Announced in October 2015, and released a month later, Microsoft’s Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL smartphones have not set the world alight. The first ‘out of the box’ Windows 10 powered devices occupy a curious pivot point in Microsoft’s plans. What do they tell us about the direction of Microsoft and how it will approach mobile in 2016?
Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL (image: Ewan Spence)
Between them they represent the end of a line of smartphones that stretches back to Nokia’s 2011 decision to go with Windows Phone rather than Android, They also represent Microsoft’s future attitudes to smartphones as a single element of a wide range of Windows 10 powered devices all living on the same code-base, all sharing information, applications, and data, through Microsoft’s cloud-based services.
The two handsets build on past glories, and point the way towards a potential future. Unfortunately it is a very unclear future. With CEO Satya Nadella focusing on Microsoft’s software and cloud services it means that much of the functionality that made Windows Phone a commendable choice in the past is no longer exclusive to the Lumia handsets. You can run Microsoft’s cloud services on iOS and Android easily, and in terms of process and workflow there’s little difference between Windows, Android, and iOS.
Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL (image: Ewan Spence)
Windows Phone stood for a different way of looking at design, interface, and data. It blurred the lines between applications and treated data as the primary glue. You could move between apps with ease, and you did not need to be conscious that you had stepped through six different apps with six different taps because of the deep linking into applications that was present. You went where you needed to go quickly and with little fuss or forethought.
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