By popular demand we are now giving you the full battery life breakdowns of the anticipated Microsoft flagship duo - the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL. We already published the Lumia 950 review and we found it to be a great way to restart the Windows mobile series. And while the Lumia 950 XL review is still in the pipeline you are getting a sneak peek of what’s coming next week.
Both flagships utilize high-resolution Quad HD AMOLED panels - the Lumia 950 has it in 5.2" size, while its XL sibling stretches it to 5.7". The chipsets are quite different though - the regular 950 model has the Snapdragon 808 with a hexa-core processor, while the 950 XL runs on the Snapdragon 810 with an octa-core processor and liquid cooling.
Windows 10 Mobile turned out a real surprise, offering great new features and long awaited optimizations, plus universal apps across other devices. The PureView camera turned out one of the best in business. But what about the battery? The Lumia 950 is powered by a 3,000 mAh unit, while the XL has 10% more power supply at 3,340 mAh.
We expected the more powerful Snapdragon 810 chip married to a bigger screen to perform worse than the 808 platform but turns out we were quite wrong.
The Lumia 950 XL posted great and very respectable 17 hours endurance on the 3G talk time test, doubling the Lumia 950 score.
Talk time
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 33:20h
Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G 33:19h
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 30:29h
OnePlus 2 30:29h
Motorola DROID Turbo 30:09h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM 29:46h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE 29:46h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM 29:46h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 29:46h
Samsung Galaxy Note5 28:34h
HTC One (M8) for Windows 28:34h
Nokia Lumia 1520 28:34h
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 28:31h
Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE 28:25h
Samsung Galaxy S5 27:37h
Sony Xperia Z1 26:53h
Samsung Galaxy S6 active 26:29h
Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 25:45h
LG G3 25:38h
LG G Pro 2 25:37h
LG G Flex 25:19h
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 25:16h
LG G2 25:15h
Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos 25:12h
BlackBerry Passport 25:12h
Huawei Ascend Mate 25:12h
Motorola Nexus 6 25:03h
Alcatel Hero 25:02h
Oppo N1 25:01h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 24:52h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 24:23h
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 23:49h
LG AKA 23:20h
Sony Xperia Z3 23:13h
Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM 23:09h
Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE 23:09h
Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM 23:09h
Oppo R7 22:58h
Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 22:42h
Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) 22:36h
Sony Xperia Z2 22:13h
Sony Xperia C3 Dual 22:11h
Meizu MX4 Pro 22:09h
Yota YotaPhone 2 22:09h
Samsung ATIV SE 22:05h
Xiaomi Redmi Note 21:41h
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 21:39h
ZTE Axon Pro 21:23h
Xiaomi Mi 4i 21:02h
Meizu m2 note 20:55h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 20:45h
HTC One M9 20:44h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 20:42h
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 20:27h
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 20:07h
Huawei Ascend Mate7 20:06h
Samsung Galaxy A3 20:04h
Samsung Galaxy E7 20:04h
Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos 20:04h
Oppo Find 7 20:03h
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 20:01h
BlackBerry Q10 20:00h
OnePlus One 19:56h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 19:55h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 19:54h
Sony Xperia SP 19:49h
Samsung Galaxy S6 19:48h
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 19:48h
Sony Xperia T3 19:48h
HTC Butterfly 2 19:23h
HTC Butterfly S 19:14h
HTC Desire Eye 19:11h
Oppo R819 19:03h
Asus PadFone X 18:45h
Xiaomi Mi 4c 18:31h
Xiaomi Mi 4 18:15h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 18:12h
LG G2 mini 18:11h
Oppo Find 7a 18:11h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 18:03h
Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos 18:02h
Samsung Galaxy A5 18:02h
LG G Flex2 17:51h
Sony Xperia ZR 17:48h
HTC One (E8) 17:47h
Nokia Lumia 950 XL 16:50h
LG G4 16:40h
LG V10 16:40h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 16:40h
Nokia Lumia 930 16:40h
Sony Xperia M2 16:40h
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 16:40h
Sony Xperia M2 Aqua 16:39h
Motorola Moto E 16:38h
Motorola Moto E Dual SIM 16:38h
Meizu MX4 16:25h
Sony Xperia Z3+ 16:13h
Sony Xperia Z 16:03h
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 15:51h
Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM 15:50h
Microsoft Lumia 435 15:50h
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 15:47h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 15:32h
