Meet the Lumia 950, Microsoft’s first Windows 10 flagship

Microsoft has announced the Lumia 950, the smartphone that will carry the burden of being the company’s first Windows 10 mobile flagship for the next year. The device comes with a 5.2-inch WQHD (2,560 x 1,440) OLED display that comes with a glance screen that keeps your notifications constantly viewable to save power. In addition, the unit comes with the same liquid cooling technology that’s been lifted from the design of the Microsoft Surface. Internals-wise, the company is promising an octa-core Qualcomm processor and 32GB of internal storage that can, theoretically, a take a 2TB microSD card when they’re available to buy.

Of course, the biggest draw of any Microsoft phone is the camera, and the Lumia 950 comes with a 20-megapixel PureView shooter. The lens, as usual, comes with Carl Zeiss glass as well as optical image stabilization, promising buttery-smooth 4K video without any blur or judder. Oh, and that also neglects to mention the Triple LED RGB flash which, the company promises, will end the days of washing out facial features when you take shots in low light.

Interestingly, Microsoft’s Panos Panay opened his portion of the presentation by talking about the 950’s dual antenna setup, where the Lumia 950 switches between the two in order to find the best mobile signal. He didn’t go into too much detail, but it sounds similar the Paratek Adaptive RF tech that BlackBerry included in some of its devices.

The Lumia 950 comes with a USB Type-C port at the bottom of the device, and Microsoft is promising that the phone will fast-charge to 50 percent capacity within 30 minutes.

The Lumia 950 also has a slightly bigger sister, the 950XL, and both devices will launch in November — the former priced for $549, while the latter retails for $649.

Developing…

Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.