Microsoft has released the new Lumia 950 XL

Microsoft has started to evolve on the smartphone market. These days, the huge company has released the new Microsoft Lumia 950 XL. Moreover, besides this new and larger phone, they have also released a smaller option, called Lumia 950. 

With these two new releases, Microsoft has started promoting their new Windows 10 for mobile. Of course, Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is larger than Lumia 950, featuring a 5.7-inch display, and also has some extra new features. Being Microsoft’s flagship phones, these two models are packed with the latest technology. 

So, the new Microsoft Lumia 950 XL comes with an incredible display, an amazing 20-megapixel camera and a super-fast octa-core processor. As for their new operating system, Windows 10 is a good and probably a refreshing alternative for Android and iOS. 

New Lumia 950 XL , featuring a 5.7-inch display 
Moreover, Windows 10 comes with a friendly-interface, meaning that it is pretty easy to use, but it has one huge minus: apps. This problem has also been met on the previous operating system, Windows Phone 8. 

So, unfortunately, the app store doesn’t have all the great content that users were used to see on iOS and Android. It seems that app developers are not putting any great effort to bring new releases to Microsoft’s mobile apps. 

If we forget about the app problem, the new Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is an incredible phone and those who are already Windows Phone users will probably accommodate quickly from switching to the newest operating system. 

However, the new Windows 10 has a lot of work to do to become a compelling choice over iOS and Android. This doesn’t mean that it is impossible, because this operating system promises a lot, and with some updates, it can be a tough competitor on the market. 

The new Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is available at the price of 649 dollars. This is not a cheap price, meaning that customers will have to do a lot of thinking before buying this product. As it was earlier mentioned, Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is bigger than the classic 950, having a larger 5.7-inch display. 

This phone measures 78.4mm wide and 152mm long, while the standard 950 has 145 x 73.2 mm. So, this means that Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is designed for customers who are willing to have a larger display. Of course, they are aware that this phone is not for one-handed use. 

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL and Lumia 950 have one of the best displays on the market. 

These two devices share the same resolution, 2,560x1,440-pixels. But, knowing the fact that Microsoft Lumia 950 XL has a larger display means that the pixels are spread out over a wider area. 

This means that the pixel density is reduced. However, this is not a huge difference that should been noticed. Microsoft Lumia 950 XL comes with an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, accompanied by 2GB of RAM. 

On the other side, the classic Lumia 950 comes with a Snapdragon 808 hexacore processor, accompanied by the same amount of RAMs.

Windows 10 mobile update delayed to 2016

Windows 10 Mobile build 10586.36 was released earlier this week for members of the Insider program, but it turns out that no major bug has been found and it can run very smoothly on Microsoft's new flagship phones. 

It remains unclear which existing Windows Phones will get the upgrade and which will not although if you purchased in the a year ago you are likely to have an upgradeable phone. 

Microsoft has silently starting shipping the latest version of Windows 10 Mobile to Lumia 950 and 950 XL devices, regardless of whether they are enrolled in the Windows Insider program or not. The update then would not be for all older Lumia smart phones, but only a select number of models would be up for update. The company has officially confirmed that the Microsoft Lumia 550 that is already selling in Europe and the U.S. is now coming to India. 

As announced, only the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL have Windows 10 Mobile for the Lumia line. $142). The Windows 10 phone will be available in Matte Black and Glassy White variants. 

The Lumia 550 does not support the Continuum feature that we've seen in the two top-end Lumia phones.

Microsoft Lumia 550 Officially Launches As The Cheapest Windows 10 Smartphone [Video]

Microsoft finally launched its new Lumia 550, releasing the handset as the cheapest smartphone yet to run Windows 10 out of the box. 

The company may already have Windows 10 running on two flagship smartphones, the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, but it didn't forget about the budget sector. While the flagships come with price tags to match, the new Lumia 550 comes at the affordable segment and is now available for just $139. 

The initial Lumia 550 launch, however, is just for a few select markets initially, with more to follow soon. 

"Sales of the new Microsoft Lumia 550, which offers the best of Microsoft to people who value affordability and uncompromised quality, begin today in Europe. Other regions around the globe will follow in the coming weeks," Microsoft announced in a new company blog post on Monday, Dec. 7. 

The latest Windows 10 OS will bring popular Microsoft apps and services to the Lumia 550, including the signature Office suite with Word, Excel and PowerPoint, the Cortana digital assistant, as well as Microsoft's OneDrive, Skype, Outlook Calendar and Outlook Mail. 

As expected from a budget device, the Lumia 550 doesn't come with extraordinary hardware on board. The handset packs modest specifications to accommodate its low price tag. 

More specifically, the Lumia 550 features a 4.7-inch HD display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution and 315 ppi, and packs a 1.1GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor under the hood, paired with 1 GB of RAM. 

Other specs include 8 GB of internal storage, expandable up to 200 GB via microSD, a 5-megapixel main camera with LED flash, a 2-megapixel front shooter, and a 2,100 mAh removable battery. The 4G LTE connectivity of the Lumia 550 allows for download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 50 Mbps, according to Microsoft. 

Glance Screen is also a notable software feature, as it allows Lumia 550 users to check out notifications, the time, or calendar entries at a glance, without unlocking or activating the phone. The new Microsoft Edge browser, meanwhile, will reportedly serve as a powerful tool for reading on-the-go or other browsing activities. 

The $139 Microsoft Lumia 550 comes in two color options - Glossy White and Matte Black. For more information, check out the presentation video below.

See how a Bulgarian carrier is selling the Lumia 950 XL (video)

In some parts of Eastern Europe Windows Phones have a relatively high market share, meaning carriers have no problem marketing the handsets directly to consumers. 

In the above ad we have Bulgarian carrier Vivacom promoting Microsoft’s new flagships as something the young boy is clearly hinting at rather persistently, with the tag line which roughly translates into “This christmas, say clearly/exactly when you want – the new Lumias with windows 10...” 

Setting up Microsoft’s rather expensive new handsets as as extremely desirable seems to me to be a good marketing strategy for the premium devices. Do our readers agree?