LG Optimus G E975 15:30h
ZTE Blade S6 15:01h
Nokia Lumia 830 14:56h
Meizu m1 note 14:53h
Xiaomi Redmi 1S 14:51h
HTC Desire 816 14:46h
Huawei Honor 7 14:33h
Alcatel Idol X+ 14:41h
Xiaomi Mi Note 14:31h
Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM 14:24h
Microsoft Lumia 532 14:24h
HTC Desire 820 dual sim 14:17h
HTC Desire 820 14:17h
Huawei Ascend P6 14:17h
Nokia Lumia 620 14:17h
Oppo Find 5 14:17h
Motorola Moto G 4G 14:17h
Nokia Lumia 635 14:17h
Nokia Lumia Icon 14:15h
HTC One (M8) 14:15h
Oppo N3 14:14h
Motorola Moto X 14:06h
HTC Desire 510 14:06h
Motorola Moto G 13:41h
HTC One 13:38h
Huawei Ascend P7 13:36h
Xiaomi Mi 3 13:28h
Nokia Lumia 630 13:20h
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 13:20h
Meizu MX5 13:15h
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 12:45h
LG Optimus GJ E975W 12:39h
Oppo R1x 12:33h
Xiaomi Redmi 2 12:33h
Huawei Ascend P1 12:30h
Lenovo Vibe X2 12:30h
Nokia Lumia 928 12:27h
Apple iPhone 6 12:23h
HTC Butterfly 12:18h
Samsung Galaxy S III I747 12:18h
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 12:18h
Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM 12:15h
Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 12:14h
HTC One E9+ 12:07h
BlackBerry Leap 12:05h
Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) 11:49h
Gionee Elife S5.5 11:32h
HTC One A9 11:12h
Meizu MX3 11:02h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 11:01h
Apple iPhone 5s 10:46h
Nokia XL 10:45h
Apple iPhone 5c 10:18h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:15h
Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 2 10:03h
LG Nexus 5 10:01h
Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 10:00h
HTC One V 10:00h
Meizu MX 4-core 10:00h
Lenovo S90 Sisley 10:00h
HTC One mini 2 09:58h
HTC One X 9:57h
Oppo R5 9:45h
Apple iPhone 6s 9:41h
Nokia Lumia 950 8:25h
BlackBerry Z10 8:20h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:52h
The web browsing on the Lumia 950 is just average at 7 and a half hours, but the Lumia 950 XL lasted some 3 hours more for a total runtime of 10 hours and 50 minutes.
Web browsing
Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G 16:41h
Sony Xperia E4 16:40h
Samsung Galaxy S6 active 16:25h
Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE 15:05h
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 14:52h
Meizu MX4 14:06h
Huawei Ascend Mate7 13:53h
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 13:14h
HTC Butterfly 2 13:11h
Meizu m1 note 13:05h
Huawei Honor 6 12:59h
Sony Xperia C 12:45h
Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) 12:42h
Nokia Lumia 1520 12:40h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 12:37h
HTC One (M8) for Windows 12:31h
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 12:30h
HTC One (M8) 12:29h
Apple iPhone 6s 12:27h
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 12:17h
Sony Xperia Z3 12:03h
Nokia XL 11:54h
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 11:51h
Sony Xperia Z3+ 11:51h
HTC Desire 816 11:48h
Sony Xperia C3 Dual 11:47h
LG G2 11:42h
Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos 11:36h
Samsung Galaxy A5 11:36h
Sony Xperia E4g 11:32h
LG G2 mini 11:02h
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 11:01h
Nokia Lumia 1320 10:58h
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 10:56h
Samsung Galaxy S6 10:56h
HTC Desire 510 10:53h
Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM 10:52h
Motorola Moto G 4G 10:52h
Microsoft Lumia 532 10:52h
Nokia Lumia 950 XL 10:50h
Samsung Galaxy Note5 10:43h
Huawei Honor 7 10:38h
LG AKA 10:38h
Nokia Lumia 830 10:36h
Apple iPhone 6 10:29h
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 10:25h
Meizu MX4 Pro 10:24h
Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE 10:23h
Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM 10:23h
Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM 10:23h
Nokia Lumia 630 10:18h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE 10:14h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 10:14h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM 10:14h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM 10:14h
BlackBerry Passport 10:12h
BlackBerry Q5 10:04h
HTC Desire Eye 10:02h
HTC One (E8) 10:02h
Nokia Lumia 635 10:00h
Apple iPhone 5s 9:58h
HTC One 9:58h
Apple iPhone 5 9:56h
Meizu m2 note 9:54h
OnePlus One 9:46h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 9:43h
Alcatel Hero 9:40h
Samsung Galaxy S5 9:39h
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 9:37h
Xiaomi Mi 4c 9:32h
LG G Flex 9:31h
LG G Pro 2 9:31h
Xiaomi Mi 4 9:31h
Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos 9:30h
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 9:29h
Sony Xperia T3 9:23h
Microsoft Lumia 435 9:22h
Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM 9:22h
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 9:20h
vivo X5Max 9:19h
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 9:16h
Motorola RAZR MAXX 9:12h
HTC Desire 820 dual sim 9:10h
