Multiple new mobile products were announced at the event – not just the long-rumoured Lumia 950/950 XL smartphones, but a new tablet, a wearable for the wrist and even more information about the Hololens headset!
The Lumia 950 (5.2″) and 950 XL (5.7″) are Microsoft’s newest flagship smartphones, running Windows 10. They are also the first phones to feature Windows Hello, which means that they can be unlocked through face recognition.
Both phones feature OLED displays with 2560 x 1440 resolution (564 ppi and 518 ppi on the 950 and 950 XL, respectively). They are charged via USB-C, with 3,000mAh/3,340mAh batteries and Fast Charging.
Microsoft has built with the phones with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors – and, a first for a phone, liquid cooling! Seriously.
The Lumia 950 features a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, while the larger 950 XL uses an octa-core Snapdragon 810. This device has been linked to overheating concerns in the past, which is perhaps behind Microsoft’s decision to liquid cool the phone. The Surface tablets also use liquid cooling (via a thin copper heatpipe, connected to the processor) – however, the tablets have fans, while the phones do not.
Both handsets will feature a 20MP rear camera with Carl Zeiss optics, capable of UltraHD video capture. They will be available in November, starting at $550 and $650.
A third phone was also announced, for mainstream users. The Lumia 550 has a 4.7″ display with 1280 x 720 resolution and a 1.1GHz quad-core Snapdragon 210 SoC. It has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. Unlike the flagship Lumias, this phone uses micro-USB for charging. It does, however, run Windows 10.
Microsoft will launch the Lumia 550 in December, for $130.
