Lumia 950 XL, Cases for the Microsoft Flagship

Microsoft has just given its long suffering and quickly dwindling bunch of Windows fans a new flagship phone, in the form of the brand new 950XL. Taking the Lumia brand into 2016, the 950XL sits right at the top of the Windows Phone heap. Now that Microsoft is going it alone after all their Windows Phone partners bailed one by one, the 950XL is pretty much your only choice if you want a top of the line Windows phone. While the 950XL does many things right, its Achilles heel still remains the lack of third party apps on the Windows platform. Luckily, when it comes to accessories like Lumia 950XL cases from third parties, you should still have a huge range to choose from.

Even basic apps that are table stakes for any smartphone operating system platform in 2016, such as Instagram and Snapchat, are either missing on Windows or are very old versions that just don't have feature parity with their up to date versions on iOS and Android. Microsoft has tried to remedy this situation by paying developers to create Windows apps but that just resulted in ports that were poorly written or versions that were created to satisfy Microsoft’s requirements and then left to languish once the money from Redmond stopped flowing. The second attempt that Microsoft made to try and get apps on to the Windows mobile platform was to let developers run Android apps on Windows but once again, this effort seems to have been stillborn. Once more users are left to see whether Microsoft’s last ditch effort to bring apps to Windows will work. This time it comes in the form of native code base between Microsoft Windows 10 on the desktop and on the phone. It is yet to be seen whether this will finally bring app parity to Windows Phones but we wouldn't hold our breath.

The main problem with the 950XL is that it is not a standout device in any way, shape or form. It isn't great looking, with a cheap plasticky back that any user will immediately want to cover up with Lumia 950XL cases. Its performance, while snappy isn't really outstanding. The camera is very good but there are better cameras on iOS and Android devices. The battery life is quite good and one of the few unique features in 2016 is that the phone has a removable battery. However, even this doesn't really help because, with the lack of essential apps, there is so much that you cannot do with the Lumia that you won’t be taxing the battery anyway. Microsoft has introduced its Continuum feature that will allow 950XL users to connect their phone to a dock and use it as a basic desktop computer but this feature has been seen before on Android and it has never really caught on, since it seems brilliant in theory but provides a less than satisfactory experience in reality. In short then, there’s little here to be excited about, even for the Windows phone faithful and for the rest of the world, this phone is largely irrelevant.