Microsoft Lumia 950 XL User Reviews

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.

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.

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 :) )

Everything works great but feels cheap and app gap is still there. That being said an amazing camera, fantastic display and the best UI on a smart phone make up for it. As a phone I have no complaints dual sim is a great feature.

I would be more satisfied if its screen was the size of Lumia 1520, i.e. 6 inches. But, anyway, this size is easier in pockets and on the palm. The building material has a lot of space to improve. Separation of volume up and volume down buttons was not a wise decision.

amazing phone. fast. everyone notices the beast in your hand. the only problem is plastic back which is not important in the end. who uses his phone without a case or cover? no one. nobody can see full of metal phone body cuz we all use cases and we all have plastic cases (most of us).
but it would be nice to have this thing too.
everything else is unspeakably great

The phone is much better than people seem to rate it if you ask me... Maybe the expectations were too high because it was the first flag ship windows phone in years. It has a great camera, it is fast, it is easy to use and the "app gap" is really only noticeable for gadget-lovers who are using exotic stuff if you ask me... with one or two exceptions like snapchats and people who do not get that this is a microsoft phone and not a google phone. (yes, there is no google drive, etc. implementation but each and every Google App has an quite equal or even better integrated Microsoft equivalent... The build-quality is okay for me too... especially if you understand, that it has a polycabonate case... that is written everywhere so do not complain about that... if you do not want that, do not get this phone....

Overall this is a very good phone, I can't fault it aside from the App availability on the OS itself. However it seems to be improving given Win 10 being easier for porting apps over. The device itself is awesome, very light, well built, extremely amazing screen, expandable memory, removable battery, Continuum, Windows Hello is very slick and fast - phone unlocks extremely fast with facial recognition

After buying the phone, it did a lot of updates, which is good. I don't have problems with account setups coz had hotmail accounts for decades. Foremost, being a phone is the best experience I have. Super call quality at even a one bar signal. I had few updates since buying it and small bumps been cleared. Love the removable battery and external SD card, in w/c Iphones and latest Samsung high end phones don't have. But overall, I love my Lumia 950 XL and windows 10. And i'm very optimistic that it will be more better just like my windows 10 laptops.

*This phone frustrating for several reasons:
1. Made of full plastic so Chassis made from plastic.
2- very expensive and very few features and unattractive
3- no improvements on the camera ... just three flash and unhelpful
4- the battery is not enough
5 - high temperature and coolant is not effective

*Features
1- no skimp USB Type-C cables
2- system improver and developed
3- Pure sound

Excellent camera, probably the best of 2015. Great display. Good performance with only rare hiccups ever happened. Good battery life. Overall a well-rounded performer if you don't really mind about apps.

Live Tiles are GREAT! Learning curve of Windows 10 Mobile may be a little bit steep, but seriously, if you're changing platforms you should NEVER use the same way of thinking as your previous platform.

Over all a good phone, but for a flagship price, I expected more. Support and updates have been poor. I had to do a software reset to upgrade Windows 10. Continuum is useless to me. The App Gap is a pain. I have to use the web browser to replace some apps, and Edge doesn't have plug-ins yet and is not ready for prime time. I had Windows phones until my last Android. I am really trying to like this phone and Windows, but it is really hard. I regret leaving Android.

Lumia has come a long way.. From Lumia 800 to Lumia 950XL , lumia has grown..
With its super cool UI which basically remained same the OS looks fab! Lumia is fast, fluid and responsive.., camera works exceptional! Battery is also good..!! Apps is an issue yet but with Project Astoria I hope that will go away!!

I have had the phone for 2 weeks now and so far I do not regret it at all. The OS in my opinion is the best Phone OS yet. The camera is more advanced than any camera on a 2015 smartphone. UI is awesome, no space is wasted; live tiles are very efficient. Battery life is good generally is more than 24h with average use. Build quality could be better in terms of feel not materials (I have always preferred polycarbonate). And for a 5.7 inch screen sized phone it does not feel that big. And finally, being one of the rare flagship smartphones to bring back the removable back and battery, plus a micro SD slot, the phone gets an additional plus according to me.

Here my own feedback on the phone after using it for 6 days now.

I’m very happy with the Lumia 950 XL. I used to have a 1020 and then a 930. I was a bit disappointed with the 930 because of the Camera and lack of Glance screen. Everything else was good but not perfect. In my opinion the 950 XL fix all the problems.

Negative point: Finishing touch of the case does not feel Premium. Camera and Screen looks brilliant and Premium. Solution here is to order one of the case from Mozo, they are expensive but Premium look and quality.
No oversampling in the Microsoft Photo app / Microsoft Camera.

On the positive side of things:
# Camera is much much better than the 930. Not as much detailed as the one on the 1020 when zooming (a lot) at the picture but very very close and the camera is also much much faster. Globally I’m very happy as I was very disappointed with the camera on the 930. Macro (close-up) and nigh shots are again very close or sometimes better than the 1020.

# Support for Micro SD card.

# Glance screen is finally back and I love it.

# Continuum works very good. So far only few Apps are compatible but I’m confident it will increase. So far All MS apps are compatible (Groove Music, Microsoft Photo, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint etc…) and also FaceBook, TripAdvisor, FitBit, Uber. I’m looking forward to see TubeCast and Plex compatible with Continuum. So far I only had a chance to test it Wirelessly and it works very well. My free dock should arrive in the coming weeks.

# Windows Hello is also a good surprise since I now see MS Application such as OneDrive and Third Party Application such as iHeartRadio using it to login rather than using a regular password. Just using Windows Hello to unlock the device is fun and works very well and quick but it is not that useful. However if in the future more apps use it and we don’t need to enter password anymore, then it will become my favorite new feature…

This phone you can say for MS W10 fans and Camera geeks also if you want use the refreshing W10 Mobile UI and fluidity. If they ship it with one of the MOZO Cover then this would have given tough competition to currently so said flagships. APP GAP won't get you until you are using some very specific local apps anyway Edge is capable enough to handle them as a pinned web pages as Tile that's the beauty.

My previous review had me rating this phone badly, however I kept the phone and found once MS updated the Lumia 950 XL that most of the issues went away. I travel internationally, thus I wanted a reliable dependable dual-sim phone. This phone has finally measured up to being a great phone (with the new MS updates).