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Old meets new: Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL vs Nokia Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520 (specs comparison)

By Florin Troaca

Updated: Oct 10, 2015, 9:49 PM

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Old meets new: Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL vs Nokia Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520 (specs comparison)

Microsoft this week announced the first high-end Lumia smartphones since the Lumia 930 - which, as you may know, was launched in mid-2014 as a Nokia-branded device. The new smartphones are the Microsoft Lumia 950 and Microsoft Lumia 950 XL, both running Windows 10 out of the box. While the two new handsets have a lot in common, they can be seen as successors to different devices: the Lumia 950 succeeds the aforementioned Lumia 930, and the Lumia 950 XL could pass as a successor to the Nokia Lumia 1520 - the very first extra-large, high-end Lumia smartphone, which was released back in November 2013.

Let's see how things have evolved for the Lumia brand under Microsoft by comparing the specs of the 950 and 950 XL to those of the Nokia Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520, respectively. Of course, for a proper look at the 950 and 950 XL we have to wait until November, when Microsoft will stat selling them. But, for a preliminary look, you can check out the comparisons below. It's worth mentioning that both the Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520 will be updated to Windows 10, so, at least from the software point of view, they will be able to stand next to the newer and more advanced 950 and 950 XL.


Microsoft Lumia 950	Nokia Lumia 930

Design

Dimensions
5.71 x 2.88 x 0.32 inches 145 x 73.2 x 8.2 mm	5.39 x 2.80 x 0.39 inches 137 x 71 x 9.8 mm
Weight
5.29 oz (150.0 g)	5.89 oz (167.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic
Biometrics
Iris scanner
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
Right: Volume control, Camera shutter, Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Camera shutter, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, White	Black, Orange, Green, White

Display

Size
5.2-inch	5.0-inch
Resolution
2560x1440px, 565 PPI	1920x1080px, 441 PPI
Technology
AMOLED	AMOLED
Screen-to-body
69.77 %	70.78 %
Colors
	16 777 216
Features
Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3)

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 MSM8992	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 8974-AA
Processor
Hexa-core 1800 MHz ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53	Quad-core 2200 MHz Krait 400
GPU
Adreno 418	Adreno 330
RAM
3GB (LPDDR3)	2GB (LPDDR3)
Internal storage
32GB	32GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 200 GB
OS
Windows (10 Mobile)	Windows Phone

Battery

Capacity
3000 mAh	2420 mAh
Charging
Fast charging, Qi wireless charging	Qi wireless charging

Camera

Rear
Single camera	Single camera
Main camera
20 MP (OIS, Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F1.9 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/2.4" Pixel size: 1.12 μm	20 MP (OIS, Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.4 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/2.5"
Flash
Tricolor LED	Dual LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps) OIS, Continuous autofocus, Video light, Video calling, Video sharing	3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps) OIS, Continuous autofocus, Video light, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
5 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)	1.2 MP, Video capture: 1280x720 (HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.1	4.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Hotspot	802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band,ac Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
USB
Type-C, USB 3.1	microUSB, USB 2.0
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass
Other
NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync	NFC

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack	3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker	Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback	Album art cover, Background playback, Preset equalizer, Dolby Digital Plus
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share,MHL	DLNA
Radio
	FM
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording	Yes

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 28(700 APT)	Bands 20(800 DD), 8(900), 3(1800), 1(2100), 7(2600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 40(2300)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100)	Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s	LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes

Phone Features

Notifications
	Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Vibration, Phone profiles, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
	Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording, TTY/TDD

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Nov 11, 2015 FCC ID value: PYASTT	Date approved: May 13, 2014 FCC ID value: PYARM-1045
Measured SAR
Head: 0.87 W/kg Body: 0.93 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.60 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.24 W/kg	Head: 0.85 W/kg Body: 0.56 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.49 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.98 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Oct 06, 2015	Apr 02, 2014

See the full Microsoft Lumia 950 vs Nokia Lumia 930 specs comparison or compare them to other phones using our Phone Comparison tool


Microsoft Lumia 950 XL	Nokia Lumia 1520