Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

Lumia devices have always had a good reputation among mobile photographers but the last high-end models in the line, the Lumia 930 and 1520 were launched more than one and a half years ago, before Nokia's device division was sold to Microsoft. Today the latter has finally launched a new pair of high-end Lumia smartphones, the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, both of which come with a PureView branded camera module. 

As the name suggests, the Lumia 950 XL is the bigger and more powerful of the two devices. It comes with a 5.7-inch AMOLED QHD display and the Windows 10 operating system is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset and 3GB of RAM. A liquid cooling solution is used to keep the device temperature in check. A new USB Type-C connector serves as data and charging cable but also lets you connect the phone to the Microsoft Display Dock, allowing you to use a large screen, keyboard and mouse with your phone and giving you a PC-like experience. Power is provided by a large 3,340mAh battery and there is Qi standard wireless charging as well. 32GB of storage can be expanded via a microSD slot.

In terms of numbers the camera specification is actually not that much different to the Lumia 1520 but given all the components have been updated we'd certainly expect a boost in performance. The PureView camera comes with a 1/2.4-inch 20MP sensor and a Carl Zeiss branded lens with F1.9 aperture. A latest generation optical image stabilization system is keeping things steady and a triple-LED RGB flash should ensure there are no undesirable color casts when shooting with flash. 4K video recording is on board as well. At the front a 5MP module is supported by its own dedicated LED flash, similar to what we've seen on the recently announced Motorola Moto X Style.

On the software side of things the new Windows Hello feature uses the front camera to recognize your face and unlock the device. The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL will be available next month and cost $650 unlocked.

Microsoft Lumia 950

The Lumia 950 comes with the same camera specification as its larger brother but has to make do without the front flash. Images can be viewed on a smaller 5.2-inch QHD display and a Snapdragon 808 processor is running the system. Like on the XL model there are 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. At 3,000mAh the battery is a little smaller than on the XL but you also get wireless charging and the USB Type-C port. The Lumia 950 will be available in November and retail for $550.