Microsoft Lumia 950 review: Legendary Edition
Legendary edition
Telephony and contact management
People Hub hasn't changed much since Windows Phone 8.1 It is the phonebook that you'll find on any Windows device and supports multiple accounts, including social ones, and has multiple pages like the rest of the WP interface. The first page is your contacts list with slightly update looks, the second one is What's New with all of your friends' social updates (Facebook and Twitter), and Groups.
The People app • Quick Search • The Social page • Viewing a contact • Edition a contact
Some of the complications are gone for good such as the social updates for each contact and its complete history.
The cell reception and call quality are very good and we had no receptions issues or unpleasant sound problems.
The speaker on the Lumia 950 scored Very Good in terms of loudness and indeed it's very loud even in the noisiest of environments. Its audio quality is OK, but not impressive, the sound isn't very deep.
Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
65.1 | 62.3 | 66.3 | Below Average | |
65.8 | 65.1 | 64.6 | Below Average | |
65.3 | 64.6 | 73.5 | Average | |
68.1 | 66.3 | 73.7 | Good | |
66.9 | 71.8 | 74.7 | Good | |
73.7 | 67.7 | 74.7 | Good | |
73.2 | 66.6 | 77.5 | Good | |
71.9 | 73.0 | 77.2 | Very Good | |
76.7 | 69.7 | 77.2 | Very Good | |
75.7 | 73.5 | 80.7 | Excellent |
Messaging is all about Skype, but not exclusive
Windows 10 Mobile now fully integrates with Skype and once you sign in, you actually don't need the Skype app at all. The Messaging hub now supports Skype IM messaging and you can sent and receive Skype messages as they were texts/MMS. Attachments are available, too.
The messaging app with Skype integration • Skype video app
Microsoft has made the QuickType keyboard even faster and smarter, plus there is a new dot, which acts as a virtual D-pad and allows you to move quickly through the text.
Microsoft's QuickType keyboard
If your Skype is too active though, as ours are, your phone will keep syncing all messages and chats, and even if you mute the notifications, your battery will drain more quickly than usual. We suggest using the Skype messaging sync with caution.
Skype Video app comes pre-installed too, and this is the place where you can actually disable the Skype messaging and video integration. The Skype Video app is very similar to what FaceTime does in iOS - it's a native video call app, lighter than the actual Skype app, and will allow you to do video calls really quick and easy.
The native email client is the mobile version of Outlook Mail. It looks a lot like its desktop app and works like a charm. It supports multiple accounts, and syncs across all your Windows devices. It is available on Android and iOS as well and we often prefer it over other solutions.
Reader comments
- gamecuber
- 30 Mar 2024
- ALY
on ebay i literally just bought one for the same price
- Sudharsan
- 08 Apr 2021
- iih
Where did you manage to buy for 20 dollars
- dosdoktor
- 26 Jan 2021
- 3RP
Bought one for $20 a pop, gonna install desktop version of Win10 21296 on it and test that x86 on ARM64 emulation...