Not Sure About Coming Back

[Witness]

I was a day one owner of the 950XL and while it was nice, it was also plagued with problems to the point that I decided to just return it and wait it out. It's been quite a few months as I went back to using the iPhone 6 which has been nice mainly because I can access certain apps and interoperating with friends that are also on the platform. Anyways, MS Store announced a little while back about trading in the L920 for $150 towards the 950XL and the price has dropped to make the entire purchase after trade-in to be $350. It's reasonable, but in light of the recent announcements along with a couple app companies dropping out, I'm hesitant to make my return. Heck, I still have a new L640 in the box waiting for me to set up, but I've also grown dependent on a few iOS apps.

If I were able to get the 950XL for say $200-$250 I wouldn't even need to think aloud with a post, but $350 is just enough to make me pause. What do you think? It was disheartening to see the first few posts in this forum talking about problems with the 950XL, but I need someone to talk me back into one. What to do....

 

[Summer_Moon]

I was a day one owner of the 950XL and while it was nice, it was also plagued with problems to the point that I decided to just return it and wait it out. It's been quite a few months as I went back to using the iPhone 6 which has been nice mainly because I can access certain apps and interoperating with friends that are also on the platform. Anyways, MS Store announced a little while back about trading in the L920 for $150 towards the 950XL and the price has dropped to make the entire purchase after trade-in to be $350. It's reasonable, but in light of the recent announcements along with a couple app companies dropping out, I'm hesitant to make my return. Heck, I still have a new L640 in the box waiting for me to set up, but I've also grown dependent on a few iOS apps.

If I were able to get the 950XL for say $200-$250 I wouldn't even need to think aloud with a post, but $350 is just enough to make me pause. What do you think? It was disheartening to see the first few posts in this forum talking about problems with the 950XL, but I need someone to talk me back into one. What to do....

Well that decision really is up to you. Microsoft is retreating from the consumer space. But I'm okay with that. I have already acknowledged that I will not be able to use every app that I want to, but at the same time if a company does not support my decisions do I really want to support them back? Essentially what it means is that I change who I do business with. For example bank apps. My bank does not and will not produce a Windows Phone app. I don't think I want to support them any more and am in the process to switching to Ally Bank because they do support Windows Phone and have a great app. That may be a little extreme to some, but I prefer supporting what I want to use rather than switching to a different OS that I just do not like.

My personal opinion, get the 950XL for $350. That really is a great offer and the phone itself is great. It does have some bugs, but I still think Microsoft is committed to ironing them out and making it a solid experience. For me, Continuum seals the deal. Good luck! And I hope you make the decision you want to make for what will make you the happiest

 

[Laura Knotek]

Which iOS apps are you dependent on? Are there any Windows 10 Mobile versions? If not, then you're probably going to be disappointed yet again.

 

[Witness]

Which iOS apps are you dependent on? Are there any Windows 10 Mobile versions? If not, then you're probably going to be disappointed yet again.

Not in any particular order and some may actually be available now:

• Waze (since they've never updated the WM app, it hasn't worked well)
• Chargepoint
• iMovie (I wish Movie Maker was as good)
• Google Drive (for work) and to a lesser degree Egnyte
• Scotttrade and a few bank apps
• Google Voice
• Safeway (supermarket)
• SquareSpace apps (Blog/Metrics)
• Bit.ly
• EyeFi
• Belly (loyalty program, but there's a workaround)
• Apps for my DJI drone and Microdrone 3.0
• Google Admin

There's still some time for the trade-in deal. I'll be setting up my new L640 (2nd one-first one broke) and use it as my daily driver for a bit to see if I can ease my way back. There is a nice freedom in iOS of just knowing that if there's an app, I would be able to download it and doing things like FaceTime/Air Drop to 80% of my friends.

 

[Witness]

Also, just to be clear, iOS interface still sucks and I prefer Cortana.

 

[Krystianpants]

Which iOS apps are you dependent on? Are there any Windows 10 Mobile versions? If not, then you're probably going to be disappointed yet again.

I use line chat which is supported by windows 10 mobile. Sometimes Line will send messages to you with new releases. And I got a message for a cool snapchat competitor they created called "Egg". And I was so happy because the message came to me so it must be available on windows 10 mobile. But no, it wasn't.

Anyways, it has really cool filters and looks better than snapchat from what I can tell. Line is pretty popular in Japan.

 

[pankaj981]

The 950 XL is a very good device, if you can get one for $350 then that's a steal. There are software bugs on it but nothing show stopping. You will actually find similar bugs on iOS too, its just that iOS handles it better (UX). If you really don't want to spend much then better get a 1520 for half the price, you won't be missing on much, except in the camera department and Continuum if that matters.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

For 350USD that's quite cheap, especially for the kind of hardware that you're getting. I would buy it if I had been looking for a new phone. My 1020 cost 480USD when I bought it :grincry:

 

[Rupert Holmes]

For 350USD that's quite cheap, especially for the kind of hardware that you're getting. I would buy it if I had been looking for a new phone. My 1020 cost 480USD when I bought it :grincry:

And your 1020 is still a better camera.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

And your 1020 is still a better camera.

that's true but in other respects the 950 is obviously ahead - memory card support, bigger battery, bigger RAM, better processor, bigger screen, 4k recording, dual sim, removable battery, fast charging

 

[pankaj981]

And your 1020 is still a better camera.

Define better. Better quality? Yes. Faster shot to shot? No. HDR? No. Rich Capture? No. 4K video? No. Faster Focus? No.

Which one is better is a subjective question. For me, the 1020 is an overall alright camera...definitely not "better" than the 930/1520/950/XL camera.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I use line chat which is supported by windows 10 mobile. Sometimes Line will send messages to you with new releases. And I got a message for a cool snapchat competitor they created called "Egg". And I was so happy because the message came to me so it must be available on windows 10 mobile. But no, it wasn't.

