Why I will not buy a Lumia 950

[jfa1]

The bugs and defects threads for the 830 and 930 on WPC (on WPC alone!) number 564 and 860 comments respectively. Huge numbers. If that doesn't suggest to you that something is not quite right with quality control, then I feel genuinely sorry for you!
So you think calling someone a MS employee is asinine? Well what do you call people who deliberately sell faulty expensive phones then? Sticks and stones may break bones but words never hurt anyone! MS should not sell products which are unreliable because that has the potential to cause harm.
Good grief! That's why the 830 and 930 are expensive! MS should make the time to check products they sell to customers! Faulty battery so not the fault of MS? Nonsense! Check it first and only use batteries which are not faulty!

You seem to be ultra sensitive GMj. I didn't call you an MS employee did I? Why so aggressive? You seem to speak for MS because you know so much about their production line techniques! Are you a MS employee? It wouldn't be surprising considering the close links between WPC and MS! Don't be so naive. People write about Windows phones on WPC because they realise that it might be a way to communicate with MS, like writing an open letter to a newspaper. Get with it GMj and calm down. Why are you so defensive? You cannot possibly defend what cannot be defended all by yourself.

Well MS has an app for communicating with them it's called feedback. We know that they listen to the feedback because that's what they use to make adaptations to hardware and software. Just talking about it here is no guarantee that MS is listening. They probably don't read letters sent to them about problems.

 

[busngabb]

I don't understand this mentality that it's wrong to complain about something on which we've spent our hard-earned money. It's the details that are frustrating me about my 950, a pervasive lack of polish and affects even basic functions. I haven't experienced major problems but I do run into issues doing everyday things. Even the phone and messaging apps are affected by glitches and there are graphical artifacts all throughout.

This is all basic stuff and things your average user will experience on a daily basis. I think most Apple products are overrated, but they definitely don't overlook these details. I see a lot of criticism here about Android phones, but I've spent some time with a Nexus phone and I think it's fantastic.

Graphical artifacts? I genuinely don't get anything like that or the restarts people complain about. The only thing I have spotted is that Cortana is utter rubbish in the UK. There was a batch of 950s that had issues and were recalled, perhaps it is those causing the major issues reported? Maybe some of those escaped somehow.

The Nexus thing I agree with, Nexus devices are superb. But you don't get a comparable experience with LG, HTC or Samsung devices. I have a HTC M8 that I use for Showbox and Chromecast streaming and that is two major Android updates behind yet says it is up to date.

 

[Michael Papadopoulos]

I had a Lumia 920. I decided to get the 950 as a replacement.
When I bought it (just before Christmas) the camera was terrible (too much noise in low light), the battery was worse from what I had in the 920 and NO FM radio (that killed me).
After that I told that my next phone will be Android.

After 1 month...
The camera was fixed (needs more, but now takes ok pictures), the battery (after cutting staff I don't want) can reach 36 hours with my use.
Now I only need firmware with the fm radio enabled and I will be a very happy camper.

 

[patcherd]

The 950 is the best thing Microsoft has done to date. I have one. The hardware is fine. The camera is stellar.

I agree wholeheartedly. I'm running the .29 release. In the 2 months I had this phone, other than several random restarts the phone performs smoothly. Very satisfied.

 

[uselessrobot]

Well MS has an app for communicating with them it's called feedback. We know that they listen to the feedback because that's what they use to make adaptations to hardware and software. Just talking about it here is no guarantee that MS is listening. They probably don't read letters sent to them about problems.

You're making the incorrect assumption that I don't provide feedback to Microsoft.

 

[Muzz96]

Did you seriously not re-read your own post then think about it even a little bit?

"Cheaper options to the 950 and 950XL are not available here because they have stopped making them (830 and 930)" - You mean like the 640 and 640XL? Or the 650 coming out, or the 550...

"You will know that the promises of WP10 updates to older models has been postponed yet again - it is impossible to trust a company that behaves so poorly." - Wait a second. Later on you say "No official statement from MS of course". So, there has been no official statement yet you are complaining about promises of WP10 updates to older models being postponed yet again. Promises from whom? You are listening to rumours and going around treating them (and complaining about them) as if they were fact. Microsoft has no made you any promise, they have not broken any promises yet you are coming out with rubbish like "it is impossible to trust a company that behaves so poorly". Behaves so poorly? You mean by not meeting deadlines they didn't set?

"No official statement from MS of course, just rumours - what a way to run a company!" - No, it is the correct way to run a company. If you wish to believe what you even admit to being rumours as fact then that is your problem.

