Windows 10 Mobile Finds Its Flagship Smartphones

AS YOU MIGHT have guessed from the naming convention, the phones look identical other than size, and both look akin to the Nokia Lumia handsets of years past. Or like most smartphones of the last few years, sleek rectangles with mild camera humps in the back.

Their specs line up with other flagships as well. The 950 has a 5.2-inch OLED display (both screens are 500 ppi), a peppy Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and 20MP rear/5MP front cameras. The cameras include a new RGB “natural flash” (no more redeye, no more “ghost” faces), fifth generation optical image stabilization, and—drumroll, please—a dedicated camera button. “Sometimes the smallest feature can have the biggest impact,” Panos Panay said of the button. The phones can capture 4K video as well. Also: You can unlock them with your face. (Take that, thumb prints!)

The 950 XL has 5.7-inch OLED display, a slightly peppier Snapdragon 810 processor, and is otherwise largely the same, aside from a slightly bigger battery. Both phones have also embraced our glorious USB-C future.

Microsoft also gave us another look at Continuum, which gives you the ability to use the new phone as your desktop: You can push your phone to your desktop via USB-C  dock, connecting it to your monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The familiar start menu shows up so you don’t have to switch your brain from mobile to desktop—Windows takes care of that. The phone will still look and act like…. a phone while you’re doing this, but will basically run your computer. You can even keep on using shortcuts—Alt+Tab forever.

The phones are available in November ($550, $650 for the XL).

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