[SRRAE]

I had a HTC 8X which survived everything thrown at it for over 3 years, and was only changed when the battery started to not last as long as it should.

I got a Lumia 650 to see if I'd like a Windows 10 Phone but I found the phone to by physically weak. The screen glass cracked just falling out of my pocked on to the floor when i was sat down. It only fell 40cm at the most. The HTC I had had been dropped from a few metres high and was on scathed.

The 650 is now not working at all after another short fall from my pocked to the ground. ( I know, wear something with better pockets)

I was thinking of replacing it with the 950 however Im worried the strength and build quality may be similar to the 650.

Is the 950 a physically tougher and better built device than that 650?

P.S. This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've tried to post this but it keeps going missing. So sorry if you've seen this post before.

[KefKef]

NO, only models that were under Nokia design control (until Lx30) were tough enough to work flawlessly after numerous drops...

[jmshub]

The 950 is similar in design and build materials to a 640. I'd say it would be similar in "toughness".

However, I have had one with a case and used it for a year without any problems. Comparing a phone breaking with a drop is tough, because even when you experience a drop, it could drop a thousand different ways that could it would survive without harm, but if it fell on a pebble, that would almost certainly crack the screen. It doesn't matter at that point how much engineering went into the phone. Getting a lightweight case that protects the edges of the glass would be a better option.

[Rosebank]

Dropped my L950 today when taking video, it survived thankfully, the recording even continued as the phone hit the wooden floor, touch wood its fine :-)

[xandros9]

It's a hard question to answer since people can see vastly different experiences. I've seen Lumia 920's fall meters with only some plastic case damage where it landed. My 920 fell two feet and cracked a corner of the display glass. Although if I had to guess, I'm not sure it would rival the 8X.

[mattiasnyc]

For the current sale price it's sturdy enough. I would personally rather look at it as "which phone is too brittle" rather than "which one is sturdy enough to drop on the floor multiple times". I don't have anything that I paid hundreds of dollars for and has additional value attached to it that I wouldn't treat very very carefully, phone included.

[Rosebank]

I keep my phone protected within a rubber cover, and also a sleeve type wallet when I don't use the phone (pouch) The rubber protection has the holes in the back for the microphones holes. was recommended to me via this forum actually.

[mweflen]

I've dropped mine once from about 3 feet onto the sidewalk. I had it in a TPU case. It fell on the corner and then onto its face. With the TPU case, there was no cracking or scratching of the display, and no change in function upon picking it back up.

I'm not terribly clumsy with phones, but personally I would not use this one without a case. The glass sticks out right to the edge of the plastic back, and I fear it could lead to easy cracking if dropped. Luckily, a nice TPU case actually improves the look of the phone IMHO.

All in all I'd say it's probably less durable than a 640, but more durable than an iPhone.

[Ibodnano]

get a pretty and tough case like tech21

[Ntei]

Any phone that falls screen down will break the screen

[Minh Junior Dinh]

I own a 950xl and it's of reasonable build quality although having a composite material of plastic as the exterior. It's fine. Should last a decent amount of time (NOTE: I only owned it for a couple months.) But, so far, it's holding up for me and I use it daily in my life. Get a case, treat it well and you should be golden.

[aximtreo]

Even if you get a phone for free, get a protective case for it. An investment of as little as $0 deserves to be treated with care. Besides, treating your phone with care rubs off on all the other fragile things in life.

[Ariel Takom]

As many of the above comments stated, there are many different ways in which one could drop their phone, and each one yields different outcome.

My 950 has been dropped on an asphalt road on it's back, and it survived albeit the leather mozo replacement battery cover I installed had it's leather torn a bit. Also dropped it on cement flooring about a meter or so above the ground, and it still worked fine.

However, in one of the drops I made, I did drop the 950 in an awkward way, such that it partially ruined the camera module. I can still use the camera, but the OIS inside is kind of messed up. Messed up in a sense that whenever I'm taking a photo or video, the phone makes a buzzing sound, almost similar to the sound you'd expect when there's a minor short-circuit happening. Also, when the sound appears, the camera's focus goes awry. Sometimes it wouldn't focus at all!

For now, I can still take pictures, albeit there are times the ruined OIS wouldn't focus at all, making it hard for me to take pictures (I need to fully stabilize the phone to make it focus better, or to reduce the amount of 'focus-messing').

This is such a bummer though because there has been occasions where people asked me to take photos (i.e. my family members) using my phone since they know my phone's camera is just that good, but ended up disappointing them due to the focus problem (camera won't focus at all) and ended up taking their picture using an old 8MP camera on their old smartphone. :/

[unmorphed]

Relative to It's size, weight and thinness... Z Yes, It's s very tough phone.

Compared to an old brick like a 920 or 830, no it's not the tough.

I carry mine with only a tempered glass screen protector and have dropped it numerous times on concrete and the like. While I've had to replace the screen protector a few times, the phone still looks great.

I have a couple of different Mozo back cover replacements, so the entire phone still looks new.

[stjeffy86]

I've had my Lumia 950 for over a year and have dropped it a few times with now lasting damage. I actually like the removal back in case it gets scuffed up I can always replace it.

