New Microsoft Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 950, Lumia 550: What’s the difference?
Microsoft yesterday unveiled three new Windows 10-based Lumia smartphones: the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, both high-end flagship devices aimed at business users, and the Lumia 550, a budget smartphone.
Thanks to a slew of leaks, we’ve known for some time what to expect from Microsoft’s new Lumia devices.
First up, we take a look at how the tech specs stack up for each of the new Lumia devices.
Lumia 950 XL vs. Lumia 950 vs. Lumia 550: Tech specs
Lumia 950 XL | Lumia 950 | Lumia 550 | |
Display |
5.7 ”, WQHD (2560 x 1440) , AMOLED, ClearBlack, Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
5.2 ”, WQHD (2560 x 1440) , AMOLED, ClearBlack, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
4.7 ”, HD720 (1280 x 720) , LCD |
Size and weight |
8.1 x 151.9 x 78.4 mm, 165 grams |
8.2 x 145 x 73.2 mm, 160 grams |
9.9 x 136.1 x 67.8 mm, 141.9 grams |
Processor |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Octa core, 2000 MHz |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808, Hexa core, 1800 MHz |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 , Quad core, 1100 MHz |
RAM |
3GB |
3GB |
1GB |
Storage |
32GB, expandable with up to 200GB SD card |
32GB, expandable with up to 200GB SD card |
8GB, expandable with up to 200GB SD card |
Rear camera |
20.0 MP, Natural flash, ZEISS optics |
20.0 MP, Natural flash, ZEISS optics |
5.0 MP, LED flash |
Front camera |
Full HD 5MP wide angle |
Full HD 5MP wide angle |
2MP |
Network |
4G LTE |
4G LTE |
4G LTE |
Battery capacity |
3340 mAh, up to 19 hours talk time |
3000 mAh, up to 18 hours talk time |
2100 mAh, up to 14 hours talk time |
Replaceable battery |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Wireless charging |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
NFC |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 4.1, WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO, Wi-Fi call |
Bluetooth 4.1, WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO, Wi-Fi call |
Bluetooth 4.1, WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi call |
Sensors |
Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Barometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, SensorCore |
Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Barometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, SensorCore |
Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor |
Windows Hello |
Yes (Beta) |
Yes (Beta) |
No |
Price |
$649 | $549 |
$139 |
Lumia 950 XL and 950
Use your Lumia smartphone like a PC
Both the Lumia 950 XL and 950 will come with Microsoft’s Continuum technology, allowing users to connect their Lumia smartphones to an accessory called a Microsoft Display Dock. Once connected to a Microsoft Display Dock, a Lumia smartphone can be used with an external monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, allowing users a PC-like experience using their phone. The dock features HDMI, DisplayPort and USB ports.
Microsoft has not yet revealed any pricing for the Display Dock.
What’s the difference?
Much like the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the Lumia 950 XL and 950, differ mainly when it comes to screen size. The Lumia 950 XL is more of a phablet with a 5.7-inch screen, and the Lumia 950 has a 5.2-inch screen. Both have the same resolution at 2560 x 1440 pixels.
Under the hood, it is much the same story. Both smartphones have 3GB of RAM and the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets – the six-core CPU for the Lumia 950 and an eight-core CPU for the Lumia 950 XL.
Both phones come with 32GB onboard storage expandable by up to 200GB micorSD card.
The Lumia 950 XL has a slightly larger battery, but both phones feature wireless charging and USB-C Fast Charging. According to Microsoft, a 30-minute charge will deliver 50 percent battery life.
As for the cameras, both the Lumia 950 XL and the 950 feature 20-megapixel rear shooters with ZEISS optics, triple LED flash and optical image stabilization.
The Lumia 950 XL and 950 will go on sale sometime in November.
New budget Lumia smartphone
The 5-inch Lumia 550 is set to replace the Lumia 640 and 640 XL as Microsoft’s budget smartphone offering for developing markets and price-sensitive consumers.
The Lumia 550 features a quad core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 210 processor with 1GB of RAM, a 5-megapizel rear camera with LED flash and 8GB of onboard storage expandable by up to 200GB SD card.
Priced at $139, the Lumia 550 will go on sale in Europe in December with more regions to follow in early 2016.
Image via Microsoft
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