Crazy Comparison: Lumia 950 XL vs. iPhone XS Max

As one of the biggest Windows Phone fans, I still don’t want to see Microsoft’s operating system go dark, so since all eyes appear to be on the new-generation iPhones these days, I decided to bring back the Lumia 950 XL in the spotlight with an unexpected comparison.

The iPhone XS Max, which is actually the bigger sibling of the iPhone XS, put side by side with the Lumia 950 XL, which in its turn was the bigger brother of the Lumia 950.

Needless to say, this is more of a comparison of old and new, outdated and latest generation, so it goes without saying that if you’re looking into modern features and state-of-the-art capabilities, there’s just one way to go.

But on the other hand, if the latest isn’t also the best for you, this comparison is worth a look, and who knows, maybe it may convince you to give the Lumia 950 XL another chance.

Though, as many Windows Phone diehards find out these days, it's pretty hard to find a Lumia 950 XL right now, as the device is no longer being sold by neither Microsoft nor retailers.

Design and display

Launched in October 2015, Lumia 950 XL comes with the typical Windows Phone design, with large bezels which at that point really made sense.

But to be completely honest, I don’t think the bezels are such a big problem on a Lumia phone, as most people who love Windows Phone love the Lumia design too, and this Microsoft flagship makes no exception.

There’s no exquisite material like glass or whatever, but plastic all over you look, but again, this is what everyone was using three years ago to build phones. And at some level, plastic was a much better choice than glass, which is extremely fragile and easy to break despite all the improvements that companies have made lately.

iPhone XS Max, on the other hand, is considered pure jewelry, with a large 6.5-inch OLED display and tiny bezels all around the screen. The notch is probably the most controversial feature in terms of design, but as it turns out, this is the kind of feature that grows on you, so most people have already gotten used to it by now.

Apple used glass on the back of the iPhone XS Max, making it look super luxurious, but at the same time, also turning it into an uber-slippery smartphone. It’s extremely easy to drop it by mistake, and this means that you may also say goodbye to more than $1,000.  

CPU, RAM, storage

While choosing the better phone in terms of design is more or less a subjective choice, the bigger difference takes place in the hardware department.

Lumia 950 XL comes with a Snapdragon 810 processor, which at the time of its release, was the best processor around. It’s paired with 3GB RAM and features 32GB storage, with a microSD card for additional space should it be needed.

iPhone XS Max is powered by Apple’s A12 Bionic chip, which although doesn’t say much at first glance, is pretty much the strongest rival to the Snapdragon 845 processor used on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. In pure Apple fashion, the iPhone XS Max doesn’t feature a large amount of RAM, but the device has been upgraded to 4GB, a first for an iPhone.

Apple offers the iPhone XS Max with up to 512GB storage and without a microSD card slot. Cupertino, however, bets big on cloud storage, which is obviously available at a price.  

Other features

There’s one funny similarity here: both the Lumia 950 XL and the iPhone XS Max come with facial recognition, and this does nothing more than to show that Microsoft’s phone was so ahead of its time when it launched three years ago.

Lumia 950 XL comes with Windows Hello for iris recognition, a feature that has in the meantime expanded to PCs as well as the main unlocking method on devices. Microsoft uses it as a pioneer for a world without passwords, and it’s also being used by other device manufacturers like Lenovo and Dell.

iPhone XS Max has made the switch from Touch ID to Face ID, but the device uses a more complex facial recognition system that relies on 3D sensing cameras to map the owner’s face and provide increased accuracy. Truth be told, Windows Hello has never been hacked using face spoofing systems, but given the tech used by Apple, it’s believed iPhone XS Max offers increased security.

Microsoft’s phone comes with a 20-megapixel camera with Zeiss optics, f/1.9, 1/2.4” and 1.12um, whereas iPhone XS Max uses a dual-camera system with two 12-megapixel sensors, one of which features f/1.8, 1/2.66” and 1.4um. The secondary lens is used for 2x optical zoom.

In terms of performance, it’s pretty clear that iPhone XS Max takes better shots, but this is pretty much because cameras have evolved substantially in the last three years. This doesn’t mean Lumia 950 XL is a relic, however, as its camera system is still capable of decent photos, especially in perfect light. Not the same thing can be said about night shots, which have always been one of the weak points of the Lumia 950 XL, and which Microsoft has never improved given its plans of giving up on the mobile platform.

Both phones come with active noise canceling, NFC, wireless charging and fast charging, and again, this shows that Lumia 950 XL was quite a premium phone three years ago. On the other hand, iPhone XS Max uses Bluetooth 5.0, versus 4.1 on the Lumia.

Lumia 950 XL has a larger battery that’s also removable (3340 mAh), while iPhone XS Max comes with a 3174 mAh unit that’s also the biggest ever used on an iPhone.

Price

It goes without saying that Lumia 950 XL is a lot more affordable than the iPhone XS Max, and not just because it’s an old phone, but mostly because pretty much all smartphones these days are more affordable than an iPhone.

Apple has set a new record with the 2018 iPhones, as the top-of-the-range iPhone XS Max is sold in the United States for no less than $1,449.

Lumia 950 XL, on the other hand, is no longer on sale, but with a little luck, you can find one online that costs 10 times less than the iPhone XS Max. However, the average selling price of the Lumia 950 XL these days is between $200 and $300.

The bottom line

There’s no doubt that the iPhone XS Max is the only winner here, especially because it comes with all the modern technologies that the smartphone market has received in the last three years.

But even so, I don’t think that the Lumia 950 XL can be considered a relic. In fact, the only thing that makes the Lumia a thing to avoid is the current state of the operating system powering it, as otherwise, the hardware is still strong enough to serve its purposes these days.

The Lumia 950 XL can be a rather good mid-ranger in 2018, and although it may not match the performance of an iPhone XS Max, it’s important to have a look at its price as well.

Unfortunately, given the fate of Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile, Lumia 950 XL will very soon become a device of the past as well, and at that point, buying an Android or an iPhone will become the only thing you’ll be able to do.

If you’re ready to spend a fortune on a smartphone, iPhone XS Max guarantees the best of the best right now, though opinions are still mixed in this regard. There are several more affordable but super-powerful devices out there, all running Android, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, so it's all a matter of what platform you want to support.