HTC Desire 820 9:10h
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 9:10h
Oppo R1x 9:10h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 9:05h
Apple iPhone 5c 9:05h
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 9:05h
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 9:05h
Oppo N1 9:05h
Motorola Moto G 9:04h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 9:04h
Meizu MX5 9:03h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 8:51h
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48h
Motorola Moto E Dual SIM 8:42h
Motorola Moto E 8:42h
BlackBerry Q10 8:42h
Sony Xperia M2 Aqua 8:38h
Xiaomi Mi 4i 8:27h
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 8:25h
LG V10 8:20h
Nokia Lumia 735 8:20h
Huawei Ascend Mate 8:17h
Motorola Moto X 8:17h
Samsung Galaxy E7 8:17h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 8:17h
Oppo N3 8:16h
HTC One mini 8:12h
OnePlus 2 8:05h
HTC One E9+ 8:05h
Xiaomi Mi 3 8:04h
Lenovo Vibe X2 8:01h
Motorola Nexus 6 7:54h
LG G4 7:54h
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 7:52h
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 7:42h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 7:38h
BlackBerry Leap 7:37h
Nokia Lumia 720 7:37h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 7:35h
HTC One M9 7:31h
Nokia Lumia 950 7:29h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 7:24h
Oppo R7 7:22h
Huawei Ascend P7 7:13h
Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen) 7:11h
Sony Xperia M 7:09h
Oppo Find 7a 7:09h
Sony Xperia J 7:06h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 7:06h
Gionee Elife S5.1 7:04h
ZTE Blade S6 7:01h
Lenovo S90 Sisley 7:00h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 6:58h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 6:40h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:40h
ZTE Axon Pro 6:39h
Sony Xperia Z 6:37h
Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) 6:37h
HTC One mini 2 06:33h
Huawei Ascend P6 6:30h
LG G3 6:29h
BlackBerry Z10 6:27h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 6:27h
Yota YotaPhone 2 6:23h
Xiaomi Mi Note 6:19h
Sony Xperia SP 6:18h
LG G Flex2 6:16h
Sony Xperia Z1 5:59h
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:56h
Alcatel Idol X+ 5:55h
Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 5:55h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 5:53h
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5:53h
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T769 5:45h
Xiaomi Redmi 2 5:41h
Nokia Lumia 920 5:40h
Nokia Lumia 928 5:36h
Oppo Find 5 5:33h
Nokia Lumia 900 5:25h
Samsung Galaxy Note I717 5:24h
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 5:24h
Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562 5:23h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 5:23h
HTC One A9 5:22h
Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM 5:21h
LG Optimus G E975 5:15h
Gionee Elife S5.5 5:10h
Oppo Find 7 5:02h
Nokia Lumia 930 4:57h
LG Nexus 5 4:45h
Oppo R5 4:05h
HTC One S 4:03h
HTC One S C2 4:03h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 4:02h
When it comes to video playback both phones outed decent ratings - the Lumia 950 played back our sample video clip for 9 hours and 40 minutes, while the Lumia 950 XL lasted for an extra hour.
Video playback
LG G Flex 19:57h
Samsung Galaxy S6 active 18:03h
Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G 18:01h
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 17:52h
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 13:57h
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 13:53h
Samsung Galaxy Note5 13:51h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 13:32h
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 13:12h
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 13:12h
Nokia Lumia 1020 13:12h
HTC One Max 13:11h
Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) 13:04h
Huawei Honor 6 12:51h
Meizu MX4 Pro 12:41h
Nokia Lumia 1520 12:31h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 12:30h
BlackBerry Q5 12:28h
Sony Xperia Z2 12:16h
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 12:12h
Samsung Galaxy S6 12:12h
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 12:10h
LG AKA 11:54h
Sony Xperia Z3 11:47h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 11:38h
OnePlus One 11:23h
HTC One (E8) 11:16h
Samsung Galaxy S5 11:15h
Oppo N1 11:15h
BlackBerry Q10 11:15h
HTC One (M8) for Windows 11:15h
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 11:15h
Meizu m1 note 11:09h
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 11:02h
Asus PadFone X 11:01h
Xiaomi Mi 4c 10:47h
Apple iPhone 6s 10:46h
BlackBerry Passport 10:46h
vivo X5Max 10:44h
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 10:41h
Nokia Lumia 950 XL 10:38h
LG G Flex2 10:35h
HTC Desire Eye 10:35h
HTC Desire 816 10:34h
Apple iPhone 5s 10:31h
HTC Butterfly 2 10:26h
LG G2 mini 10:23h
Nokia Lumia 735 10:20h
Apple iPhone 5 10:12h
Xiaomi Mi 4i 10:11h
HTC One (M8) 10:11h
HTC One 10:02h
Motorola Moto X 10:01h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 10:01h
