The evolution of the smartphone — Lumia 950 review
I don’t know why there are so many negative reviews regarding the Lumia 950. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s what a few major tech blogs are saying;
Review after review, most of them end up with something super negative to say about the Lumia 950 and Windows 10 Mobile. Maybe it’s because the Lumia 950 isn’t a smartphone in the way an Android or iPhone is. Maybe it’s because Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile do things that aren’t conventional. Or maybe it’s because these bloggers don’t have the guts to say what they want and instead follow the pack because they want to sound the same.
But truth be told, the Lumia 950 isn’t like any of the popular high-end Androids and iPhones we know today. It’s not trying to be a Galaxy S6 or iPhone 6s Plus. And that’s okay. because it’s not your typical smartphone. Smartphones that we know today are all about consuming, but the Lumia 950 is all about productivity. A big difference for who and what it’s meant for. When you sit back and think about what the Lumia 950 has to offer, it’s actually the next step of the smartphone. The next evolution. I know that might sound crazy, but hopefully after you read my review you’ll come to understand what the Lumia 950 is and isn’t. Hopefully, you’ll come to understand Microsoft’s vision of a unified operating system that’s the same across all devices. Hopefully, you’ll see why the new Continuum feature is so important and revolutionary. And hopefully, you’ll look at the Lumia 950 just a little bit differently and consider it the next time you’re ready for something new.
Before I get started, I’d like to thank the Lumia Voices team for lending me this Lumia Voices Trial so I can get this review out for everyone to enjoy.
Design
At first glance, the Lumia 950 isn’t what you call a premium design. It’s simple and it’s plastic. And I believe that was done on purpose. It wasn’t meant to wow you. It was meant to be used and abused. It was meant to be used without fear of ruining it’s exterior. It was meant to be handled every day without fear of it slipping out of your hands and it being destroyed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not indestructible. The display can be cracked if it takes the wrong kind of drop like any other smartphone. I’m talking about the rest of the body. There isn’t anything about the Lumia 950 that makes you worry about ruining besides the display. And that’s smart. Flagship Android devices like the Galaxy S6, LG G4, and Sony Xperia Z5 and iPhone are truly amazing to look at. But what good is all that beauty if you end up keeping it in a case? I compare it to owning a fancy new car like a BMW 7 Series. It’s an awesome looking ride, but driving it every day would grow tiresome because you’d worry about something happening to it. The Lumia 950 is like a Honda Civic. It still looks good but it isn’t fancy. And it’s a car you wouldn’t mind driving every day.
It’s 2016 and I still love polycarbonate plastic! Ever since Nokia introduced us to the N9 back in 2011, polycarbonate plastic has been my material of choice. I’m grateful Microsoft has continued the tradition with its latest Lumia. Those original Lumia’s like the Lumia 800, Lumia 920, and Lumia Icon were some great looking plastic phones. The Lumia 950 continues the plastic tradition, but now with a removable back.
Replacement back covers? Yes, please! I like the fact that I can get different colored back covers or even a leather one if I wanted. And if I wanted an official (or unofficial from China) OEM backplate without the ATT logo on it, I could do that too! I hate wireless branded smartphones. I repeat, I hate wireless branded smartphones! Why Verizon, ATT, Tmobile, and Sprint continue to do this is beyond me. Just leave the device alone for goodness sake!
Size wise, the Lumia 950 isn’t too big. It’s big enough but it won’t annoy you with its size like the Lumia 1520 does. The flat nature of the device feels really good as well. Add in the smooth matte polycarbonate plastic on the back and what you get is a no-nonsense smartphone that feels really good in your hand that is easy to handle. The device is surprisingly light too. Not too light though where it could slip out of your hands. The weight feels just about right. This is a device I learned to appreciate using. Pictures of it don’t do it justice.
Hardware
The Lumia 950 hardware wise has been upgraded significantly. The bumped up hardware specs definitely serves Windows 10 Mobile well, making it evenly competitive against Android flagships and the iPhone at least on a hardware level. And there are some instances, where it’s even better than the competition. Like the camera. This is important because people want the latest and greatest in technology, and Microsoft’s latest flagship finally delivers on that front.
