All of which is a roundabout way of saying that there's little point in still doing my traditional blow-by-blow comparisons of the last Lumias and even the Alcatal IDOL 4 Pro versus the new 2018 iPhones, Pixels, and so on. We've got to the point now where the core components in the Windows phones are now just out of date.
And beyond saving with outstanding imaging. True, I'm going to persist with camera shootouts, since the Lumia 950 XL can still hold its own on the whole, it's still there or thereabouts. So, for example, next week will see a shootout between the 950 Xl and iPhone Xs Max. But general specification and feature comparisons are starting to feel a bit desperate. Instead, I'd like to point to some of the recent and upcoming smartphone alternatives from the wider phone world and highlight their redeeming features.
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So, from the perspective of a typical owner of a Lumia 950 XL, here are other options from the Android and iOS worlds, from the last few months and looking ahead until Christmas, and in rough chronological order:
Nokia 7 Plus (available from Spring 2018)
Price in the UK at end-Sept 2018: £300 inc VAT
A great option if you're on a budget, with good screen, speaker and camera - nothing's class leading, but it's definitely the pick of the sub £300 phones.
| Android One (so 'stock' and frequent updates?) |
6" IPS LCD | Snapdragon 660 | 4GB RAM |
64GB storage |
Dual 12/13MP |
no water rating | 3800mAh |
3.5mm audio |
Samsung Galaxy S9+ (available from Spring 2018)
Price in the UK at end-Sept 2018: from £670 inc VAT (for dual SIM 64GB, more expensive for single SIM, bizarrely)
A terrific all rounder, super camera with telephoto option, insanely good display, very fast, and surprisingly great stereo speakers. The solid option if you're not sure what to jump to, and now available second hand at £500 or so?
| Android | 6.2" AMOLED | Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 |
6GB RAM |
64/128GB storage |
Dual 12MP stabilised |
IP68 rated | 3500mAh Qi charging |
3.5mm audio Stereo speakers |
OnePlus 6 (available from May 2018)
Price in the UK at end-Sept 2018: from £470 inc VAT
With very 'stock' Android, this is the vanilla Android flagship to get if you're really not sure what else to buy and don't want to pay top whack.
| Android | 6.3" AMOLED | Snapdragon 845 |
6/8GB RAM |
64/128/256GB storage |
16MP stabilised plus |
'splash resistant' | 3300mAh |
3.5mm audio |
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (available from August 2018)
Price in the UK at end-Sept 2018: from £870 inc VAT
Top of the heap in the Android world right now, with super capacitor S-Pen, loads of stylus features in addition to all the benefits of the S9+ above - what's not to love?
| Android | 6.4" AMOLED | Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 |
6/8GB RAM |
128/512GB storage |
Dual 12MP stabilised |
IP68 rated | 4000mAh Qi charging |
3.5mm audio Stereo speakers |
Apple iPhone Xs Max (available 21 Sept 2018)
Price in the UK at end-Sept 2018: from £1100 inc VAT
The biggest iPhone ever and now competitive with the best of Android, plus it matches the Lumia 950 XL form factor, for the AAWP audience. Top rated camera and processors.
| iOS | 6.5" AMOLED | A12 Bionic custom chip |
4GB RAM |
64/256/512GB |
Dual 12MP stabilised |
IP68 rated | 3174mAh Qi charging |
Stereo speakers |
Apple iPhone Xr (available some time in October 2018)
Price in the UK at end-Sept 2018: from £750 inc VAT
A compromise (for Apple, rare) and 'affordable', though it'll still cost as much as most of the Android handsets here.
| iOS | 6.1" IPS LCD | A12 Bionic custom chip |
3GB RAM |
64/128/256GB |
12MP stabilised |
IP67 rated | 2942mAh Qi charging |
Stereo speakers |
Google Pixel 3 XL (available some time on 9th Oct 2018)
Price in the UK: estimated £900 inc VAT
Much has been leaked of this already - it certainly won't get close to the Galaxy Note 9, but the Pixels remain the definitive Android reference devices, with earliest updates, and this is important to many.
| Android | 6.7" AMOLED | Snapdragon 845 |
6GB RAM |
64/128GB storage |
12MP stabilised |
IP67 rated | 3430mAh (TBD) Qi charging |
Stereo speakers |
LG V40 ThinQ (available shortly after 3rd October 2018)
Price in the UK: estimated £700 inc VAT
The LG phones have a distinctive Android skin, but also many USPs, including best-in-class headphone audio and true wide angle cameras.
| Android | 6.5" P-OLED | Snapdragon 845 |
6/8GB RAM |
128/256GB storage |
16MP stabilised |
IP68 rated | 3300mAh (TBD) Qi charging |
3.5mm audio |
Huawei Mate 20 Pro (available 16 Oct 2018)
Price in the UK: estimated £700 inc VAT
Huawei's flagships are usually highly specced, but they've cut quite a few basics in the last year or so. Expect a high end camera system and 'marmite' EMUI skin on Android.
| Android | 6.3" AMOLED | Kirin 980 |
6GB RAM |
128GB storage |
40MP plus |
IP68 rated (TBD) | 4200mAh (TBD) |
Stereo speakers |
That most of the specifications above are fairly similar and can be condensed so easily shows how commoditised smartphones have become. For most purposes it now doesn't matter much which Android or iOS phone you have, beyond a certain budget threshold, you'll still be able to do the same things. So it then comes down to size, audio and camera smarts, durability, and so on.
Of all the handsets above, the Galaxy Note 9 leaps out as to one most likely to appeal to readers here, with that huge unique selling point of the stylus. Given the touch-centric nature of Surface devices, with Surface Pen too, and even the Surface Dial, a phone like the Note 9 would seem the perfect fit. It's also the phone that does - literally - everything, ticking every specification box.
Comments welcome though. You'll probably be coming from a Lumia 950/XL or perhaps an Alcatel IDOL 4 Pro - which of the options above appeals most? One thing's for certain - you're spoiled for choice right now. I'm a phone reviewer and, for the first time in a decade, I'm genuinely finding it hard to keep up!
PS. It's worth noting that - against all the odds, the Windows 10 Mobile-powered Wileyfox Pro is still available, having come back into stock, and is only £80. So low end, but let it not be said that the age of new W10M sales is totally over!