Microsoft Lumia 950 XL vs Sony Xperia Z5 vs BlackBerry Priv:Who is the King?

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL                                                                                                                             The Lumia 950 XL isn't just a platform to spread Windows 10 though, this is a seriously high-end smartphone with impressive specs backed up by that app store shared with the entire Windows 10 platform.The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL has a pin-sharp, vivid display, plenty of power, expandable storage and a solid camera. The phone comes with a 5.70-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1440 pixels by 2560 pixels at a PPI of 518 pixels per inch.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and it comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 200GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL packs a 20-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL runs Windows 10 Mobile and is powered by a 3340mAh removable battery. It measures 151.90 x 78.40 x 8.10 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 165.00 grams.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is a single SIM (GSM) smartphone that accepts a Nano-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks). Sensors on the phone include Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope.

but,Battery life is also something of a let-down. Given the size of the unit, and the general efficiency of Windows Phone in this area, I had great hopes for the endurance of the 950 XL. Unfortunately battery performance was only ever middling at best.The app selection for Windows phone is still very limited and the phone's design feels plasticky.

THE BOTTOM LINE The hardware definitely has its highs and lows. Build quality isn't the best around, but handling is great. All of the lovely pixels on the AMOLED screen, along with the exceptional colour accuracy, make it one of the best around, but the speakers are a bit of a let-down.While the Lumia 950 XL has the specs you'd want from a top-end phone, the Windows 10 experience offers no compelling reason to switch from iOS or Android.                                                                                                               Price:$684

VS                                                                                                                                                           Sony Xperia Z5                                                                                                                                           The Xperia Z5 has a very reliable battery and the addition of Quick Charge 2.0 will allow you to top off the battery quickly for those days when you need a bit more oomph to make it through your day.The Sony Xperia Z5 looks good, has plenty of power, its camera can take some great snaps and it won't die when you spill your drink on it.5.2 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, IPS LCD... Color balance and accuracy, on the other hand, are areas where Sony should have tried a bit harder. The screen has a significant blue tint, taking some of the life away from images. It's not too bad, though, plus Sony is kind enough to let us adjust display color balance from the settings, meaning there's a way to get a more natural-toned image. Sony has to be congratulated for not playing the specs game and sticking with this resolution, because in no way is the Xperia Z5's screen harder to read, in comparison to the 1440 x 2560 screens out there. Sony needed to fix up the design of its Xperia Z series and there have been some big changes this time. It's still angular and glass-backed, but this time it's a frosted material instead of the clear glass we've seen on every iteration since the Xperia Z1.                                                                                                                                             A lot of the problems that plagued the Xperia Z3+ stemmed from Sony's choice of components. It was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810, a chip that notoriously ran hot. So, it might seem odd to layman that, on the surface, the Xperia Z5 looks to be using the exact same chip.

But the 810 in the Xperia Z5 is a slightly upgraded version that supposedly solves the overheating problems. From my time with the Xperia Z5 I'm not convinced this is the case.

During bouts of gaming, even with titles that I don’t class as graphically intense, the phone gets hot below the camera. The heating issue gets worse when I fire up Asphalt 8 or Lara Croft Go. I wouldn’t be as fussed if it was only a minor temperature hike, but the Z5 got hot to the point I hat to move by fingers on several occsaions. The phone even gets hot when playing Spotify, which is odd.

The other major problem with the Xperia Z3+ was that its 4K recording was basically unusable. Capturing footage for longer than a few minutes caused the device to spew up a worrying overheating message and then crash. Thankfully, this problem seems to have been fixed on the Z5.

As a test, I left the camera recording a 4K video for half an hour. Aside from eating though almost half of my available storage, it didn’t crash or make the phone hot. Discounting the gaming bits I mentioned earlier, performance and stability on the Z5 are great. Switching through apps is fast, Chrome never feels sluggish and lag is non-existent. It’s a great performer.

But, for a flagship device costing £539, packing a high-power processor and 3GB RAM, I expect this.

The powerful chip produces impressive benchmarking scores too. With a 4,720 result on the multi-core GeekBench 3 test it outmuscles the LG G4 (3,260) and HTC One M9 (3,952), but just falls short of toppling Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge+ (5,014). On AnTuTu, it scores 53,155, putting it above the Nexus 6 (51,855) and Moto X Style (51,350), but below the iPhone 6S (59,069).

