Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM Review

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM Review

Microsoft debuted its Home windows 10 Cellular OS with the launch of two Lumia units in India late final month. The corporate goes with a top-down method by first introducing one of the best it has to supply with the Lumia 950 XL Twin SIM and Lumia 950 Twin SIM and observe that up with extra inexpensive variants throughout totally different value segments.

Greater than the units although, Microsoft’s actual goal is to showcase its latest Home windows 10 Cellular OS, which it hopes will resonate with customers who’re (hopefully) already utilizing Home windows 10 on their desktops and in the end, coax builders into making extra common apps for the platform.

At the moment, we’ll be taking a better have a look at how this platform as developed in its third try with the Lumia 950 XL Twin SIM. This cellphone is the Nexus 6P (Overview | Footage) or the iPhone 6S Plus of the Home windows world and serves as a template for companions to mannequin their very own creations on. Priced at par with the top-end Android choices, let’s examine if Microsoft’s lastly in a position to crack the stability between top-of-the-line and purposeful software program.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Feel and look

There’s been a whole lot of criticism concerning the plastic physique of Microsoft’s new smartphone and reality be instructed, it’s fairly unbecoming for a flagship of 2015. Nevertheless, given sufficient time and a wholesome value drop, it actually will not matter. Construct high quality is nice though the match of the rear cowl may have been snugger, as the underside portion creaks a bit when pressed. The matte end provides first rate grip and the button placement is sort of ergonomic when held. The buttons themselves really feel a bit cheesy though tactile suggestions is nice. We’re not a fan of the button cluster both as we’d have most popular a extra conventional format with quantity and energy buttons positioned additional aside or on both sides of the cellphone.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_back_ndtv.jpg

There is a 5.7-inch Quad HD AMOLED show with Nokia’s iconic ClearBlack know-how for higher daylight legibility. Microsoft has additionally added Corning Gorilla Glass four for added sturdiness. The show is completely gorgeous, producing impartial colors and excessive brightness ranges for nearly any lighting situations. Our take a look at unit appeared to supply a bluish tinge on for those who tilted the cellphone vertically or horizontally. That is simply noticeable on white backgrounds however not a lot on different colors. We checked this with a few different models as nicely and seen the identical downside.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_butttons_ndtv.jpg

All of the buttons are positioned on the proper, together with the digicam shutter button, whereas the headphone socket and USB Sort-C charging ports are positioned on the highest and backside respectively. Across the again, we’ve got the 20-megapixel PureView digicam, a triple-LED dual-tone flash and the speaker grille. The digicam cluster bulges out very barely so the speaker is not muffled when positioned on a flat floor. You should not fear an excessive amount of about scratches to the lens both because the glass cowl is barely recessed so it would not really make direct contact with the floor. The rear cowl is detachable and so is the 3340mAh battery. You may additionally discover two slots for Nano-SIM playing cards and a microSD card slot.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_camera_ndtv.jpg

The Lumia 950 XL may not look as glamorous as among the different flagships but it surely’s nicely constructed and feels fairly sturdy. The design does really feel a bit bland nonetheless and never as thrilling as previous Lumia units. The cellphone comes bundled with a charger with a hard and fast cable, USB knowledge cable, headset and a few instruction booklets. The standard of the equipment is excellent they usually really feel sturdy sufficient to final.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Specs and software program

Microsoft hasn’t skimped on the specs as this flagship Lumia can simply go toe-to-toe with finest within the enterprise. At its core, we’ve got an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of onboard storage. You additionally get dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth four.1, USB OTG, NFC, Qi wi-fi charging, FM radio, GPS, A-BeiDou and GLONASS. The cellphone additionally packs in an iris scanner within the entrance for the Home windows Hiya safety characteristic.

Home windows 10 Cellular and Continuum
We now come to an important side of the Lumia 950 XL – its OS. In spite of everything, what good is all this if you do not have purposeful software program to again it up.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_OS_ndtv.jpg

Little has modified cosmetically in Home windows 10 Cellular and we predict that was executed intentionally in order that present Home windows Telephone customers would really feel at dwelling as soon as they upgraded. Google contacts and calendars now sync accurately (one thing that was an issue with earlier variations of Home windows Telephone) and a lot of the inventory apps are extra purposeful and look a bit extra refined. Microsoft has additionally paid consideration to little particulars, like the flexibility to answer to an SMS inline with out opening the app or Cortana informing you of an incoming message whenever you’re streaming music over Bluetooth and asking in order for you it learn out to you. We additionally recognize how the everyday black background and navigation icons seamlessly invert colors robotically with a purpose to make textual content extra readable below direct daylight. You may as well change to one-handed mode by holding down the house button, which shrinks the display all the way down to half.