Specifications:
- Operating System: Windows 10 Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 808 processor featuring Hexa-core CPUs and 64-bit support
- Display: 5.2” QuadHD AMOLED display (16:9, 2560×1440, 564 ppi)
- Memory: RAM: 3 GB, Built in Storage: 32 GB and up to 200GB of expandable storage via Micro SD, OneDrive storage
- Cameras: Rear-facing PureView camera with a 20-megapixel high sensitivity sensor (ISO up to 12800﴿, Zeiss optics, 5th generation OIS, triple LED natural flash, and 4K video recording, front-facing 5-megapixel wide-angle camera with full HD video
- Battery: Removable 3000mAh battery, USB-C fast charging, wireless charging
As you can see, the Lumia 950 can hang with the other top tier smartphones. Hardware wise, the Lumia 950 does just fine. Items like; a fast CPU, QuadHD Display, 3 GB of RAM, MicroSD expansion, 20-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front facing camera that can record full HD, 3000mAh removable battery, USB-C fast charging and wireless charging are the things that make the Lumia 950 a solid high-end device.
Speaking of USB-C, it’s awesome. But also not that widely available. I like the fact that I can charge the phone from 10% to 100% in 1 hour flat. But I hate the fact that I currently don’t have a USB-C charger in my car or at the office. I can’t even ask anyone around me if I can borrow their charger because the technology is so new. It’s the future for sure, but it’s kind of “too future” for today.
Microsoft made the right decision by giving the Lumia 950 the holy trinity of physical buttons; volume rocker, power button, and of course a shutter button. Believe it or not, the shutter button has disappeared recently on high-end Android smartphones. Which is a shame because nothing beats a physical two-stage shutter button on a smartphone. Especially when you need to get the right kind of focus. And on the Lumia 950, it helps out a lot because that can be kind of a hit and miss (more on that later).
The 5.2″ WQHD display on the Lumia 950 is awesome. The display makes Windows 10 Mobile (previously Windows Phone) look better than ever before. Transition flow and scrolling look really good. It looks super smooth too. And since the Lumia 950 uses a black theme, the display looks all that much better with the super vibrant color of live tiles sitting on top of the black canvas. Going back to normal HD is going to be hard!
The 5.2″ display may sound small, but it doesn’t look or feel that small. The size definitely fits in with what you need in a smartphone nowadays. If you need a bigger display, then you could go the Lumia 950 XL route, which is the same phone with a larger display and a version of “liquid cooling”. But beware, there have been many reports of the Lumia 950 XL not performing as well as the Lumia 950. Most likely because of the difference in technologies when it comes to cooling the device. On a side note, if I could influence Microsoft to create a Lumia 950 compact with a 4.7″ display, I would be all over it. Because you know, Apple is about to do it with their iPhone…just saying!
Personally, I always liked AMOLED vs LCD. Colors are more vibrant and fuller. And the blacks you get on the Lumia’s Clear Black Display are the best in the business. The option to change the color output is still available, so if you don’t agree with what Microsoft has defaulted to, then you can always customize it to your liking.
Viewing and editing photos are a really fun experience on the Lumia 950’s WQHD display. Nothing beats working on high-res photos on a high-res display. I personally don’t watch full-length movies on my smartphone nowadays, but if that’s your thing, then you won’t be disappointed to do it on the Lumia 950. Watching videos on a display like this sometimes make you realize how far we’ve come with our smartphones.
What I did find disappointing was that the battery life on the Lumia 950 isn’t what I’ve come to expect from a Windows device. With previous Lumia’s I could go about a day and a half, and sometimes almost full two days with moderate to occasional spurts of heavy usage. With moderate to slight heavy usage, it’ll definitely last a day. But I did find I had to charge it every night.