To be completely honest, I’d still have preferred Sony to go with the Snapdragon 808. The small losses in performance are easily made up for by the better heat control.

You get 32GB of onboard storage, though this can be supplemented by a microSD card. These cards are about to get a whole lot more useful in Marshmallow, as the OS will let you use them for proper system storage.

The dual front-facing speakers are well positioned, but they fall into many of the same traps as other phones. Volume is loud enough, but audio is tinny and lacks any sort of oomph. It’s fine for YouTube, but not really for music.

But,The Xperia Z5 Premium hype seems to have done that to some degree, but 4K is still an issue when you realise the battery life isn't perfected, and you will need to shell out quite a bit of extra money to get it.Only minor updates from its predecessor means it lacks the excitement of its rivals. Its waterproofing no longer allows for full submersion, meaning it can't be used for underwater photography.

THE BOTTOM LINE The Z5 isn't as perfect as it should be, but it does have all the right parts.Even with strong specs befitting a high-end phone, the Sony Xperia Z5 adds little over its predecessor to make it an exciting option over rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

 VS                                                                                                                                                           BlackBerry Priv                                                                                                                                             The 5.4-inch QHD display on the Priv is excellent. Its subtle dual curved edges are attractive, detail is pin sharp and it enables you to actually enjoy videos and games on a BlackBerry device. The BlackBerry Priv delivers strong performance in a sleek, solid package. The subtle tweaks to Android are useful, and the compact keyboard packs in useful functionality. It's also fun to slide open, over and over again.                     The Priv runs Android 5.1.1 on the capable 1.8 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 CPU with Adreno 418 graphics. This is a high end CPU that's bested only by the Snapdragon 810 in Qualcomm's lineup and by the latest Exynos CPU used in the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note 5 lines. The hexa-core Snapdragon 808 generates less heat and potentially offers better battery life than the 810, and that's a good thing because the Priv gets surprisingly toasty and doesn't have particularly good battery life. This CPU is also used in the LG G4 and Moto X 2015 edition, where it runs cooler, and we can only guess that the Priv's slim design and carbon fiber back transfer heat to your hand more than the thicker (at the middle) curved-back LG and Motorola phones. The Priv won't come close to burning you, but it can make your hands sweat when downloading a queue of app updates or playing games. Performance levels on benchmarks are similar to other Android phones with the same CPU, and on paper the phone is fast enough to take even demanding tasks. I say "on paper" because the Priv sometimes has small lapses or hiccups in performance in everyday tasks, though it performs well in demanding games and streaming 1080p video. I suspect some performance tuning and software/firmware updates could ameliorate this (and it's a good show for BlackBerry's first Android smartphone).

But,The sliding mechanism is fun to play with, while rekindling fond memories of phones gone by, but the physical keyboard it hides feels outdated and clunky.  The keyboard is a bit narrow for large hands, and the device feels top heavy when fully extended. This security-focused phone is missing a few modern protection options, like a fingerprint reader or iris scanner.

THE BOTTOM LINE Finally we have a BlackBerry smartphone with all the apps you want, with a screen you can actually enjoy videos and games on, and an interface that's far more familiar and intuitive (for the general public at least) than that on theBlackBerry 10. Android and an awesome keyboard make the Priv the best BlackBerry in years, but if you're not a keyboard lover and aren't much of a security seeker, you'll find phones that are cheaper, or offer better features than the Priv.                                                                       Specs                                                                                                                                                    Operating system: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop     Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (8992) Hexa-Core, 64 bit   GPU: Adreno 418, 600 MHz          Display: 5.43-inch curved AMOLED, 2560x1440 resolution (540 ppi)   Memory: 3GB low-power RAM    Storage: 32GB Flash storage   Rear camera: 18MP, f/2.2, OIS, phase-detect autofocus

Front camera: 2MP, f/2.8, 1.75um pixel size   Battery: 3,410 mAh, 4.4volt Non-removable   Charging: Quick Charge 2.0 Qi wireless (some models)                                                                                               Size: 147 x 77.2 x 9.4 mm184 x 77.2 x 9.4 mm (keyboard open)                                                               Weight: 192 g    Network: FD-LTE: Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 17, 20, 29, 30 HSPA+: Band 1, 2, 4, 5/6, 8 Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE  Connectivity: Wifi 802.11ac Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, USB 2.0                     Price:$699