Motorola Nexus 6 10:01h
Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos 9:58h
Nokia Lumia 830 9:58h
Nokia 808 PureView 9:53h
Oppo N3 9:49h
Huawei Honor 7 9:43h
Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM 9:43h
Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE 9:43h
Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM 9:43h
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 9:42h
Nokia Lumia 950 9:40h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 9:34h
Oppo R7 9:33h
Meizu MX4 9:31h
Xiaomi Mi 3 9:28h
LG G2 9:28h
HTC One S C2 9:28h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 9:27h
Apple iPhone 4s 9:24h
Apple iPhone 6 9:24h
Oppo Find 7a 9:19h
Samsung Galaxy A5 9:18h
Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos 9:18h
Nokia Lumia 1320 9:17h
Meizu MX5 9:13h
HTC Butterfly S 9:03h
Oppo R1x 9:02h
Sony Xperia E 9:00h
Motorola DROID RAZR M 9:00h
Sony Xperia E4 9:00h
BlackBerry Leap 8:59h
BlackBerry Z10 8:44h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 8:41h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM 8:40h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 8:40h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM 8:40h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 8:40h
Nokia N9 8:40h
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE 8:40h
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 8:34h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 8:34h
Samsung Galaxy A3 8:34h
Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos 8:34h
HTC One A9 8:33h
LG G3 8:30h
OnePlus 2 8:28h
HTC Butterfly 8:28h
Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM 8:27h
Microsoft Lumia 435 8:27h
HTC One M9 8:21h
Huawei Ascend P7 8:10h
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 8:05h
Xiaomi Redmi 2 8:01h
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 8:00h
ZTE Blade S6 8:00h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 7:46h
Sony Xperia Z3+ 7:46h
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 7:45h
Yota YotaPhone 2 7:41h
Apple iPhone 5c 7:41h
Huawei Ascend P1 7:38h
Asus PadFone 2 7:38h
Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen) 7:31h
LG G4 7:30h
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 7:29h
ZTE Axon Pro 7:27h
Motorola Moto G 4G 7:27h
HTC One mini 7:23h
LG G4 7:23h
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 7:14h
HTC Desire 820 dual sim 7:10h
HTC Desire 820 7:10h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 7:03h
HTC One E9+ 7:00h
Xiaomi Mi 4 7:00h
Xiaomi Redmi 1S 6:42h
Nokia Lumia 620 6:32h
Xiaomi Mi Note 6:32h
Motorola Moto E 6:31h
Motorola Moto E Dual SIM 6:31h
Alcatel Idol X+ 6:29h
Nokia XL 6:28h
Meizu m2 note 6:27h
Nokia Lumia 920 6:19h
Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 6:06h
Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) 6:05h
HTC One mini 2 06:05h
Gionee Elife S5.5 6:02h
Oppo Find 7 5:58h
Nokia Lumia 930 5:48h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:47h
HTC One X 5:45h
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro 5:44h
Sony Xperia Z 5:39h
Oppo R5 5:27h
Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM 5:27h
Oppo Find 5 5:18h
Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T 5:18h
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5:18h
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 5:15h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 5:09h
Lenovo Vibe X2 5:09h
Unfortunately both phones are below average performers in their standby battery times and both can last only up to 7 days on a single charge when left idling. That's far from impressive, particularly when you consider the battery size.
So, in our battery test the Lumia 950 scored an overall rating of 48h - the time it would last should you do an hour each of calling, browsing and video playback a day. The phone does average across all of the separate tests and in the standby endurance.
The Lumia 950 XL scored a more respectable 62h rating. This type of score is above average overall, but when it comes to phablets, it's not particularly impressive.
The mentioned usage pattern is of course entirely artificial, but we've established it so our battery results are comparable across devices.
Our Lumia 950 XL review is almost ready now and you should expect it some time next week. There you'll also see how the 950XL performs in its DualSIM flavor. Stay tuned!
The phone get hot like an oven within a shot time the battery will shot from 100%to 60%before u know is. 20%i regret wasting my time by buying the phone
Mine was shutting off sometimes, sometimes rebooting, and then not charging - get a screen shot of a battery with an X through it - finally realized battery has connection issues. Tried cleaning contacts with a very expensive product (De-ox), same re...
I regret buying this s##t phone, I always had Lumia phones but I think the phones where the best when they were made by Nokia. My phone is only three months old and the battery is some crap.
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