When comparing Microsoft Lumia 950 XL vs Nokia Lumia 930/Icon, the Slant community recommends Nokia Lumia 930/Icon for most people. In the question“What are the best Windows phones?” Nokia Lumia 930/Icon is ranked 4th while Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Nokia Lumia 930/Icon is:
Like the design the display size of the Icon is less polarizing than the outrageous and unconventional six inch display of the 1520. The 5 inch size of the Icon is a perfect medium for a range of people and the size allows for a full three rows of tiles on the Start screen. The OLED display is fantastic as well. The PPI is a dense 441 PPI. The colors are rich and the display has great viewing angles. The Icon also includes Nokia's sunlight readability, super sensitivity settings, and the color profile app.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Good camera
The 20MP camera does a really good job in all lighting conditions. For low light shooting, it uses a triple color flash, and allows you to adjust the flash brightness after you take pictures. OIS also helps steady the phone, additionally improving low light shooting as well as video stabilization. Speaking of video, the 4 mic recording setup means audio captured will be crisp and high quality. Lastly, the 2 stage dedicated camera button can act as a shortcut to launch the camera, and pressing it down half way focuses the picture much like a regular point-and-shoot camera.
Pro Windows 10 mobile features
Windows 10 for mobile is the newest OS for Windows Phones. It makes a lot of improvements, but the two headlining features are Continuum and Windows Hello.
Continuum is a feature available in Windows 10 mobile that allows you to hook up a keyboard, mouse and monitor (through a $100 accessory) and use your phone as a computer.
Windows Hello uses an infra-red iris scanner to verify you, and unlocks the phone. This is more secure than a fingerprint scanner, but also takes about a second longer (and you need to be close to the device).
Pro Good accessability
The removable battery is a nice touch that so many phones are lacking. It also provides a SD card slot to add more storage, and keeps another less common feature: wireless charging.
Pro 5'' Full HD (1920 x 1080) OLED display
Like the design the display size of the Icon is less polarizing than the outrageous and unconventional six inch display of the 1520. The 5 inch size of the Icon is a perfect medium for a range of people and the size allows for a full three rows of tiles on the Start screen. The OLED display is fantastic as well. The PPI is a dense 441 PPI. The colors are rich and the display has great viewing angles. The Icon also includes Nokia's sunlight readability, super sensitivity settings, and the color profile app.
Pro Quad-core 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with 2 GB of RAM
With a top of the line quad core processor and a lightweight operating system like Windows Phone, the Icon screams. The Icon has no problems navigating the OS or running processing processor intensive games.
Pro 20 MP PureView camera
The Icon shares the same camera as the Lumia 1520. The 20MP Pureview is one of the best smartphone cameras available. Nokia offers extensive manual controls in the Nokia Pro Camera app and overall image quality is very impressive.
Pro Wireless charging
The Icon features wireless charging built in.
Pro Rectangular design
With the Lumia Icon, Nokia evolved the bold designs of the Lumia 1520 and 1020 into a more traditional approach. The Icon's design is by no means boring, it just lacks the daring form of it's AT&T siblings. The Verizon Icon uses an attractive rectangular design with excellent build quality but it breaks no conventions. The Icon is available in the traditional black and white color choices.
Cons
Con Windows 10 mobile has bugs
While adding good features, Windows 10 mobile isn't a premium mobile operating system. There are a lot of bugs (downloading apps doesn't always work, it asks you to reboot often, apps crash much more often than competing OSs, and the list goes on).
Con Poor overall fit and finish
The plastic build isn't a big con in itself, but the rear panel creaks and flexes too much for a premium flagship phone. The speaker is tinny, and is located on the back when most manufacturers at least use a bottom facing speaker, or ideally front firing.