1520 User Here, Shall I go With 950XL

[Siddharth Ramakrishnan]

Hi All,

I am an happ user of 1520, getting 950XL unlocked version for 300 pounds.

Am I making the best choice ?
Do the phone battery last good ?
Do the phone perform better ?

I didnt see much activity in this forum unlike other phone. Does that mean phone didnt sold well?

Do RM1085 works well with Indian Frequency ?

How much do you recommend me getting this phone.

 

[TrueMetalGeek]

The 950XL is the closest thing to having the 1520
I went from the 1520 to the 950XL

The 950XL is actually about 1/3 of an inch smaller in width and height.
You will need to get used to the new location of the volume buttons around the power button and the softkeys for the back, home and search buttons which you access by swiping up on the bottom of the screen to see.
I did get used to these things but it took a while.

At first the camera was a lot faster to launch and take repeated shots in comparison to the 1520 but after using fast ring builds my camera has slowed down a bit. 

The battery life is about the same.
There is also no double tap to wake so you will have to get used to tapping the power button instead.
It does have glance however and some new features like the Windows Hello to unlock it. Although I stopped using that because I am out in the bright sunlight fairly often and it doesn?t work well then.

All in all I like the phone.
It being just slightly smaller makes it about perfect to hold onto especially when taking one handed photos using the camera button.

If you get a case for it, get one that has three distinct shapes to go over the volume up, power, volume down buttons.
The first case I ordered online had one solid rubber piece to go over those three close buttons and it made it difficult to feel what button you are pressing.
I also took my knife and cut some of the rubber around the camera button on my case to make that button easier to push and therefore easier to feel how far you are pushing the button so you get the two stage action of the camera button. Before I modified that it was difficult to actuate the camera button well.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

I'm going through the same thoughts. I have both phones, and I'm tossing around the idea of selling one of them, but I'm not sure which one. I love my 950XL, but the 1520 is quite special to me. So, I'm not sure what to do. I haven't even opened the Continuum box, yet, because I just don't have the use for it. Windows Hello is cool, but not as fast as typing in my pin. Just don't know. Ha ha

 

[halflifecrysis]

I was going to buy a 950XL, I opted to buy a 2nd 1520. Call me crazy, the phone (1520) is just so unique with it's king screen and it runs 10 beautifully. Maybe this new HP phone might pull me away or I may pick up a NOTE 6 in the fall.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I was going to buy a 950XL, I opted to buy a 2nd 1520. Call me crazy, the phone (1520) is just so unique with it's king screen and it runs 10 beautifully. Maybe this new HP phone might pull me away or I may pick up a NOTE 6 in the fall.

Note 6? Don't.. Lol the HP spec wise likely kills it

 

[Corwin_Amber1]

You ask me? Sure thing, had a 1520 as well, have a 950XL and love it. Opinion is 100% subjective and maybe not for everybody.

 

[GrayW0lf]

I also have both the 1520 and the 950XL. I'll say this for the 950XL: I love the fact that it fits so much more comfortably in my pocket than the 1520. However, the 1520 is still an amazing device right now. In short: You've got a win-win scenario with these two phones. They're both great for our current Win10M environment. I would really expect that, short of Continuum expanding into something more usable, the 1520 will be around for several years more to come. Just a personal guess, though.

 

[darth furious]

I still use both.
The 950xl feels smaller in the hand. The screen size looks close when next to each other. The power button is frustrating until you get used to it. I do accidental screen shots all the time. The 950xl gets much hotter than the 1520 (this depends on which w10m build you are using). The battery life on the 1520 is better, especially if you have wp8.1 still on it. I get 20 hours on my 950xl but used to get 40 hours on my 1520 with wp8.1 on it. the 1520 feels huge and heavy when I use it now. I miss double tap to wake but like having Qi charging. If both my phones were stolen right now and someone gave me a phone, I would be fine with either one as a replacement. I like both and could use either one happily.

 

[Paul1266]

They are both great phones but I would come down on the side of the 950XL. I loved my big yellow 1520 but it was at the very edge of portability. Although the screen is only slightly smaller the 950XL is much more compact. Sure the backs are plasticky but I don't mind that as I have both colors and a couple of Mozo leather backs so I can change up the look (and it does feel classy in the Mozo). Mine is running on 164 and for me it hums along nicely. Battery life is not as good but easily more than a day on 164 (it wasn't good to start with). Charging time beats the 1520 by a distance and it works well with my old dt-900 qi chargers.

 

[slysy]

Stick with 1520 IMO. The 950 doesn't offer much more really and also has worse battery life

 

[Paul1266]

Except it's got a much newer chipset, removable /replaceable battery... How many 1520 batteries are still in tip-top shape at this stage? The 1520 was a great handset (I really enjoyed using mine), now it's getting long in the tooth. It's time to move on.

 

[patb63]

I had the 1520 and loved it, but the microphone for calls stopped working. My replacement I bought was the 950 XL. So far, I have enjoyed the new phone except for the normal things (having to adjust to the new feel, having to learn the new features, having to quit doing the "no longer there" features, etc.).
All in all, I think this will be a good phone for me.

 

[darth furious]

I had the 1520 and loved it, but the microphone for calls stopped working. My replacement I bought was the 950 XL.

Me too. I had to put it on speakerphone everytime to answer the phone. It made private calls very awkward in public

 

[mervs2402]

The build quality and design of the 1520 is way better than the 950xl in my opinion.
But otherwise the 950xl is definitely an improvement.
Display and Camera is where you'll notice the biggest improvement.

 

[lunaticjim]

I made the switch from the 1520 to the 950 xl and echo alot of what was said here. I sold my 1520 not only to help pay for the new phone but also so I wasnt always comparing my xl to my favorite phone I've ever used (1520).

I do like the slightly smaller size as well. The battery life isnt the same. it has no trouble getting me through a day but it certainly isnt the beast my 1520 was.

also, i keep this phone in a ghostek case whereas the 1520 I just rocked without a case. I dont have a case on this phone because I dont trust it. More because I dont like the feel of the back. Once I get a mozo case, I may start using this without a case as well but I will try to find a tempered glass screen for it when I do.

If you have the new phone itch, the 950 xl is a good way to go for those who love their 1520.

 

[madusmacus]

I would have kept my 1520 but for the defective HW touch screen double tap instead of swipe problem
At least the 1520 trade in took a good chunk off the 950xl price when I bought my 1st one
I am missing the slightly larger screen but I have big monkey hands :?)

 

[jbyron]

I only ran my 1520 on 8.1, so my opinion may be meaningless. I loved my 1520. Speed, giant screen, and battery life for DAYS.

I went all in on the 950xl (unlocked with the MS warranty because I accidently broke my 1520) hoping for the same experience, and while I do not have any severe issues with the phone, overall it has a ways to go before replicating the same flawless experience I had with the 1520.

There are random hiccups in fluidity, web pages load quickly but take an additional 20s before links respond. Outlook, after what seems like a dozen updates in the last month, still only half loads e-mails and formats them strangely. Many processes like checking for updates take forever. Battery life is sporadic. Some days I can use heavily for 12 hours and have 33%, some days I leave my phone on in airplane mode in my work locker and come back to find 40% gone. I'm of course hopeful these issues will be resolved with further firmware/OS updates.

In short,
Lumia 1520 = Empire Strike Back, perfect in nearly every way.
Lumia 950xl = Return of the Jedi. Still good and satisfying if you don't stop to think about it too hard