Nevertheless, we’re not a giant fan of the settings app, which regardless of its improved categorisation, continues to be haystack of choices. Additionally, some settings like Look display and Equaliser, which generally ought to have been below Show and Sound sub-menus respectively, are in actual fact positioned below Extras for some odd motive. We additionally confronted a few minor software program glitches like reside tiles not updating accurately or disruptions in Bluetooth streaming with the Groove music app. These little bugs will be rapidly fastened after a reboot, however we hope these are ironed out completely within the subsequent construct.The cellphone comes with a bunch of pre-installed apps like Audible, Cleartrip, Fb, Jet Airways, Lumia Artistic Studio, Microsoft Workplace suite, Ola and Zomato.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_hello_ndtv.jpg

Home windows Hiya is Microsoft’s iris recognition safety characteristic and regardless that the app continues to be in beta, it really works surprisingly nicely. Setting it up is so simple as letting it scan your eyes and saving your iris sample. You may redo this course of below totally different lighting situations to make the sensor simpler. It takes only a second or two to determine you below good mild and a bit longer in low-light. It’s going to even work below full darkness with simply the sunshine from the display illuminating your eyes, though you may have to carry the cellphone a bit nearer to your face.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_dock_ndtv.jpg

We now come to a different extremely marketed characteristic known as Continuum. For many who do not know, it allows you to lengthen your cellphone’s show to a monitor or TV so that you will be extra productive with work apps. Earlier than you are able to do any of that although, you may have to purchase Microsoft’s Show Dock which retails for Rs. 5,999. The dock is weighted with a rubber base, so it would not transfer about in your desk. You may must spend money on a HDMI or DisplayPort cable individually as that is not included within the field.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_continuum_new_ndtv.jpg

As soon as plugged in, the extension of your cellphone’s show takes the type of a Home windows 10 desktop. You may plug in further USB equipment to the dock and use a keyboard and mouse for those who like or just use the cellphone’s show as a trackpad. You may entry all of your apps from the beginning menu, which is a reproduction of all of the tiles in your cellphone. A number of apps will be opened and you’ll Alt-Tab between them however naturally just one occasion is allowed at a time. Apps from Microsoft and a few third-party builders can run in prolonged mode however many cannot, not but not less than. The great thing about Continuum is which you could run totally different apps in your cellphone and the massive display, on the similar time. So as an example, you might be exhibiting off calculations in an Excel file on the massive display when you check with your non-public notes in OneNote in your cellphone.

We want there was a solution to resize apps so we may have a real multi-window desktop expertise. Additionally, your cellphone’s show is continually on and is charging the entire time whenever you’re utilizing Continuum, which isn’t a giant deal for those who’re utilizing it for a short time however prolonged utilization may have an effect on the battery’s cost cycles in the long term.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_options_ndtv.jpg

Moreover extending your show, you possibly can even select to clone it. Essentially the most helpful software of Continuum presently is engaged on Workplace apps which give you desktop-like performance to your present Home windows 10 Cellular apps. Generally used instructions like ‘Ctrl C’ and ‘Alt F4’ all work on this mode. Microsoft and different companions will quickly supply a wi-fi dock as nicely, which will likely be extra helpful for sharing content material out of your cellphone with others.

For those who principally use your PC for browsing the Net, watching films, or engaged on that occasional Phrase or Excel doc, you might probably get away with solely utilizing Continuum in your Home windows 10 Cellular system. Nevertheless, most can’t anticipate to ditch their PC simply but although as presently not many third-party apps scale to the massive display. However with time, if builders port their apps to the Home windows Retailer and make them common, you might realistically cast off a PC altogether. After all, Microsoft would even have so as to add extra desktop-like performance as we talked about earlier with a purpose to broaden the characteristic’s enchantment.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Efficiency

The Lumia 950 XL takes a bit time to totally end syncing with all of the signed in companies, throughout which you may have few slow-downs and unresponsiveness. Nevertheless, give it a few hours and it simply flies after that. It is price stating that we confronted this as a result of we signed into all our accounts like Microsoft and Google on the similar time and there was a whole lot of knowledge to sync from the cloud in our case. For those who signal into your Microsoft account and there is not a lot to sync, you might be unlikely to face this downside.