I firmly believe the case of “average battery life” on the Lumia 950 is OS related. With my Lumia 1520 (which has a slightly larger battery than the Lumia 950) running Windows Phone 8.1, battery life was really good. It didn’t need to charge every night. But once I installed the Insiders Preview Builds of Windows 10 Mobile, the battery life was just like the Lumia 950. You get a full day of battery life and then you would have to charge it at night before going to bed. Don’t get me wrong, the battery life on the Lumia 950 is still better than most high-end Androids with the same battery. But it could be better. I have great faith that Microsoft will work out the bugs. But if they don’t, at least, the battery is removable. So carrying a second charged battery wouldn’t be out of the question. Especially if you’re a “mobile warrior” like myself.
The one piece or pieces of hardware that don’t get talked about a lot are the 4 microphones the Lumia 950 sports. In case you didn’t know, these 4 microphones help drive the Rich Audio Recording technology that makes the Lumia really useful when you want to record a concert or football game. Basically, this technology enables to capture really clear and distinct audio in noisy environments. It’s an overlooked hardware feature, but an important one. It definitely can make a difference if you’re into videography with your smartphone.
Performance
Smooth and clean. That was my initial feeling and still is. From setting up the device to using it as my daily driver for almost a full month, I found that the Lumia 950 worked without a problem. The performance was fast for me and I didn’t experience any lag while using it daily. But that’s probably one of the best parts of a Lumia device. They feel almost the same on every level whether it’s a midrange device or a flagship one. There are only a few aspects of the OS that run a lot smoother and faster on the latter.
Some reviewers will say that Windows 10 Mobile has a lot of bugs, and that random reboots happen all the time. After using the Lumia 950, I don’t know what they’re all talking about or what they’re doing because it has only rebooted on me three times over a course of almost a month. The reboots aren’t a deal breaker, it’s just how it is. When you think about it, even high-end Android’s need the occasional manual reboot every now and then. It’s not smooth as Android and iPhone, but it isn’t far off. to tell you the truth, I don’t see a difference between the three major mobile operating systems.
While using the camera, the Lumia 950 was fast and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. Viewing the photos right after you take a picture proved to have a delay, though. When I tried to look at a photo right after I took it, I was hit with the “adding the finishing touches” pop up. Annoying yes. But usually going through the photos app solved the problem. It’s not a Lumia 950 hardware problem. It’s a Windows Mobile 10 problem, since my Lumia 1520 running a version of Windows 10 Mobile Insiders Preview. I’m pretty sure these things will be fixed over time.
The Edge browser proved to be faster on the Lumia 950. Pages loaded rather easily on the Lumia 950 compared to my Lumia 1520 running the “fast ring” builds. But I think the 3GB of ram has a lot to do with that.
As far as game performance, the games I tested were Asphalt 8, Space Racing 3D, and Cut and Hack. I didn’t notice any big hiccups. Although I’m not a “frame rate master”, the Lumia 950 performed rather well. But I’ll leave it up to the real nerds to debate that. For a casual gamer like myself, I didn’t run into any problems. The only issue with the Lumia 950 when I played games was that it ran warm after awhile. It never got too hot to hold, though.
Camera
The camera on the Lumia 950 is probably the best there is on a smartphone. Add in the fact that the manual settings are so easy to use, and what you get is a smartphone camera that’s fun to use. Even though it won’t be able to capture as much detail as the 41-megapixel monster Lumia 1020, the overall package of what you get with the camera is amazing. The Lumia 950’s combination of camera performance, quality, and speed is what really pushes it to be the best smartphone camera available.
When you stay on auto focus, I suggest you take as many photos as possible since it can really be a hit and miss when it comes to producing a shot of what you want. And that’s the only gripe with the Lumia 950 when it comes to the camera, the hit-and-miss of the autofocus. But this problem rears its ugly head only when there is little to no light. It’s something that has always plagued the Lumia cameras. Unlike the LG G4 which uses a laser to ensure a quick and easy autofocus, the Lumia 950 uses an autofocus system that’s dependent on light (phase detection). Basically, your environment dictates how well the Lumia 950’s autofocus performs. But as long as you are aware of that, you can definitely adjust for it.
