Images of the Microsoft Lumia 950 (XL) prototype revealed for the first time

For weeks now we have been filling in the news regarding the Microsoft's Talkman and Cityman Lumia phones due later this fall. Possibly going by the names Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL these phones should represent the next-generation of high-end devices for the struggling mobile maker.

This morning, numerous photos of the Lumia 950 XL aka Cityman prototype have appeared online in the WPXAP forums.

Windows Central can confirm that these images are indeed real and recent.

The photos are of decent quality. However, the phone is only seen from a few angles. The main one, seen above, shows the 5.2-inch WQHD AMOLED display with a black body. As we have indicated earlier, these phones have a polycarbonate body.

The phone is also evidently in a protective case to help disguise it.

There is also a rear shot that reveals the 20 MP camera and triple LED flash (yellow and white) along with a USB Type-C port on the bottom. Also, as we have confirmed earlier, this phone and the Lumia 950 XL with a larger display both have on-screen keys and not physical capacitive ones. Presumably Microsoft chose this to keep the screen bezel smaller.

Talkman (Lumia 950)

  • Matte White or black polycarbonate body
  • 5.2 inch WQHD (1440x2560) OLED display
  • Snapdragon 808, 64-bit Hexa core
  • Iris scanner (infrared) for Windows Hello
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 32GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot
  • 20MP PureView rear camera
  • 5MP Wide-angle front facing camera
  • 3000 mAh removable battery
  • Qi wireless charging with flip cover
  • USB Type-C

Cityman (Lumia 950 XL)

  • Matte White or black polycarbonate body
  • 5.7 inch WQHD (1440x2560) OLED display
  • Snapdragon 810, 64-bit Octa core
  • Iris scanner (infrared) for Windows Hello
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 32GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot
  • 20MP PureView rear camera with triple LED flash
  • Aluminum side buttons
  • 5MP Wide-angle front facing camera
  • 3300 mAh removable battery
  • Qi wireless charging integrated
  • USB Type-C

The phone is also running build 10240 of the Windows 10 Mobile OS, and it has an early build of Continuum for phone on board as well. Interestingly, the camera settings confirm that this phone can shoot 120 FPS in 720P HD, which is something many people have requested for some time.

Microsoft is expected to reveal more about Talkman and Cityman in an October event, likely in New York City. Along with these phones, the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft Band 2, and Windows 10 wave 2 are expected to be revealed as well.

Update: There is some debate whether this is the Lumia 950 (Talkman) or Lumia 950 XL (Cityman). We are trying to confirm which it is at this time, but besides some slight design differences (which would be hidden by the case) and the screen size, both phones are quite similar.

Update2 : We have been able to confirm that this case is actually more than that. It is meant to hide the final design of the phone and ID anyone who uses it publicly. Specifically:

  • It is meant to hide the real shape of the phone and prevent leaks about the final design, mainly the back part
  • It cannot be removed from the engineering sample
  • To track leakers, the case has identifying information including: shape of the case (number of stripes, space between stripes); upper/lower cases for letters: there is a sort of binary code: MicRoSoft MObIle, MICrosOfT mObILE, etc.; The phone is ugly with this 'special' case and the shape hurts your hand when you hold it

All of these things about the case are meant to distract people from using the prototypes in public. This also means the owner of that phone is likely in a meeting right now and about to get fired.

You can read more about these devices, including their iris scanners for Windows Hello and more in our big expose on these devices a few weeks back:

Microsoft's Cityman and Talkman flagship Lumia phones and what you need to know

Source: WPXAP; Thanks, everyone, for the tips!

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.