[Chemy JMHT]

I think no matter which phone you chose it's better to protect it with a cover/case/housing, it's cheaper than a new phone and you can see better reviews for it and even buy two at the same time.

[Byrese]

I had a 650 before moving into my current 950. I loved the weight of the 650 but it's too light almost. I remember one day the waitress pulled it off the table with the menu. The back piece just flipped right off. Not sturdy at all.

I would agree with the earlier comment that Nokia phone we're beast when it came to wear and tear. But I've found the 950 to be pretty hefty. Much more than the 650.

In terms of a case, that's a personal decision. Though they do help with protecting the phone I prefer to hold my phone naked. Cases add so much bulk. Just don't drop the phone 😉

Sent from my Lumia 950 on mTalk

[humzahyaz]

Haha mate, I am pretty clumsy like that myself and whilst my Lumia 950 has some marks and the plastic has chipped off from edges due to some significant falls on the road and on the car porch, the phone works flawlessly! In short, it is pretty tough but I would still suggest that you at least put a screen protector. My cousin got an HP Elite x3, which has a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 (supposedly the most durable screen out there) and on the first fall the screen cracked.

Having used Lumia 950 for a year now, I would not hesitate recommending it to anyone. In fact, I just got my dad one myself.

[uriah shm]

If you take a good cover, you are good to go

[Matty]

I think no matter which phone you chose it's better to protect it with a cover/case/housing, it's cheaper than a new phone and you can see better reviews for it and even buy two at the same time.

Agreed. in general phones today are built to not bend and be able to take a fair amount of beating. Unless you buy the Nexbit Robin. That's a disaster haha. But i think, no matter what the device 'excluding Galaxy S7 Active', it important to purchase a case for it. We sometimes spend upwards of $500 on a smartphone and its silly not to purchase a $20 case to protect it and stop us from spending another lump of cash other repairing or replacing.

i think the 950 is strong but given the right amount of force and it will break :)

[Tejas Javery]

I had a HTC 8X which survived everything thrown at it for over 3 years, and was only changed when the battery started to not last as long as it should.

I got a Lumia 650 to see if I'd like a Windows 10 Phone but I found the phone to by physically weak. The screen glass cracked just falling out of my pocked on to the floor when i was sat down. It only fell 40cm at the most. The HTC I had had been dropped from a few metres high and was on scathed.

The 650 is now not working at all after another short fall from my pocked to the ground. ( I know, wear something with better pockets)

I was thinking of replacing it with the 950 however Im worried the strength and build quality may be similar to the 650.

Is the 950 a physically tougher and better built device than that 650?

P.S. This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've tried to post this but it keeps going missing. So sorry if you've seen this post before.

650 has metal frame. If it falls, screen breaking chances are high. Overall it may be sturdy, but screen isn't.
950-950xl have gorilla glass 4, compared to 650's gorilla glass 3.plus it has plastic body. So this oughta make a difference.
Also, it depends on the angle material it is dropped on, but overall, it is safe to say that look-wise 650 is sturdy, but actually, 950-950xl is.

[DomagojPetro]

Not necessarily. My Lumia 930 fell face down on ceramic tiles from 1.5 meters and nothing happened. But than again, the next time (5 months later) it fell down on tiles from 0.5 meters on a corner and it cracked the digitizer but not the gorilla glass.

[DomagojPetro]

I've bought all types of covers for my 950, from plastic, rubber with bumpers on the corners, real leather wallet, mozo type skins with protective glass over the display etc witch added to the bulk. Now I'm using the transparent silicone case (the 1 dollar one) which adds almost none off the bulk, and for now I'm satisfied, and I can see my phone.

[DomagojPetro]

Apropos the toughness off the 950, I don't think it's that tough or that fragile either. The thing that the screen is "detached" from the rest of the phone and it "sticks out" doesn't help at all. When I unboxed it, I thought it would brake in my hand (after owning a 930). Now I'm used to it, but I wouldn't want to drop it, even in a protective cover. The toughest phone I owned, apart from the 3210, 3310 and rubber 5210, in the range of smartphones is the Lumia 920. I think, that if MS continued making it to the day, with only a little bit "evoluting" like the Iphone does, with the 950's specs, it would be the most selling phone ever. Its so beautiful and sturdy at the same time. Women and men liked it equally. I've dropped it once or twice in a year, but my wife treated it like it was a work horse. In 2 years (plus my 1) she owned it, she dropped it on a daily basis on the wooden floor, on tiles, on concrete, on asphalt, she took it to the bathroom every day (the bathroom filled with the steam every time), my kids played that Tom game every day on it with sticky fingers. It totaled 1500 hours of outgoing calls alone. It was covered in flour and cake many times, our children had it in their mouths a lots of times, and when finally it stopped working, the screen continued life in an another 920 for parts. And all that was without any protective case. If I could have a 920 with today's specs inside, I would pay a lot of money for it, and I bet a lots of other people would.

[GhostEchelon]

Every few often my cat for reason likes to knock my phone off my night stand which is about as high as the top of my bed. Lucky there a rug and my phone in a case that lifts up a little from the screen. My cat made it drop at least 4 times and my phone still works. Surprising. With no damage none at all except a scratch on the back of my case.