Guest writer Arpolend Sevostyanov is back with a little hack, adding 'Glove mode' back to the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. It's a geeky hack, so only proceed if you're feeling confident, but it does add something which has previously only been seen on 950 prototypes.
Back in the Autumn, I pitched the Lumia 950 XL against the (then new) Samsung Galaxy Note 9, concluding that the Android newcomer didn't quite match up in terms of image detail and purity. But since then we've had three monthly updates for the Note 9* and, while waiting for the likes of the Nokia 9 and Galaxy S10, I thought a rematch was in order. Can the Lumia keep its crown?
I think I can be allowed a little backwards-gazing now that we're into 2019 and the (nominally) last year of Windows 10 Mobile support from Microsoft*. Which is why I'm going to be gazing at the array of Windows-powered phones on my desk and picking a few standouts. Starting with my current favourite Windows phone, heck I was salivating the moment it was rumoured - the Alcatel IDOL 4 Pro. No, don't laugh, please read on. I have my reasons...!
A few months ago I pitched the (then new) Huawei Mate 20 Pro against the Lumia 950 XL and found that the former's edge enhancement rather ruined the phone's imaging scores against the purity of the classic Lumia. I suggested that software updates were key and Huawei was listening, it seems. The update that hit my Mate 20 Pro a few days ago significantly dials back the horrific image processing that the phone started with. So a re-test was in order, and I've thrown in the Google Pixel 3 XL, which has also had a big 'feature' update in the last few days. It'll be a battle royale, so sit back and let's see how the three flagship camera phones do...
A debate on Twitter earlier in the week (see below) put up one of THE most frequently asked questions about phone imaging. Why do I/we both pixel peeping when most phone-shot photos are only ever seen on 5"/6" phone screens? It's a good question, but I think I have a great answer. If you're a phone imaging enthusiast then you'll know where I'm going with this already, but for the casual user, here's why I do what I do and here's why enthusiasts care...
The Lumia 830 (and the 735, for which all this also applies) aren't exactly computing powerhouses, with only 1GB RAM. However, they're not only compatible with Windows 10 Mobile, they work just fine for casual use right up to the very latest Fall Creators Update (1709) - if you know the tricks and hacks. Early in 2018 I covered how to take the much more powerful Lumia 930 (and 1520) on this journey, but I've had requests from readers for the exact sequence for the Lumia 830 (and 735), so here goes...
I know I emphasise imaging, microphones, and speakers, as unique selling points and differentiatiors among smartphones here on AAWP, but when I look back at the last couple of years of smartphone use in my own hands, there's one aspect which has grown and grown in significance: secure biometrics. The ex-Nokia engineers at Microsoft foresaw this in 2015 when completing and launching the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, with iris recognition, but that's where everything just about ground to a halt.
Last updated at the start of October, this is the latest (end-November 2018) update to the AAWP directory of curated UWP applications, those with native Windows 10 UI and which support different orientations, Continuum and even use on laptop or tablet. [7 new entries, plus 2 renamed]
By popular demand (no, really!), I'm comparing the ability to capture remarkable shots at night here - handheld, i.e. no tripods allowed. We all know that the Lumia 950 range takes stellar low light shots, thanks to PureView oversampling, the good OIS and long shutter times allowed. But can the new multi-frame computational techniques used by the Google Pixel 3 and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro win out overall? And what do the new techniques do for the character of the images captured?
With the Pixel 3 in for review for a short period, and with a glimpse of sun here and there in November in the UK, I wanted to pit PureView phase 1 (Nokia 808) and phase 2 (Lumia 1020, adding OIS) with the Pixel's (as good as) PureView phase 3, doing all the pixel combination in the time domain rather than across a high-res sensor. There's a lot to compare, it's our biggest and longest imaging comparison piece ever, so let's press on and do allow time for the page to fully load!
