The Microsoft Lumia 950 is special in two ways. It's the first smartphone to run Microsoft's Windows 10 OS, which promises an extremely high level of app compatibility and task continuity between the mobile devices and computers that run it. Also, it's one of the best smartphones we've seen from Microsoft in a while. It's noteworthy qualities begin with some cool, new tech that's actually quite practical, such as an iris scanner that enables you to unlock the phone with yours eyes. The process involves an infrared camera and another camera that's just there to take pictures of your eyes (these cameras are in addition to the phone's rear-and front-facing cameras used for taking still images and videos). It's all managed by Windows Hello, a biometrics app built into Windows 10. The 950 is also the first Windows smartphone we've seen with a USB Type-C connector, which can be inserted into the phone no matter which way you hold it because there is no "wrong-side up." That eliminates the fumbling and squinting that has become a ritual on phones that use micro USB cables. Besides the futuristic stuff, the phone has an excellent quality 5.2-inch quad HD display screen that is among the sharpest we've tested, presenting photos, videos, web pages, and other objects with more than 500 pixels per inch of detail. Most users may not notice the benefits of those extra pixels in everyday use, but they will appreciate how easy the display is to read in bright light. The main camera is among the best in our Ratings. The 18.7-megapixel camera captured very good still images. It also did excellent under low-light conditions. It took very good 1080p video, on par with what you'd get with the better pocket camcorders. Also, the front-facing camera is relatively high-resolution at 5-megapixel. The Lumia 950 can also record in Ultra HD (2160p) video format, which provides extra clarity when that video is viewed on an Ultra HD TV. The camera's optical image stabilizer improves your chances of taking better handheld photos and videos under low-light conditions. The Lumia 950 also has a dedicated button on its right side to launch the camera. The 950 supports BOTH Qi and Powermat wireless charging pads out of the box-a convenience many mixed-family smartphone users will relish. It also has rapid charging capability, which in our tests, took about 30 minutes to bring a drained battery to roughly 50 percent capacity using the included charger. Unfortunately, it's users will rely heavily on the rapid-charging feature because the 950's battery life is shorter than on many smartphones we've tested. But at least the battery is removable, which means you can carry a spare. The phone also accepts microSD cards-the cheapest and easiest way to add extra storage capacity on a smartphone. Such advantages are becoming harder to find on other flagship Android smartphones, and never existed on iPhones. As we indicated, the Windows 10 mobile shares many of the same features as its desktop version, including elements of the user interface, menus, settings, and more. New features and capabilities include Microsoft Edge Web browser, which is more streamlined than Internet Explorer and more tightly integrated with Microsoft's Cortana voice-activated assistant. The contacts app has been cleaned up as well, providing easier sharing and quicker connections with people in your sphere of influence. The Action Center adds notifications for missed calls, messages, and more, system settings is laid out more sensibly, there's a mode for one-handed operation, you can adjust the virtual keyboard, and more. When you're thinking big, this phone can also be turned into Windows-like desktop via its Continuum app and hardware accessories such as the Microsoft Display Dock as well as a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other components. You'll also be able to run different apps on your phone and your monitor simultaneously.
The Lumia 950 has a highly responsive touch screen, providing easy access to all main functions and programmable shortcuts. The Windows interface provides straightforward, yet flexible access to most functions via two panels. One is a Start Screen with a scrolling interface of resizable Live Tiles, which are animated app icons that can display real-time updates from social network feeds, news, appointments, and other sources. The other is an alphabetical list of the apps on your phone. You can pin any app in this listing to the Start Screen, if it's not already there. The customizable fonts and dark backgrounds provide a clear and distinctive presentation of e-mails, calendars, and other phone content. You can easily change most Live Tiles to one of three sizes: a full-screen-width rectangle, a half-screen square, or a tiny quarter-screen. And you can change their color palette. You can also create folders to organize apps. In addition to the touch-screen support, three keys provide the core navigation controls. There's a back key for backing out of applications, a start key for returning you to the home screen, and a search button key that launches the Bing search box or Cortana. Cortana, the voice-activated assistant, can perform searches, launch apps, make calls, schedule meetings, and more, on your command. Cortana will either speak her answers to you or show what she thinks are relevant results from a Bing search. A long-press of the start key brings the top of the screen closer to your thumb for one-handed operation. The Action center is a pull-down notifications bar that lets you see and access various phone features, such as settings, the camera, etc. without having to unlock the phone screen, as well as notifications for missed calls, messages, and more . The multi-touch screen lets you zoom in and out of photos or Web pages using two fingers (for instance, your thumb and index finger).
