Lumia 950 XL vs. Nexus 6P vs. iPhone 6s Plus: Microsoft takes on rival phablets
Microsoft yesterday unveiled three new Lumia smartphones: the high-end Lumia 950 and phablet-sized Lumia 950 XL and the budget Lumia 550.
If you were in the market or a new Windows phone, you’d have ample choice between the three new Lumia devices – we’ve even compared them for you to help make the choice.
If you’re wondering how the Lumia 950 XL stacks up against some of the other flagship phablets to have recently hit the market, we’ve done some of the work for you – at least for the Google Nexus 6P and Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus.
Lumia 950 XL vs. Nexus 6P vs. iPhone 6s Plus: Tech specs
Lumia 950 XL |
Nexus 6P |
iPhone 6s Plus |
|
Screen size |
5.7-inches |
5.7-inches |
5.5-inches |
Screen resolution |
2560 x 1440 (518 ppi) |
2560 x 1440 (518 ppi) |
1920 x 1080 (401 ppi) |
Screen type |
WQHD, AMOLED, ClearBlack, Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
WQHD, AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4 |
IPS LCD, Retina HD |
Dimensions and weight |
8.1 x 151.9 x 78.4 mm, 165g |
159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3mm, 178g |
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm, 192g |
Processor |
2GHz Octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 |
2GHz Octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 With Adreno 430 GPU |
1.8GHz Dual core 64-bit A9 with M9 motion coprocessor |
RAM |
3GB |
3GB |
2GB |
Storage |
32GB, expandable with up to 200GB SD card |
32 / 64 / 128GB |
16 / 64 / 128GB |
Battery |
3340 mAh |
3450 mAh |
2750 mAh |
Wireless charging |
Yes |
No |
No |
Fast charging |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Rear camera |
20.0 MP, Natural flash, ZEISS optics |
12.3MP, f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size |
12MP iSight, f/2.2, 1.22µm pixel size |
Front camera |
Full HD 5MP wide angle |
8MP, f/2.4, 1.4µm pixel size |
5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2 |
Optical image stabilization |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Video capture |
4K at 30fps |
4K at 30fps |
4K at 30fps |
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 4.1, WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO, Wi-Fi call |
Bluetooth v4.2, Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi |
Bluetooth v4.2, Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi |
NFC |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Operating system |
Windows 10 |
Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
iOS 9 |
Special features |
Windows Hello (Beta), Windows Continuum (use as PC with Windows Display Dock |
Nexus Imprint, USB Type-C, Android Pay |
3D Touch, 2nd-gen Touch ID, Retina flash, Apple Pay |
Price |
$649 |
$499 for 32GB, $549 for 64GB, $649 for 128Gb |
$749, $849, $949 (off-contract) with range of deals on offer. |
Design
The Lumia 950 XL does not break any new ground when it comes to smartphone design – even Microsoft does not tout innovative design anywhere on its product pages.
The Nexus 6P on the other hand, has taken it up a notch – at least for Nexus phones – and is the first Nexus device to sport and all-metal unibody design. The camera array and fingerprint sensor on the back add to the phone’s overall design instead of simply being two components tacked on.
As for the iPhone 6s Plus, it’s the same design as last year’s iPhone 6 Plus, but Apple has used a new 7000 series aluminum for a more rigid body and added a new rose gold color option to the mix.
Display
Both the Lumia 950 XL and Nexus 6P have 5.7-inch Ultra HD AMOLED displays with 2560 x 1440 pixels at an impressive 518 ppi.
The slightly smaller 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus has an IPS LCD with 1920 x 1080 pixels at 401 ppi, but Apple’s Retina HD display technology cannot be faulted.
Internal components
Powered by the latest 2GHz octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB of RAM, both the Lumia 950 XL and Nexus 6P will handle just about anything mobile users can throw at them.
The iPhone 6s Plus is no slouch either; it comes equipped with Apple’s new 64-bit A9 chip said to be 70 percent faster than the A8 chip in the iPhone 6. Also included is Apple’s M9 motion coprocessor for health and fitness tracking.
On the storage front, the Lumia 950 XL is the clear leader with 32GB of onboard storage expandable by up to 200GB SD card. By comparison, the Nexus 6P and iPhone 6s Plus top out at 128GB and offer no storage expansion.
Battery
Both the Lumia 950 XL support USB-C Fast Charging while only the Lumia 950 XL supports wireless charging. The iPhone 6s Plus is left in the dust by supporting neither.
Camera
The Nexus 6P, with its 12.3-megapixel resolution on a 1/2.3-inch-type sensor, recently ranked third-best among smartphone cameras tested by DxOMark.
The Lumia 950 XL has a massive 20-megapixel main camera with triple LED flash and ZEISS optics. Future tests will tell all, but with those specs we expect the Lumia 950 XL’s camera to more than hold its own in the image quality department.
The camera is perhaps where Apple made the most exciting improvements to its latest iPhones. The iPhone 6s Plus has a 12-megapixel f/2.2 lens, new features like Live Photos, and a new Retina Flash for the 5-megapixel FaceTime camera.
All three phones are capable of recording 4K video at 30 frames per second.
Special features
The Lumia 950 XL comes with Windows Continuum – a feature that allows you to use your Lumia like a PC by connecting it to a keyboard, mouse and monitor via a Windows Display Dock. Also included is support for Windows Hello (in Beta) to let you unlock your Lumia via a facial scan.
The Nexus 6P has an integrated fingerprint reader, Nexus Imprint, which allows you to unlock your device and authorize mobile payments through Android Pay with your finger.
The iPhone 6s Plus brings the aforementioned Live Photos as well as a new touch interface in the form of 3D Touch. Varying finger pressure on the iPhone’s screen enables new functionality and ways to interact with the device.
Image via Microsoft
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