Native app efficiency and interface animations are fluid and fast as they’ve all the time been on Home windows Telephone. 4G works on both SIM slot relying on the one you select for knowledge. The cellphone does warmth up, however fortunately, it cools down simply as quick because of the heat-pipe (or liquid cooling) and the plastic physique.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_start_ndtv.jpg

The app retailer on Home windows 10 Cellular is not as flush with selections when in comparison with iOS or Android but it surely’s not as unhealthy because it was a few years in the past. Sure, many multi-platform apps like Whatsapp or Telegram do not significantly look or perform in addition to they do on different platforms, however not less than they’re current and work as they need to. Microsoft’s native apps and a few third-party apps like Zomato or Twitter are designed very nicely however a lot of the others lack polish. Official Google apps aren’t current however Microsoft’s personal Outlook Mail and Bing Maps are first rate options. The apps scene may very nicely change a 12 months down the road, now that the Home windows Retailer on the desktop and cell is identical. This implies, for those who purchase a recreation from the shop in your PC, you possibly can set up that very same copy on the cellphone as nicely, supplied you are signed into the identical account.

Microsoft’s new Edge browser is speedy and does a very good job at rendering heavy webpages. In browser benchmarks, we obtained excessive rating of 46.6 factors in JetStream 1.1 and 7180 in Octane.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_headphone_ndtv.jpg

The Groove music participant is not one of the best inventory audio participant however will get the job executed. We simply want there was a better solution to entry the equaliser settings from throughout the app. The rear speaker is simply mono however the audio high quality is loud and distinct. The earbuds on the bundled headset aren’t in-ear and do not have a very good match. The excellent news is that there is native assist for FLAC audio format now. The Movies and TV inventory video participant can also be fairly barebones however fortunately, MX Participant is current within the retailer. 4K video performs again with none trouble too.

In relation to the digicam, the Lumia 950 XL is well among the finest on the market. The 2-step shutter button allows you to activate the digicam app immediately and saving an image may be very fast. The Carl Zeiss optics boasts of an f/1.9 aperture for the sensor and Optical Picture Stabilisation. All of this comes collectively, because of wonderful digicam app, leading to some actually gorgeous photos and movies.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_sample4_ndtv.jpg
Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_sample1_ndtv.jpg

Landscapes and macros are very nicely detailed with near-accurate colors in daylight. Indoor and low-light photos are fairly spot on as nicely with little or no noise and good element. You may manually alter all of the settings too to get extra creative pictures.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_sample2_ndtv.jpg
Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_sample3_ndtv.jpg
Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_sample5_ndtv.jpg

Video recording goes as much as 4K at 30fps however you possibly can change to numerous combos of resolutions and body charges. High quality of the recorded video is excellent, even in low-light. You may add extra taking pictures modes by downloading further ‘lenses’ from the shop. The front-facing digicam can also be fairly good for selfies. The triple-LED flash is highly effective and evenly lights you your topic, supplied they’re inside affordable distance.

The cellphone placed on a very good present in our video loop take a look at, lasting us 12 hours and 37 minutes. Nevertheless, below common, we seen the battery tends to empty so much faster and nearly manages a full day’s price of utilization. The cellphone comes with fast-charging assist and we may go from empty to 47 p.c cost in simply 30 minutes.

Microsoft_Lumia_950XL_camera_angle_ndtv.jpg

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Verdict

It has been a bit greater than 5 years since Microsoft launched its cell model of Home windows and we lastly have a platform with critical potential. Home windows 10 Cellular continues to be tough across the edges however with well timed updates, we could possibly be an actual drive to be reckoned with in time. App performance has improved tremendously however we’re nonetheless lacking selection that different platforms supply. Hopefully, builders could have extra incentive to port their apps over, now that Home windows Retailer is widespread throughout desktop and cell platforms.

Take away these teething software program niggles and the Lumia 950 XL Twin SIM is a reasonably wonderful smartphone that does every thing you ask of it, and extra. The design and construct may have higher contemplating its premium value however apart from that, it has an excellent show, an excellent digicam, good battery life, quick charging and all the opposite specs one would anticipate from a flagship. As well as, you additionally get an iris scanner for higher safety and assist for Home windows Continuum. The latter is a cool characteristic to have but it surely’s not one thing most would find yourself utilizing each day.

At Rs 49,399, the Lumia 950 XL Twin SIM feels fairly costly and can most like be the rationale potential clients would look elsewhere. If Microsoft is critical about taking again some market share in India, then this does not look like a logical solution to go about it. There must be a wholesome value drop quickly with a purpose to make it extra tempting, else it is going to be a troublesome promote.

Votes: 19 | Rating: 4.8

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Spread the love

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*