And that’s where the manual settings come in handy. Manual is where you end up learning to stay as you come to understand more and become more critical of your photos. The more and more you use the manual settings, the more second nature it’ll become to you. Ever since the Lumia 1020 introduced the Nokia Pro Camera app, the manual settings UX (user experience design) is what I find to be the easiest to use and learn from.
The shots that you can produce on the Lumia 950 are stunning. Some situations are challenging for sure, but the amount of control with the manual settings can get you what you need. Follow my Instagram so you can see what I was able to do with the Lumia 950. Then you can judge for yourself what the camera on the Lumia 950 is all about.
Continuum
Continuum, the most compelling and intriguing feature of the Lumia 950 and Windows 10 Mobile. Basically, you connect your Lumia 950 via a dock/wireless adapter to an HD Monitor or TV and what you get is a secondary display to improve productivity. You can then connect a keyboard and mouse and your Lumia 950 essentially works like a PC. It’s one step closer to the holy grail of mobile computing. It’s something that we “tek-heads” have been chasing ever since smartphones have come onto the scene. Going all the way back to those Palm Treo’s, Blackberries, and the classic Nokia E90, we’ve always wanted mobile to act like a PC. Things really changed once the iPhone debuted, along with Android’s G1 shortly after. The age of the smartphone really began. The smartphone is the closest thing we have to true mobile computing. With the introduction of the Lumia 950 and Continuum, the smartphone is now evolving once again. This is why Continuum is such an important feature of the Lumia 950. It’s the next step to achieving that holy grail of mobile computing.
After using Continuum during my trial with the Lumia 950, I can tell you what it’s currently good for; It’s good for reading and composing an email. It’s good for Web browsing making it easier so that you’re not constrained to your smartphone’s small display. It’s good for editing photos. And it’s good for working on Microsoft Office products like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
Not all apps on the Lumia 950 support Continuum, however. So that’s a bummer for now. But for the apps that do support Continuum, it really is something to marvel at. The pre-built in Microsoft apps really shine on Continuum. Apps like News, Sports, Maps, Weather, and Microsoft Office look and perform really well. Until more apps take advantage of Continuum, I will say this is where the benefits end.
Performance wise, it’s a little slow. The performance is comparable to Windows running on netbooks. Remember when netbooks were all the rage?. Switching through apps on Continuum kind of lags despite the Lumia 950 having 3GB of RAM. And The device gets really hot too. One time, the Continuum app quit altogether. But it still isn’t too bad, you just need to remember what you’re working with and adjust your expectations accordingly.
Could I live with the Lumia 950 and Continuum without a laptop or desktop? Almost. It won’t replace it entirely due to the fact you can’t install x86/64 applications, but it’ll definitely keep you productive while on the move, making you an even better “mobile road warrior”. At least with the Lumia 950 and Continuum, you wouldn’t have to carry around a tablet/laptop with you everywhere you go.
With recent news about Windows 10 mobile being able to run on an Intel x86 processor, I definitely can see where Continuum will become a bigger deal in the near future. But for now, we are in the baby stages. Microsoft had to start somewhere, just remember that.
Windows 10 Mobile
In reality, Windows 10 Mobile’s UX (user experience design) is actually better than Android and iPhone combined. That sound crazy? Yes, but it’s true. The constant mess mobile manufacturers commit to their flagship devices is amazingly stupid. To be honest, Samsung’s Touchwiz sucks. LG’s Android skin looks like some kids no-name Android tablet. So does HTC’s. Sony’s UX is decent but still bloated with software nobody really cares about. The best Android experience only comes through the Nexus line, but even then it still feels like it isn’t complete. It reminds me a lot like Linux, and the never ending tinkering. Probably because Android is a derivative of Linux. Which means Android always feels like it’s tinkering.
