen. It plays a blinder. The camera is getting better, and it is a nice device to use. Continuum is something, that when fully utilised, could be amazing. If you have Miracast on tv, and go wireless, it can be glitchy, even more so when using the phone as the track pad.

Until the OS is 'polished' I'd be inclined to stick with the 640 for now. Maybe go for one when MS start charging sensible money for the hd-500 dock. Still think they are taking the p*ss, trying to squeeze another wedge of money out of us that missed out on the dock, even though we still forked out for a device will barely useable software.

With regards to games, I don't really play much, but I have tried traffic rider which was really smooth, and GRIDD2, which also performed flawlessly. The 640 can also play them smoothly, but the quality of the screen let's it down. With the 950's, you don't seem to get fatigued, visually, because the display is amazing.

Lastly, Windows Hello... It's a beta, and as such, it's more of a gimmick at the moment. It will do what it says, but a bit of patience is required. You wouldn't want to show your mates down the pub incase you end up looking daft!

Overall, I really like my 950xl and, being blessed with patience, I don't mind waiting for the polish to be applied

 

[mjrtoo]

I agree with those saying that it really depends. . If you use email, text, make calls primarily, you won't notice a difference. If you're an advanced camera user, heavy gamer with big time games, or other intensive uses, there's a big difference.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[sinime]

Certain things are slower on the 640... For example, an app I released in the store has done visible speed differences when you pull up the full map on the 640 vs the 950 maybe 0.2 secs on the 950 & 0.6 sec on the 640 ... BUT, for the most part, the 640 surprises me on how cheap it is and how snappy it is on the day to day stuff.

 

[Snaffie]

Thank you all for the very interesting replies.
I will admit, these replies are probably what I was expecting.
The 640XL is "almost" too good for the money, when put alongside Models 3x or 4x it's price.
Which of course makes me happy, but also worry that the 640XL is the type of phone a company would deliberately kill off as it's taking higher end sales away.
Or rather, the type of phone that won't be improved upon.
In other words, where is the new faster 640XL for 2016 with a better screen, more RAM and a better screen and camera (as happens with phones year upon year) or will it be left to get old and rot?

I may go for a 950XL in time, but will admit, right now, I'm not seeing anything my current 640XL is struggling with.
If it's say 2 seconds to apply a photo filter as opposed to 1 second then, I'm ok with 2 seconds

Or course, if a gorgeous 3D game, like GTA5 was buttery smooth on the 950XL but like a stuttering slideshow on then 650XL then of course no contest.

I just so really really hope, as I'm sure we all do, with Windows 10 mobile coming on-stream now, and all the Windows 10 desktops and laptops, we might see them pick up sales wise and some more devs deciding it's worth creating a version of their app for windows 10 mobiles.

 

[Maurizio Troso]

Thank you all for the very interesting replies.
I will admit, these replies are probably what I was expecting.
The 640XL is "almost" too good for the money, when put alongside Models 3x or 4x it's price.
Which of course makes me happy, but also worry that the 640XL is the type of phone a company would deliberately kill off as it's taking higher end sales away.
Or rather, the type of phone that won't be improved upon.
In other words, where is the new faster 640XL for 2016 with a better screen, more RAM and a better screen and camera (as happens with phones year upon year) or will it be left to get old and rot?

I may go for a 950XL in time, but will admit, right now, I'm not seeing anything my current 640XL is struggling with.
If it's say 2 seconds to apply a photo filter as opposed to 1 second then, I'm ok with 2 seconds

Or course, if a gorgeous 3D game, like GTA5 was buttery smooth on the 950XL but like a stuttering slideshow on then 650XL then of course no contest.

I just so really really hope, as I'm sure we all do, with Windows 10 mobile coming on-stream now, and all the Windows 10 desktops and laptops, we might see them pick up sales wise and some more devs deciding it's worth creating a version of their app for windows 10 mobiles.

640 will be one of the top seller for years, toghether with the pioneer 520 (Wich I own one). The edgebreak was passing from Windows phone 7 to 8, which had completely different hw, so 7 couldn't update to 8. But all phones with 8 (except the little serie with only 4 GB storage, I fear), from 5XX to above, will get Windows 10 as a service, same as desktops.

Drivers and firmware don't need eternal updates: once they found the optimal performance, stability and battery draining balance, they can stay for years. Only operating system and newest hardware will develope more and more.

I'll buy a 640 when it's price will drop under 100 €s, and for that time it will be always the most balanced price / performance product

 

[Snaffie]

Pioneer 520 ?

Specs and expectations move on.
The 950XL will move on. It would just be nice to see them also move the 640XL on.

Still, I'm loving my phone

 

[zenthrax]

For me, the screen sold me on getting the 950XL

Having had come from a Note 3, Note 4, then a Lumia 640.. the windows UI and that vibrant amoled screen on the 950xl is just crazy not to use. I feel like a sad panda when i'm forced to use my 640, purely cause of the screen quality differences. (using 640 for work calls, 950xl personal)

 

[mjrtoo]

Pioneer 520 ?

Specs and expectations move on.
The 950XL will move on. It would just be nice to see them also move the 640XL on.

Still, I'm loving my phone

Yes, the 520 was the performance vs. price originator, the pioneer so to speak, awesome device for the money. The 640 line is a more modern extension of that, I have a 640XL dual sim, love it. Currently trying out Android to see what the hype is about, I'm finding it's mostly nonsense and in some case outright lies that it's a better OS.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Mad Cabbie]

I'm with you on the android thing. It could be so much more. If it were just a plain vanilla experience, it could be something very special. Alas, OEM'S just seem to load so much bloat that performance suffers in a noticeable manner. Touchwizz was always an unnecessary launcher for me. Google now was pretty good launcher, as, once again it was fairly minimalist launcher.

Google store is also something that is bragged about. It claims to have hundreds of thousands of apps. Here's something to try.... Search for 2048 the game. Try and find the original developers game! You will see a shed load of games, all the same principle, all the same gameplay etc... Why is it that Google allow such abuse of a developers intellectual rights? It isn't just that one. Try a few more. Hundreds of thousands suddenly become around a third of their claimed figures!!

I'm quite happy here. Love my 640xl and my 950xl. My most favourite of all my devices is, believe it or not, my 1320. I have, and still have a massive soft spot for that old girl!

 

[Greywolf1967]

I was gong to wait it out and get a 950 XL but when Microsoft dropped the price n the 640 XL last Oct. I grabbed one up.

I was coming from a Nokia Lumia 1020 so I was use to flagship specs. However the 640 XL has been among one of the best phones I have used!!

It will only get better when 10 is let loose !!

 

[eusty]

It will only get better when 10 is let loose !!

Give it a go on the 640...it works well :smile:

 

[vhl71]

I've bought the lumia 950 at launch. It's a great phone, but couldn't justify the price. So ended up returning it after 2 weeks. Then bought a new lumia 640 for dirt cheap and its a great phone dor the price it has everything other than wireless charging and hello.

But after a few weeks I started longing for a nice camera and couldn't get 950 out of ny mind so ended up buying it again. This time I'm going to keep it. Hoping foe a price drop and it never happened so paid full price

Sent from mTalk

 

[Snaffie]

Great replies thanks

I know specs wise the Camera on the 950XL is a lot better.
Have you tried shooting the same photo with both of them, same time, side by side to compare?

I guess in bright sunlight they are both very good, but the 950XL is a lot better in low light?