Microsoft misses mark with Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones

Continuum — the Lumia 950 and the XL’s defining feature — has potential but isn’t quite ready for prime time.

Supplied Editorial Microsoft Lumia 950 And 950 XL. Source: Supplied.

Diehard Windows fans have had to endure a long wait for the next flagship to arrive with Microsoft choosing to focus on the budget-conscious after the release of the Lumia 930 almost 18 months ago.

However, with the release of Windows 10, Microsoft has renewed momentum, releasing not one but two new flagships — the Lumia 950 and the not-so-pocket-friendly XL. Aside from a slight bump in processing power and a larger 5.7-inch display on the XL (versus the 5.2-inch on the Lumia 950), both handsets are virtually identical.

We tested the XL, which comes with all the features you would expect, including a pixel popping Quad HD (2560x1440) AMOLED display, liquid-cooled Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), 20MP camera with 4K video recording and support for wireless charging.

The new Lumia also boasts a few firsts. It’s the first smartphone to run Windows 10 and the handset can do double-duty as a desktop PC by connecting it to an external monitor using an optional $150 display dock accessory. The dock comes with three USB ports so you can add a keyboard, mouse and even an external storage drive to the set-up. Microsoft calls this mode “Continuum” and it’s the big distinguishing feature of Windows 10 phones.

What’s handy is that the phone can still be used independently, so you can take a call or send a text message while you continue to work on a Word document on the bigger screen.

So does this mean you can leave your laptop at work? Not quite.

The downside of Continuum

While it works technically, there are inherent limitations and performance issues that degrade the overall experience.

Only universal apps can run in desktop mode, which right now means that only Microsoft apps such as Office, News and Weather will work. If you have third-party apps like Spotify or Netflix installed on your phone, the app icons will remain greyed out until developers get behind it and code-in universal support. Also, unlike a traditional PC you can’t run applications downloaded from outside the Windows Store.

You can skirt around the limited app selection by using Microsoft’s full-fledged desktop browser, which grants access to sites like YouTube, Netflix and Facebook. However, unlike a regular PC, there’s no support for Flash and websites that require more advanced plugins simply won’t work.

Microsoft’s Office apps such as Outlook and Word benefit from the larger screen real state but the cursor doesn’t quite keep up when you’re typing quickly. The noticeable delay is also felt when scrolling through documents or a long web page and when switching between open applications.

Continuum won’t keep your desktop state in memory either, so unplugging the phone from the dock will close all open apps instead of dropping back to their small-screen versions.

It’s also worth noting that while the image scaled well on a computer monitor, it didn’t quite fit the frame of a 65-inch LG HDTV or on a 110-inch 1080p projector, where the top of the image containing the battery indicator, time and network signal were cut off.

On the plus side, keyboard shortcuts such as alt-tab and copy/paste work in desktop mode. Continuum will also work wirelessly, provided you have a television with built-in Miracast support or a compatible device like Telstra TV’s Roku box, though the horrible lag and intermittent connectivity limits it to pretty much video playback only.

Another way that Microsoft is differentiating its phones from the masses of iPhones and Android devices out there is by eschewing the fingerprint scanner that is now standard on high-end smartphones in favour of an iris scanner to unlock the phone without a password. The front-facing camera has an embedded infra-red light camera that will scan your eyes even in the dark, so long as you hold the handset at the right distance from your face. The iris scanner was fast and accurate in our testing and it even worked with glasses on.

We were, however, disappointed with the Lumia’s camera.

With a 20-megapixel sensor, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), Zeiss optics, triple LED flash and a dedicated two-step shutter button, the camera on the XL looks the goods on paper.

It can capture some nicely detailed shots but small, subtle movements often render the photo a blurry mess.

We also found the shutter speed and auto-focus noticeably slower when compared to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S6 or iPhone 6s. Another issue we ran into is that the camera would often freeze after taking 5-6 continuous shots.

Lumia phones are known for being loud and attractive when it comes to design but none of that has crossed over with the XL. The uninspired design coupled with a plastic construction means that the XL lacks the premium feel of other metal-clad smartphones at this price point.

The back is removable, allowing you to swap out the battery or throw in a microSD card slot for more storage.

Final verdict

The Lumia 950 range gets a lot of things right but it falls short in some key areas.

It matches the top-tier Android handsets on the market spec for spec and the iris scanner for unlocking the handset is a solid alternative to the fingerprint approach. However, Microsoft’s lacklustre design and fondness for lightweight materials means the Lumia 950 lacks the premium feel to go with the price tag.

Continuum with Windows 10 gives the XL a productivity edge and the idea of universal apps working across phone, tablet or PC has real potential. However, with Windows 10 being only a few months old, there simply aren’t many universal apps to choose from and the app gap that plagued previous iterations of Windows Phones remains. Performance was also far from smooth and random app crashes mean that Continuum — the 950 and the XL’s defining feature — isn’t quite ready for prolonged productivity sessions.