We’re all waiting see whether or not Windows 10 will be able to breathe new life into Windows Phone, and how successful Microsoft’s next flagship smartphones are will be a good indicator of that. The specs for the two devices have already been leaked, and they’re pretty impressive, but what about the design? Well, if these recently leaked renders are legit, and the leaker that posted them has an excellent reputation, then I’m not all that impressed.
Last month I wrote that all my optimism for Windows Phone was dead and if these new press renders are real then it seems Microsoft still has a lot more work to do to bring me back. It’s often difficult to distinguish a $100 Windows Phone from a $500 Windows Phone and these images of the supposed Lumia 950 (Talkman) and 950 XL (Cityman) don’t appear to be much different than what is available today. In a highly competitive smartphone market, Microsoft is going to need to do more than what we see here. The specifications match what we see in current Android devices, with a couple unique features appearing to be USB Type-C and an infrared iris scanner. While these are unique, I’m not sure how many people will care for such features on phones that look like most Windows Phones we’ve seen over the past couple years. The design looks to be fairly typical for a Lumia device with wide side, top, and bottom bezels, colorful plastic bodies, a microSD card slot, standard block design with slightly rounded corners, and a rear facing speaker.