The phablet race is getting ready for a new round

Sep 26, 2015 18:25 GMT  ·  By

If you're looking for a new phablet this fall, choosing one might be harder than you think simply because the main competitors in this business have already launched (or are getting ready to) new devices that come with fresh designs, upgraded hardware, and plenty of innovative features.

Microsoft isn't quite a top mobile player for the moment, but it certainly hopes to become one, so the company's betting big on the upcoming Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, with the latter to be its own challenger in the phablet race.

Lumia 950 XL will soon join a select club of devices, which also includes the iPhone 6s Plus, Apple's latest smartphone that's already up for purchase in the United States and which will soon become available for buyers across the world too.

So if you've already narrowed down your choices to these two devices, read on to find out which one is better than the other and in which areas.

Display

Microsoft's Lumia 950 XL will come with a 5.7-inch QuadHD display (AMOLED very likely) and will have a resolution of 1440x2560 pixels. Corning Gorilla Glass 4 will be used for protection.

The iPhone 6s Plus uses a 5.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels and state-of-the-art features such as Force Touch.

As you can see, the new Lumia has a bigger display and since it's believed to be AMOLED, it could provide crisper colors and a better contrast. On the other hand, Apple's IPS display is extremely well-optimized and perfectly balanced for good contrast, vivid colors and sunlight readabilty, so it's very likely to excel in terms of power usage, which should make the iPhone last longer than Microsoft's device.

Apple iPhone 6s Plus comes with a new rose gold color
Apple iPhone 6s Plus comes with a new rose gold color

Performance

Microsoft will equip the Lumia 950 XL with a Snapdragon 810 processor, which is very likely to be optimized for both performance and low battery usage (with the focus on the latter). The exact speed of the CPU is not yet available, but it will be coupled with 3GB of RAM, which Microsoft says should be enough for running Windows 10 Mobile flawlessly.

Apple, on the other hand, goes for the A9 chipset, which is a dual-core unit running at 1.8 GHz. The company says that it's already faster and more energy-efficient than its predecessors. Benchmarks have shown that the new A9 chip is faster than the processor used by key competitors, including Galaxy S6 Edge and Nexus 6.

Apple also uses 2 GB of RAM, which is double the amount of the memory used on the iPhone 6 Plus.

Overall, Apple's iPhone 6s Plus is very likely to be faster and snappier than the new Lumia, which thanks to the Qualcomm unit, might always keep an eye on power consumption.

Storage and cameras

In terms of storage, Microsoft will offer just a single option - 32 GB, with microSD card support for a maximum of 128 GB of more capacity.

Apple doesn't have microSD card support, but instead offers a choice of three different models, namely 16 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB, so the top version reaches the amount of a Lumia with an additional card.

The Redmond-based software giant will equip the Lumia 950 XL with a 20-megapixel rear camera with Zeiss optics, OIS, dual-LED Flash and PureView technology. It has a 1/2.5” sensor size and can shoot videos in 2160p@30fps and 1080p@30fps. A 5-megapixel front unit with a wide angle will be there for selfies and video calls.

The iPhone 6s Plus comes with a 12-megapixel camera which features a resolution of 4608x2592 pixels, OIS, dual-LED flash, and 4K videos. It supports the same video recording modes as the Lumia. The rear camera is a 5-megapixel unit with HDR support.

While the real-life camera capabilities of the two devices aren't yet known, it's believed the iPhone will offer superior photo quality given the software optimizations that Apple has become famous for. The iPhone 6 Plus can already shoot outstanding photos with just an 8-megapixel camera, so a 12MP unit and additional software optimizations should make it far superior.

Lumia 950 XL and Continuum adapter for Windows 10 Mobile
Lumia 950 XL and Continuum adapter for Windows 10 Mobile

Battery

Microsoft will equip the Lumia 950 XL with a 3,300 mAh battery, while the iPhone 6s Plus comes with a non-removable 2,915 mAh unit. While autonomy figures aren't yet available, it's no secret that Apple offers excellent battery life and the iPhone 6 Plus is living proof, so expect its successor to beat competition as well.

Pricing

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL pricing information is not yet available, but it's believed that the device will be slightly cheaper than the iPhone 6s Plus. Pricing for Apple's new device starts at $749 in the United States for the 16GB version.

The bottom line

Choosing between the iPhone 6s Plus and the Lumia 950 XL is not an easy thing to do and it might all be in the end just a matter of personal preferences.

iPhones have always been pioneers of premium design, but Microsoft is expected to go for a similar approach with the Lumia 950 XL, so new materials are very likely to be used. And yet, everyone expects the iPhone 6s Plus to offer superior performance, cameras, and battery life.

Lumia 950 XL, on the other hand, comes with Windows 10 Mobile, which is the smartphone version of Windows 10. The new OS is based on universal apps, which run on PCs, tablets, and smartphones, and includes a single store for all devices, with Microsoft planning to offer a seamless transition from one to another. Features such as Continuum, which allows the new Lumia to connect to a monitor and convert to a small PC, will also be offered.

So the choice is hard to make, but the iPhone might win in extra time. Microsoft is still a rather new player in the mobile industry, so with little luck, the Lumia 950 XL might have a chance to succeed against the other phablets on the market. On paper, it might seem the better choice, but in reality, time will tell if iPhone 6s Plus is out of its league for the moment.  

Lumia 950 XL iPhone 6s Plus
Display 5.7-inch QuadHD display,
1440x2560 pixels, Gorilla Glass 4
5.5-inch IPS, 
1080x1920 pixels
Force Touch
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Apple A9
RAM 3GB 2GB
Storage 32GB + microSD card support 16/64/128GB
no microSD card support
Camera 20-megapixel rear camera with Zeiss optics, OIS, dual-LED Flash and PureView
5-megapixel front unit
12-megapixel camera, 4608x2592 pixels, OIS, dual-LED flash, and 4K videos
Battery 3,300 mAh 2,915 mAh

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL vs. Apple iPhone 6s Plus (9 Images)

Apple iPhone 6s Plus and Lumia 950 XL
Apple iPhone 6s Plus comes with a new rose gold colorLumia 950 XL and Continuum adapter for Windows 10 Mobile
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