# Microsoft Lumia 950 (non-XL), a review



## Rannick1982 (Aug 25, 2016)

So, where to begin.  I got this little guy mid-January of this year, as the XL was not available through AT&T.  After spending a full 7 months with it, I am not without being impressed by what it is capable of, or annoyed by the limitations inherent with the Windows Mobile platform.

One of the features that caught my eye, was the potential of high quality pictures and videos.  Many can argue, and successfully, that the Samsung Sx's or even iPhones are at least as good, or mostly better.  I wanted to try something different.  Living in LA, you can't help but see how saturated the populace is with iPhones and Galaxy phones.  I had a Galaxy S4 Active, and the only complaint I really had, the battery life had never been all that exceptional, and the camera was only functional.  Android OS updates rolled out slowly, and TouchWiz was barely more than a joke, and something I rarely turned on, before turning it off.

Now, the Lumia 950, and what I love about it.  For starters, the battery life.  I have yet to run into a situation where it does not last me AT LEAST a day.  If I travel, it can easily last me two days, if not 3.  Also, the expandable storage was a huge plus, because not many "flagship" phones offered that at the beginning of the year.  The replaceable battery is also a huge advantage.  The pictures are, without a doubt, some of the best I have ever seen from a phone camera, and leaves my wife envious, though her M9 takes good photos in its own right.  The screen is responsive and vibrant.  Watching videos on it is actually enjoyable.  All in all, it is a really good phone, for what it is.

Now on to the things I don't like.  We'll leap into this with the obvious, it's a Windows phone.  Which means that it gets plagued with a variety of hiccups, just like it's desktop counter-part.  However, I have yet to see an actual BSOD, so that's something, right?  Seriously though, there will be times when it randomly restarts, fails to send a simple 3 line text message (which could be a carrier issue), resulting in having to send it it multiple times for the other party to receive it.  The camera sometimes fails to focus properly, resulting in the occasional blurry photo, no matter how still the phone is.  The 4k video recording is a nice option, but more of a novelty at this moment in time, since 4k is a huge file, and you can only expand up to 200GB of storage.  The speaker, not speakers, is mediocre for voice calls, or anything entertainment related.  It often fails to register that the bluetooth audio device (speaker/car) is disconnected, resulting in missed alerts.  The camera app is temperamental, and doesn't always take a picture when you push either the on screen button, or the built in shutter button.  The level of customization is minimal, in my opinion.  There is no way to assign each person their own notification, but you can assign their own ringtone.  Overall app availability is limited, which I underestimated.  I thought there would be, at the very least, an actual app for my bank.  Some of the more modern apps are slowly working their way over, but with Windows Mobile being such a small percentage of the market, most fail to see the need to make an app for it.

Now, let's talk about the most recent update/s to it.  On the surface, not much has changed, if you were just looking at the icons/tiles and browsing through Edge.  One of the biggest changes I noticed, and actually enjoy, is the on screen keyboard.  It feel more responsive and actually tracks much better with their version of Swype.  It did, however, remove some of the shortcuts I had placed, loosely, on the "Start Menu".  I say loosely, because the shortcuts in folder remained untouched.  Annoyingly, it put a Skype shortcut back on the Start Menu, and I. Hate. Skype.  At least in a mobile environment.

All in all, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being abysmal, and 10 being excellent, this phone lands at 6.  It is nice to have all of the buttons located on one side of the device, but I would have preferred a bit more space between the shutter button and the power button, as it can cause a conflict with some phone cradles for cars.  It really wants to be a flagship, and Microsoft priced it near the Flagship level, but it just doesn't feel like a flagship.  Microsoft really need to reach out to developers and give them some kind of incentive to develop more apps for their phones.


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## Naito (Aug 25, 2016)

I've owned this phone since day dot and must say I have not had as many issues with it as you - random restarts did occur once in a blue moon, but disappeared several updates ago. Key apps, particularly first party, are getting close to their counterparts on other platforms (though the iOS FB port is annoying with the predictive keyboard). In it's stock form, the phone does not feel as premium as a flagship should feel, however a bit of cash can get you a Mozo case with either a leather or wood finish - these take it to the next level. I have been on each iteration of Windows Phone since 7 and am growing tired of the constant rebranding/relaunching of the platform and almost jumped ship, but the past 6 months of builds have changed my opinion and I will stay with the platform for the time being. My rating for the device would have been 4 or 5 for the first few months following the release, but has climbed to 7 or 8, especially after the Anniversary Update.


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