The home screen on Windows 10 Mobile is light years ahead with what the iPhone notification center and Androids widgets can offer. It’s the best part of Windows 10 Mobile. The amount of information you can gather by just looking at your home screen is so invaluable. iOS and Android cannot compete on this level. Additionally, Microsoft’s built-in apps are the best built in apps I’ve ever used, no lie. The built-in apps (One Note, Outlook Calendar, Outlook Mail, Microsoft Office, Xbox, News, Sports, Weather, Edge Browser, Cortana, One Drive) are the best built in apps I’ve experienced on a smartphone. The apps are so good that I don’t uninstall them! I think that alone is impressive and one of the main reasons why I can’t seem to leave Windows 10 Mobile.
When people say Windows Phone is dead, it’s kind of true. But only because Windows 10 Mobile is now here. Windows Phone 8.1 was really good, but in true Microsoft fashion, it was time to move on. Just like the time Microsoft had to move on from Windows XP to Windows 7, and then from the horrible Windows 8 to Windows 10. It all makes sense when you think about it.
I do believe Windows 10 Mobile is a very different kind of smartphone. Especially when it comes to productivity. Does it have bugs? Yes. But people need to remember when Android was introduced with the G1. It was an infant back then but has now grown to a very mature adult. The same thing can be said about Windows Phone, it’s finally maturing and becoming a mobile operating system that’s starting to become really good. You can just look at the recent news coming out of this years MWC (mobile world congress) and see that now other mobile manufacturers are realizing Windows 10 Mobile’s potential.
On a side note, what people tend to forget is that many of the iPhone’s and Androids features are innovations that Nokia and Microsoft have given us over the years through the Lumia line. Live Photos by Apple is a direct copy of Nokia/Microsoft’s Living Images. The Ambient Display in many Android devices is a direct copy of Nokia/Microsoft’s Glance Screen. The Double tap to wake feature that was first implemented on an Android device by LG was a direct copy of the Nokia N9.
Negatives
The two negatives I hear are that Windows 10 Mobile is buggy and there are no apps.
Windows Phones are considered the red-headed step child of smartphones by major tech blogs like The Verge, Engadget, and Gizmodo. With that preconceived notion, before they can do an honest review, they’re already negative when it comes time to review the Lumia 950. When they experience a reboot here, a long load there, they’re fast to say that Windows 10 Mobile sucks. Which is crazy to me. And for some reason, some of them believe Windows 10 UX (user design experience) is weird. Well yeah, it would be if you’re not used to it. But since they use all kinds of Androids every day, they believe that’s how a smartphone is supposed to behave. I don’t believe them. I say try Windows 10 Mobile and the Lumia 950 for yourself and give it a good an honest look, and then decide if it’s really that bad.
We don’t see too many iterations of Windows 10 Mobile (previously Windows Phone) from every mobile manufacturer on the planet. So there’s a huge gap in app support by developers. Plus you don’t see the latest and greatest game titles on Windows 10 Mobile like you do on iOS and Android. It makes sense. And this is something I cannot argue. The app problem is real. But with recent news about other mobile manufacturers releasing Windows 10 Mobile devices with monster specs like HP’s Elite X3, VAIO’s Phone Biz, and Xiaomi Mi5 there’s reason to believe that Windows 10 Mobile does have something going for it.
Conclusion
What it comes down to in the end is, would I recommend the Lumia 950 to anyone? My answer is a no and a yes. I would say no to anyone that is already living in an Android or iOS world and that’s all they know. But then, if you’re a long time “tek-head” like me, I would say yes. I would also say yes to the business woman/man looking for a smartphone that plays nice with their Microsoft Office world. I would definitely say yes if they’ve never owned a smartphone before. And lastly, I would say yes if they weren’t app dependent like a little teenage girl.
Look, the Lumia 950 isn’t 100% great at everything. But when it comes to things that I care about like; a great camera, a great display, decent battery life, a removable battery, expandable storage, email, phone quality, information at my fingertips via live tiles, Continuum, and Microsoft Office, the Lumia 950 exceeds my expectations. Currently, the Lumia 950 is the best Windows 10 Mobile device available. And it will be my next smartphone once my contract is ready to renew. The only thing that would stop me from getting a Lumia 950 would be an announcement of a Surface Phone.