The Lumia 950 supports Near Field Communication (NFC), a short-range wireless communication technology that allows the phone to read "smart" tags, or other items that have NFC capability in them. Though the technology is not yet widely deployed for mobile phone users, it could ultimately allow you to pay by phone at the register. The Lumia 950 supports a "4G" networks (LTE and HSPA+), allowing fast streaming, downloading, and uploading of high-definition videos and other large files. The fast network also facilitates better Web browsing experiences. The WiFi connection provides another way to access the Web, e-mail, and other Internet-based content, without using your data plan allowance.
MESSAGING: The virtual keyboard was very easy to use. It can also be resized and moved around the screen for one-handed operation. It supports a method that allows users to type words without lifting a finger-literally. You enter a word by dragging your finger across the screen from letter to letter. Though it's initially awkward to use, we eventually had a lot of success "typing" quickly and accurately. Its advanced voice command feature supports text fields, allowing you to dictate text messages, search the Web, open apps, and other normally typed forms of communication. Excellent e-mail readability and attachment capabilities. This phone allows you to create and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets out of the box, which can come in handy when working on the go. The Lumia 950 also supports Microsoft Exchange and Outlook for work e-mail. When connected to Windows or Macintosh computers, this phone can appear on the computer as another drive. You can then transfer data to and from your phone as you could on a regular drive. But it doesn't have preset text messages, nor does it allow you to create custom presets.
PHONE: We tested this phone under a variety of conditions to simulate environments ranging from the quiet indoors to noisy roadsides. We found voice quality was good when talking, though only fair when listening. Battery life, overall, is shorter than on many smartphones we've tested, with talk time an adequate 11 hours, LTE data time of 10 and a half hours and WiFi browsing time of 9 hours. This phone has a very good mixture of controls and features for making and taking calls. Very good keypad readability under most lighting conditions, even in bright light. Its voice command allows you to conveniently dial numbers from your phone book by speaking the name, without the usual training. You can also dial numbers by pronouncing the digits. It has Bluetooth for wireless hands-free voice communication. This model can simultaneously be on a phone call and an Internet-based connection over the cellular network. Can be used internationally. But the ringer is not easy to mute. Auto answer doesn't work with headset.
MULTIMEDIA: The 18.7-megapixel camera has a short shutter lag, and produced very-good-quality pictures at ISO settings up to 800. It also did excellent under low-light conditions. Its optical image stabilizer improves your chances of taking better handheld photos and videos under low-light conditions. Camera has a flash, autofocus, manual ISO settings, and can record HD video. Its touch focus feature lets you override the autofocus by tapping on any subject on the screen. The camera's flash and ISO-setting controls also help improve your chances of taking better pictures under low-light conditions. The phone's camera supports some useful-and fun-apps called Lenses, which allow you to embellish photos and videos in various ways. The camera took very good 1080p video, on par with what you'd get with the better pocket camcorders. The Lumia 950 can also record in Ultra HD (2160x3840) video format which has benefits when viewing on an Ultra HD TV giving you extra clarity. The high-resolution front-facing 5-megapixel camera allows easy self-portraits, and can support video chats. It can also record at 1080p.
The music player has the capabilities and controls of a typical stand-alone MP3 player, including an equalizer, music shuffle and repeat controls, and options for sorting music by album, artist, etc. The Lumia 950 comes preloaded with Xbox, which lets you play games with your friends and use your avatar and gamer profile to keep track of game scores and achievements online through the Games hub. This model also supports Bluetooth stereo headsets, and can download music over the phone network. Its Bluetooth data support enables the phone to wirelessly share pictures, contacts, and other files with compatible printers, computers, and mobile devices.
GPS navigation capability provides spoken turn-by-turn directions and automatic re-routing. The Lumia 950 supports the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard. This lets the phone connect via WiFi to share content with other compatible certified devices such as a TV. The Lumia 950 can act as a mobile hotspot for up to eight WiFi-enabled devices. It has 32GB of built-in memory, and supports memory cards of more than 128GB. Its memory capacity is beneficial for storing music, videos, pictures, and other types of files. But the memory card is hard to access.
