The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: a Bleak Review

After a few weeks of having the Lumia 950 XL I finally got around to finishing up the video review, it definitely wasn’t an easy task. Not because I was overwhelmed with work, simply because I really couldn’t bring myself to actually use the phone and review it; and that is honestly the essence of the Lumia 950 XL’s problems, it has so little appeal that I really couldn’t be motivated to even try it.

Check out the video below for the full review (as well as a quick history lesson in Greek mythology).

Truth be told, the most fascinating part about the Lumia 950 XL is certainly the camera, 20 MP shooter with a triple LED lens and Zeiss lens. A camera that takes some great photos, especially when paired with the rich capture and manual adjustment of flash exposure (it even edges out the LG V10’s camera too). The problem is the camera is one of the few redeeming features of the phone (in the face of way too many obstacles). The Iris scanner is slow, and unnatural to use (to properly unlock you need to raise it to eye level about a foot away from your face; making it absolutely ridiculous to unlock while talking to someone, or in public). Continuum is a great concept, once again however it defeats logic, the idea of being able to edit your spreadsheets and powerpoints on any screen anywhere you go is great. In reality though the idea of taking along the continuum dock, a mouse a keyboard and 2-3 cables (one to connect the Lumia to the dock, the dock’s power source, and possibly and HDMI cord) is ridiculous. Once again, similar to the idea of the iris scanner, it’s easier to grab your laptop or tablet and get the job done rather than buying these accessories (the dock alone is $99, the foldable keyboard another $99 and the mouse $60) and carrying them with you along with all the cables.

Overall the Lumia 950 XL is an exercise in futility, the OS lags and stutters in most places, not to mention the general lack of apps that will probably ever be filled at this point; meaning unfortunately the Lumia 950 XL is a very hard phone to recommend, to anyone, ever.

Tags: featured, lumia 950 xl, Microsoft, Review

Category: Lumia, Nokia, Windows Phone