Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Specs

7.0
9.2

Description

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is a large and powerful smartphone powered by the Windows 10 Phone OS. It stands out with its 5.7-inch, OLED display packing 1440 by 2560 pixels. Inside it ticks Qualcomm's octa-core Snapdragon 810 SoC which has been liquid-cooled to facilitate heat dissipation. And the camera is one worth being excited about – a 20MP sensor with OIS and a tripple LED flash is found at the back. The latter uses three LEDs to produce more natural colors. Further specs include 32GB of on-board storage, a microSD card slot, a 3440mAh battery that can last through 19h of talk time. The USB Type-C port at the bottom is a welcome bonus.

Pros

  • Supports wireless charging
  • High pixel density screen (518 PPI)
I want it 63 users
I have it 26 users
I had it 17 users

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Display

Benchmarks
Size: 5.7-inch
Resolution: 2560 x 1440 px, 16:9 ratio, 518 PPI
Technology: AMOLED
Screen-to-body: 74.15 %
Features: Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

Benchmarks
System chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994
Processor: Octa-core, 2000 MHz, ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
GPU: Adreno 430
RAM: 3GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage: 32GB
Storage expansion: microSDXC up to 200 GB
OS: Windows (10 Mobile) Screenshots
Device type: Smartphone

Battery

Capacity: 3340 mAh
Type: User replaceable
Charging: Fast charging, Qi wireless charging

Camera

Rear: Single camera Camera samples
Main camera: 20 MP (OIS, Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Specifications: Aperture size: F1.9
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.4"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Flash: Tricolor LED
Video recording: 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
Features:
OIS, Continuous autofocus, Video light, Video calling, Video sharing
Front: 5 MP
Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)
Dimensions: 5.98 x 3.09 x 0.32 inches
(151.9 x 78.4 x 8.1 mm)
Weight: 5.82 oz (165.0 g)
Materials: Back: Plastic
Biometrics: Iris scanner
Features: Touch sensitive control keys
Keys: Right: Volume control, Camera shutter, Lock/Unlock key
Colors: Black, White

Cellular

4G (FDD): Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 28(700 APT)
4G (TDD): Bands 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G: Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed: LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
SIM type: Nano SIM
HD Voice: Yes

Multimedia

Benchmarks
Headphones: 3.5mm jack
Speakers: Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features: Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring: Wireless screen share, SlimPort
Radio: FM
Additional microphone(s): Noise cancellation, Video recording

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth: 4.1
Wi-Fi: 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB: Type-C (reversible), USB 3.1
Features: Charging, OTG, Video out
Hearing aid compatible: M3, T3
Location: GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer
Other: NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval:
Date approved: Oct 05, 2015
FCC ID value: PYARM-1085
Measured SAR:
Head: 0.59 W/kg
Body: 0.48 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.58 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.13 W/kg

Buyers information

Price: $ 649
In The Box: USB-C charger, USB-C to USB-A 3.1 Cable, Documentation

Availability

Officially announced: Oct 06, 2015
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Alternative variants

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual
Differences from the main variant:
Data Speed: LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s)
Dual SIM: Yes
FCC approval:
Date approved: Oct 27, 2015
FCC ID value: PYARM-1116
Measured SAR:
Head: 0.47 W/kg
Body: 0.43 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.44 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.07 W/kg

News

Remembering Windows Phone and Nokia Lumia – the good and the bad
It wasn't always Google vs. Apple, Android vs. iOS. Back in 2010 Microsoft launched a phone operating system that at the time looked way better and more modern than both of the aforementioned, enough to attract my attention and get me to buy a Nokia ...
, by Rado Minkov, 18
Remembering Windows Phone and Nokia Lumia – the good and the bad
Windows 10X on Lumia 950 XL is the future that never happened
We all remember what happened when Microsoft tried to venture into the mobile realm. The company almost killed the Nokia brand completely, and it wasn’t a hardware issue either. Lumia phones had the power but Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile were ...
, by Mariyan Slavov, 3
Windows 10X on Lumia 950 XL is the future that never happened
Lumia 950 XL with a full version of Windows can run the original Fallout gamе
A few days ago, Microsoft officially called it quits and announced that it will be ending support for the mobile version of Windows. Now, while the operating system doesn’t have much market share to speak of, it does have its own set of devoted...
, by Preslav Kateliev, 11
Lumia 950 XL with a full version of Windows can run the original Fallout gamе
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL boots up with Windows 10 for ARM installed
For hacker Ben | imbushuo to be able to install Windows 10 for ARM on a Microsoft Lumia 950 XL, he had to develop a custom Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) bootloader for the phone. After all, Windows 10 requires a secure boot environment...
, by Alan Friedman, 8
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL boots up with Windows 10 for ARM installed

