Designers at Microsoft decided to keep it simple and stick to good old polycarbonate. There is nothing wrong with using plastics, it’s just that our standards were raised by wonderfully crafted metallic frames. Back when Nokia was in charge, Lumia’s came with vibrant colour schemes in the form of bright orange or neon green, but they were replaced by a more subtle black or white variant. By opting out of unibody design, Microsoft was able to keep a removable back cover providing access to battery, SIM card slot, and a microSD slot. With dimensions of 145 x 73.2 x 8.2 mm and a weight of 150 grams, Microsoft Lumia 950 squeezes nicely into a normal-sized hand and is handled with relative ease.
Microsoft’s display choice surprised us as we weren’t expecting it to rival other flagships. Since Windows Phone has uniquely designed interface, Microsoft was able to save a few pounds by opting for lower resolution screens without much difference. This time around though, they went all out and installed a 5.2-inch AMOLED screen with ClearBlack technology and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Comparison tests reveal that it sits right up there with other flagships in terms of performance. Producing a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and 564ppi density, it’s able to extract the most out of any content. Whether you are playing games or watching multimedia, you’ll be delighted by its quality.
Powering Microsoft Lumia 950 is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 aided by Adreno 418 and 3GB of RAM. Lack of power was never really an issue on Windows Phone devices and this generation continues the tradition. The biggest change comes in the form of Windows 10. Even though it’s slightly different from the desktop version, Microsoft claims that its underpinnings are very similar and as a result there is a brand new feature called Continuum. By purchasing a nifty display dock from Microsoft you’ll be able to connect Microsoft Lumia 950 to any monitor with computer-like results. Windows 10 will recognize the connection and display a desktop environment very similar to the one you get on a real PC. It even has the same start button and action center. One difference is that you can’t install .exe files and most apps that work on Continuum come from Microsoft. There is huge potential to turn this feature into something extraordinarily useful, but third party developers have to get on board.
Always excelling at photography, Lumia series continues the tradition with Lumia 950. With a 20-megapixel camera on the back, Carl Zeiss optics and optical image stabilization, the end result borders on perfection. Triple LED flash is on board to help out in tricky situations when you just can’t seem to get enough light. A 5-megapixel camera is in charge of selfies and video calls.
By embracing a revolutionary idea, Microsoft has laid the foundations for a future in which a single smartphone is the only device we need. The technology is still in its infancy, but there is huge potential waiting to be exploited and in time we are bound to get there. Lumia 950 is a great start so be sure to give it a closer look.
