Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL: Australian pricing and availability
The two new flagship Windows smartphones are available for pre-order ahead of the December 7 on-sale date. Here's where to get them and for how much.
It's been a while since we've seen a new Lumia phone, with Microsoft biding its time for the Windows 10 launch on PCs before moving the operating system on to its smartphone range.
But now there are two brand spanking new phones bearing the Lumia brand: the 5.2-inch 950 and the 5.7-inch 950 XL. The basic 950 has an AMOLED display with a 2,650x1,440-pixel resolution, while the XL ups the screen real estate while keeping the same resolution. It does however get a slightly more powerful processor, packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 versus the 808 in the smaller model.
Both (finally) feature Microsoft's digital assistant Cortana, making her Australian debut just a few short weeks ago. Both also have Windows Hello -- not the face recognition that we've seen demonstrated with Intel's RealSense camera, but an iris-reading biometric security feature that lets you unlock your phone with a glance.
Both also have the Continuum function, which lets you use your phone as a mini PC, with Windows 10 scaling up to look similar to the desktop experience when you connect to an external screen. You'll want the adaptor dock for this, which is retailing for AU$149.
As you might expect, the devices don't come cheap. Over on the Microsoft Store you're looking at AU$999 for the 950 and AU$1,129 for the XL.
So, like most flagship phones, you'll be probably be looking to get the Lumia on plan. So far only Optus has officially announced its pricing packages.
On the AU$80 My Plan you'll get the Lumia 640 for no extra payments and the XL for an additional AU$4 per month. That's a total cost of AU$1,920 over 24 months or AU$2,016 for the XL. That tier of plan has unlimited calls, texts and 6GB of data, however Optus is throwing in an additional 2GB for people who sign up before January 4, 2016. That's 8GB of data a month for the life of the contract.
As an extra incentive, there's a free Xbox One FIFA 16 Bundle for the first 300 pre-orders, worth AU$449.
We'll add any other pricing plans as they get announced.