User Reviews

Overall User Rating
Build quality
7.6
Camera quality
9.5
Performance
9.1
Display
9.8
Battery life and charging
8.6
Rating breakdown (out of 10)
10
Love the 950XL
Phone owned for more than a year

I've used Android extensively in the past couple months and it's still god awful. Windows 10 Mobile is the best mobile experience you can have and the 950XL is the best (or tied for the best with the X3) hardware you can run it on.

The camera is fantastic, the screen is brilliant (QHD), Retina scanner, wireless charging built in, USB-C, MicroSD support, removable batter, Dual Sim...

Nothing about this phone is half-assed.

It's a shame that Microsoft couldn't convince people to build more apps for their ecosystem because this phone deserves to be in everyone's pocket.

Unlike Android, most non-third party functions are baked right into the OS, so you don't need to clutter your device with silly ad supported apps, the Edge browser is so good that you don't need apps for simple websites either.

Read Full Review
10
One year later still the best
Phone owned for more than a year

Excellent phone. Typical of all my phones I wore out the plug so it has a hard time charging now. So got a Alcatel Idol 4s. Considering buying a new 950XL I miss my old one that much. The Idol seems faster in some aspects, but photo processing isnt one. The 950XL is much faster, faster to zoom, fater to process, and better pictures overall. The 950XL screen is a year later still the best in WP, and on par with the iPhone 7 and Galaxy phones. The 950XL is probably still the best phone on the market for Windows Phone users and prices are coming down. Haven't had a chance to get or view a HP Elite X3 yet. But looking at the specs I would say the camera in teh 950xl is still better. Which is what really matters to me as the WP10 platform is pretty universal. The only thing I find the Alcatel has that is vastly better than the 950XL are the external speakers. Those on the 950 are loudish, and clear but only on average with most phones I have used. As noted by other user with Live Tiles App Gap is a misnomer. Many websites can be simply made into a live tile. Most apps from Dominos to Fandango, Yelp to Waze, Paypal to Ebay, Spotify to Netflix are there. Just sometimes a little older than Android or iOS versions. But in case of Android thats relative. Havent found many apps outside of NFC and banking apps that I don't have. With banking and even eBay to a point the mobile website is just as good if not better than an App and with WPs unique live tiles you can make your own app by just pinning the page as a livetile to the front. Not a 950xl issue but for some reason Facebook integration into the people hub is gone. Which used to be one of the best things about WP. They need to bring it back.

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9
(The last?) Real flagship of Windows 10 phone
Phone owned for less than 3 months

I got this phone in last moment, the 950XL where out of sale at local retailers. So got 50% off initial price, ant it where worth it.
Migrated to 950XL form Nokia 930. Reason: I use e-mail and sms a lot, needed larger screen for text input. Was looking for HP elite X3, but the delivery time where unclear, and dimensions of 6"-inch too scary, ... and that price ~800EUR ... :-/

The Lumia 950XL problem is the 2015 edtion WinPhone 10 OS release, that where too soon, not ready, full of bugs, and it scared away lot of consumers and retailers. The damage where done, and itš sad that so nice phone has been underrated.
After 2016. Win10Phone update, things are really good, the phone runs smooth, nice, no bugs, everything works just fine.
Had some trouble with setup (due to many updates)That could be real pain for for new WindowsPhone user, or average everyday user.
So the device is cool, good screen, best (on my opinnion) camera...
The only real downside for now, is unclear future of Windows Phone OS. If Microsoft will drop the OS and support, it puts under doubt the possibility to use 950XL for years. I really hope, Microsoft will find the way to keep the Win Phone OS alive. (otherwise, there is no more choice in the world :) )

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