Anyways, it has really cool filters and looks better than snapchat from what I can tell. Line is pretty popular in Japan.

I am based in Thailand and LINE is absolutely massive here. Everyone has an account. It's an okay app as far as IM messaging goes. As for the 950XL, I was also a first day adopter (Thailand) and whilst I have had issues with it (mainly due to using it with Windows Insider on the Fast ring so there will be issues) I still think it is a great device and my poor 640XL is now dormant.

I am not sure if Windows has equivalents for the apps that were mentioned (probably not in all honesty) but you may be able to find alternatives. Although I understand that being able to get the real thing is probably better in many cases. Developers are ditching Windows 10 as a platform, we all know that, and nothing will save Microsoft or stop the app gap. However, new apps are being made and developers are slowly starting to warm to Windows 10 too.

It's just a matter of how long are you willing to wait? Most people won't and, in that case, it may be best to stick with iOS. iOS, Android and Windows each have their own advantages and disadvantages and sometimes you have to go with what's right for your needs. That may be iOS but for me, and many others, we are still happy with Microsoft and our Windows Phone devices.

 

[Krystianpants]

I am based in Thailand and LINE is absolutely massive here. Everyone has an account. It's an okay app as far as IM messaging goes. As for the 950XL, I was also a first day adopter (Thailand) and whilst I have had issues with it (mainly due to using it with Windows Insider on the Fast ring so there will be issues) I still think it is a great device and my poor 640XL is now dormant.

I am not sure if Windows has equivalants for the aoos that were mentioned (probably not in all honesty) but you may be able to find alternatives. Although I understand that being able to get the real thing is probably better in many cases. Developers are ditching Windows 10 as a platform, we all know that, and nothing will save Microosoft or stop the app gap. However, new apps are being made and developers are slowly starting to warm to Windows 10 too.

It's just a matter of how long are you willing to wait? Most people won't and, in that case, it may be best to stick with iOS. iOS, Android and Windows each have their own advantages and disadvantages and sometimes you have to go with what's right for your needs. That may be iOS but for me, and many others, we are still happy with Microsoft and our Windows Phone devices.

Yah. I mean I have most of the stuff I use on my 950xl. And I use it in continuum quite a lot so that's a big one for me. It lets me keep my PC connected to my TV for gaming. But I will see for 2017 to see what comes out. All 3 main companies, Samsung, Apple and MS have something in store for that same spring 2017 time frame. Apple is doing a 10th anniversary device so it's apparently going to be pushing all limits. They have been working on this device and are skipping the whole "S" upgrade for iphone 7 just to put more effort into it. Samsung has likely some foldable tech. It could go either way. Whatever I think is coolest will get my money hehe. I doubt Microsoft will release anything that pleasing to be honest. They are going to target business and well business isn't about cool features but productivity. But we will see.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I have yet to try Continuum. I want to. I missed out on the free dock offer. I will stick with Microsoft for as long as I can. Even if Microsoft started to offer more Android ROMS to their devices I would be happy with a Microsoft device and Android OS if push came to shove.

 

[M4cc45]

For me the main thing that's stopping me moving (though I haven't tried some of the apps in a while so they may have been updated and working better):

Notifications - on 4G Messenger and WhatsApp are delayed by up to 30 minutes
Sounds - when setting custom sounds for notifications (I'd love them to repeat like iOS) the sound gets cut off after the toast notification disappears
Banking apps - there's just so few off them
Amazon apps - I use Amazon music all of the time but there is no support for them. Same with Amazon Prime TV / Movies

Generally I find the apps just poor in comparison. Take Forza for example - it's fantastic on iOS but on WM10 it's awful. Very hard to manage and just doesn't look nice. Same with LinkedIn and Facebook.

I love Continuum but there needs to be more support from Apps such as Citrix for it to be really viable. It would also be good if the browser could display flash based content (some archic sites I view use it - though hopefully this shouldn't be a problem for much longer) and use adblock, etc Firefox with addons would be good as well.

Generally I just find the apps lacking - I think the idea of almost forcing universal apps is a very bad idea. It's fantastic in principal but everyone has different devices. You need to develop apps for touch on mobile based devices yet you need to develop them differently for mouse on desktops / etc. It's not a one size fits all. WM and Windows should be completley seperate entities that integrate rather than the hash that it currently seems to be.

 

[Witness]

Which iOS apps are you dependent on? ...

The 950 XL is a very good device,...

For 350USD that's quite cheap, ...

That may be iOS but for me, and many others, we are still happy with Microsoft and our Windows Phone devices...

Yah. I mean I have most of the stuff I use on my 950xl. ...

A quick update. The manager allowed me to stack the educator's discount (10%) on top of my trade-in and although I still had to ponder for about 20min, I went ahead with it. Things seem to run better than day one (should be) and I'll be making a post about impressions soon - i just wanted to let some of you know how this story ended. It was tough giving up my L920, even though the SIM pins were broken because of the SIM adapter to use the nano SIM from the iPhone - that was a great phone. My only wish was that I could have gotten the 950 at the same price as the XL is, well... too XL. Love the size of the screen, but pocketing it makes me look like I'm happy to see everyone.

It's good to be back. I'll try to figure out a way around the app gap. Having used it for an hour to set it up and then going back to the iPhone because the 950XL isn't completely configured made that iOS UI look and run like utter crepe. I still firmly believe that anyone who spends any actual time on WM will find the UI so much better than Android/iOS, but the app gap is real and migrating can be difficult if the user isn't motivated to do so. For many people, it's easier to just stay with their chosen OS and deal with it.