Lumia 950 XL Unveiled At Microsoft Event: Specs, Release Date, Price Of 5.7-inch Phablet Confirmed
By Mike Brown @mikearildbrown
The Lumia 950 XL (left) and Lumia 950. Photo: Microsoft
The Lumia 950 XL is official. Microsoft took the wraps off its latest phablet on Tuesday, ending months of speculation and cementing the company's commitment to showing Windows 10 is a competitive mobile operating system. The device is one of the first phones to run Windows 10.
The 950 XL comes with a 20-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and a triple LED flash, giving competitors like Apple's 6S Plus and Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 a run for their money. The 5.7-inch OLED display sports a resolution of 1440 x 2560, giving it a pixel density of 518 pixels per inch. A hexacore Qualcomm processor gives the 950 XL some serious horsepower to push all these pixels, with liquid cooling technology pushing the device even further.
Microsoft also has some interesting extras. Glance-screen technology lights up a simple set of information when the phone is taken out of the pocket. Users can see emails, upcoming meetings, and notifications without switching on the screen fully. Microsoft states the technology uses no battery life.
The 950 XL also brings Continuum to the phone. This feature lets a user dock up their computer to a keyboard, mouse and monitor, and use it as a full Windows 10 PC. The dock comes with HDMI, DisplayPort and three USB ports for accessories.
The device comes with 32GB of storage, but a microSD card slot allows this to be expanded. Those looking for the most storage possible will be taken in by this, as major player Samsung has shifted away from offering expandable memory on its flagship devices.
The 950 XL is a major announcement for a division of Microsoft that has struggled. In the fourth-quarter 2015 earnings report, the Windows Phone division reported serious losses with revenue decreasing $552 million, or 68 percent. Overall, the company took a $7.6 billion writedown relating to the Nokia acquisition. Microsoft needs the Lumia line to be a success to demonstrate the viability of Windows 10 on mobile.
The Lumia 950 XL will be available in November for a price of $649.
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