Lumia 950 XL vs Lumia 1520: comparison

Having faced the new Lumia 950 XL to its main rivals in the field of high-end phablets (iPhone 6s Plus, Galaxy S6 edge + and Nexus 6P), today we are going to change the third and we are going to dedicate the comparison to measure their technical specifications with those of the Lumia 1520, which until now was the reference phablet of the Lumia range. Our goal now, of course, is not to help you choose between one and the other, since the Lumia 1520Although it is still available from some dealers, it is a device from a couple of years ago and cannot seriously compete with the new model. It is about seeing the evolution that has occurred between one and the other and, of course, helping users of the older model decide if it is worth it or not to make the change. What has changed between that first phablet of Nokia and the new phablet of Microsoft?

Integrated

Not much has changed aesthetically between the phablet of Nokia and of Microsoft Regardless of the logos on the back cover, although it does not surprise us too much because we have already had the opportunity to verify with other devices that the Redmond ones intend to keep the identity of the Lumia range practically intact.

Dimensions

There is a noticeable difference, however, when it comes to dimensions (15,19x7,84 inch against 16,28x8,54 inch), although it cannot be entirely attributed to a better optimization of the screen / size ratio, since it must also be taken into account that the screen of the Lumia 1520 it was something bigger. The difference in weight is even more striking (165 grams against 209 grams), although not so much the thickness (8,1 mm against 8,7 mm).

Screen

The evolution in the screen section has been remarkable and they hardly coincide if we except the use of technology Clear Back Display: the screen of the Lumia 950 XL is smaller5.7 inches against 6 inches), has a higher resolution (2560 x 1440 against 1920 x 1080) and thus a much higher pixel density (PPI 518 against PPI 367), as well as using an AMOLED panel instead of an LCD.

Performance

El Lumia 1520 It was a cutting edge device when it was launched in terms of processor and RAM but, logically, the Lumia 950 XL It now takes a fundamental advantage of it, simply by having Qualcomm's new high-end processor (Snapdragon 810 eight core to 2,0 GHz against Snapdragon 800 quad core to 2,2 GHz) and for having already made the leap to 3 GB which are now the high-end standard (vs. 2 GB in the other one).

Storage capacity

There is also a substantial improvement in the storage capacity section, and not only because it has been increased to 32 GB the internal memory with which it is sold, but also because now we can expand it externally through micro-SD up to 2 TB, while the top with the Lumia 1520 it was 64GB.

Cameras

The camera was one of the strengths of the Lumia 1520, so much so that actually Microsoft It has not had to put too many improvements to continue standing out even among the high-end. The technical specifications of its main camera, in fact, are practically identical (20 MP and optical image stabilizer, although there are still some differences (triple LED flash vs dual LED flash). The evolution in the front camera, on the other hand, is substantial (5 MP against 1,2 MP), although it was to be expected, considering that the importance that is now attached to the selfie camera is much greater.

Autonomy

Another of the great virtues of Lumia 1520, probably the greatest of all, at least in the sense that few smartphones have been able to match or surpass it, was its autonomy and it remains to be seen if the Lumia 950 XL will be up to the task, though Microsoft made it clear in the presentation that it will not be due to lack of attention to this section. For now, some battery capacity has been lost (3300 mAh against 3400 mAh), but not too much.

Price

Obviously, someone who was thinking about getting one of these two phablets now would find a huge difference in price, which is only due to the time it has been Lumia 1520 (In fact, it may cost us a bit to find it, but if we do it, it is normal for its price to fall below 400 euros). However, if we compare the launch prices of both, we find that they are identical: $700, an almost standard figure among high-end phablets.