"I have grown so tired of the broken promises" - Yet again. What promises have Microsoft (and not your rumour buddies) actually made and broken?

 

[uselessrobot]

Graphical artifacts? I genuinely don't get anything like that or the restarts people complain about.

I don't want to get into detail because it's not relevant to my point. But here are a few examples:

• Very frequently, icons take an extra half second to appear. Sometimes nothing appears for a few months.
• Sometimes those lock screen icons flicker momentarily.
• In settings the grey background flickers when switching menus.
• I haven't seen it in a while, but sometimes the background on the home screen shifts slightly.
• The weather icons in the app tile are obviously low res and ugly.
• Transitions aren't always smooth.

Some people will argue that these are minor, but the fact remains that I had none of these issues in WP8. That lock screen was always instantly responsive and everything popped up the instant I hit the power button. This is not the case on my 950.

System crashes for me are rare, but they have happened. More frequently I'll have individual apps crash, Messaging being one of them. And that being a core system app it should never crash.

Then are are clumsy implementations. Like the poorly placed proximity sensor so that when you're trying to hit the top row of numbers on a call an errant finger will cause the screen to go dark. That might easily be addressed with a bit of tweaking to minimize sensitivity, but it surprises me such basic things weren't caught and addressed. The details really do matter.

I do agree that LG, HTC and Samsung ruin the Android experience. But the OS straight from Android is very good. Just like Windows 10 straight from Microsoft should be equally good.

 

[9520G]

Windowa used to be a solid platform, it was o lag. Now with my lumia 950 it brings me back to my webOS days and that is NOT good.

 

[luckygeezer]

Muzz you are just determined to trash my comments but you will not succeed. 640 and 640XL? Why mention them? We looked at high end phones 830 and 930. The 640 and 640XL don't have the cameras and other specs my wife wants. We want to replace our 820! 830 and 930 were the natural replacements. Don't try to deliberately muddy the waters.
Do you deny that the updates to older phones have been expected? The reports on WPC exist so please read them.The most recent was just yesterday on WPC saying the updates will be postponed to the end of February. Previous reports on WPC suggested December then January. This is an important issue to people. MS should state the dates when updates will be going out and keep to those dates. This will help everyone. Having a go at me is not sensible.

 

[gordonfink]

To the OP - you are certainly entitled to your opinions. I am not in any way affiliated with MS, just so you know.

I have owned probably 50 830's, two of which were daily drivers for long periods of time. I have also owned more than a dozen 930's, two of which were daily drivers for extended periods of time. In case you are interested, I have also daily driven the HTC One M8, 920, 640 and currently 950XL. I have used 1520's, and owned maybe 30-40 of them.

Of all of these phones, about the only issue I have had is phantom touch, and that was on 2 1520's.

Now, I may not know air about phones, that is quite possible. But, if they are junk as you say, I would suspect that I would have seen that by now.

Just because it is YOUR closely held opinion does not make it true. After owning more than 100 of the models in question, I feel like I have some knowledge base.

BTW - I have owned and repaired probably 100 iphones, and maybe 100 Samsung Galaxies. I don't think any of them are junk, and failure rates, in my own personal experience, seems comparable.

 

[phxchristian]

In fact when you look at the advancement of phone technology, Microsoft has been ahead of the curve for some time with the flat Metro interface, Pureview cameras w/ OIS, and 5.1 HAAC surround sound microphones, and most importantly, upgradable OS's far into a phone's life cycle while preserving the speed and integrity of the OS for the end user. My 2.5 year old phone, the 1520 still puts up a fight with a few of today's flagship phones including the iPhone 6. People demand a lot from a phone, but they also don't ever seem to be happy with what they have got. I will be replacing the battery in my 1520 this year (only thing wrong with it is that the battery is starting to go bad), and will be waiting for the Surface Phone 2 most likely as I want to see what the Surface Phone will be like before I jump in.

 

[EdgarAbdiel]

Maybe my case is strange but I had a wonderful experience with my Lumia 950 after almost two months. Previously I had Satio, Xperia X10, iPhone, N8, Lumia 800, L900, HTC 8X, L1020, HTC M7, l928, L1520, S6 Edge, OnePlus 2 and now the L950. I mean I'm not a rookie with smartphones. The Lumia 950 is the best smartphone I've had. I have the build 63 and works great. I would like a better performance of the battery and have the double tap to wake up the screen but in general experience has been extraordinary.

I have read a lot of crap from people who have never touched a 950.

 

[Laura Knotek]

This thread has reached its conclusion. Thank you for your participation.