Microsoft Originally Wanted Lumia 950 XL to Be a Samsung Galaxy Note Killer

Lumia 950 and 950 XL were unveiled by Microsoft in October 2015 with much fanfare as the company's latest and greatest mobile phones, but despite the original hype, the two devices quickly lost their excitement factor, mostly due to bugs and lack of interest in the platform from Microsoft's part.

An unreleased video that was published by WindowsCentral shows that both the Lumia 950 and 950 XL were originally supposed to be two major hits for the mobile business, helping Microsoft increase the share of Windows Phone and appeal to many more buyers.

Probably the most interesting, though not surprising, feature of Lumia 950 and 950 XL revealed in this video is support for pen. As we heard so many times before, Microsoft wanted to bring stylus support on its Lumia phones a long time ago, and it looks like the Lumia 950 XL was one of the first to get it.

This means that the 950 XL was supposed to be a Samsung Galaxy Note killer, though last year's Samsung flagship phablet more or less killed itself.

Support for the Surface Pen

By the looks of things, the 950 XL was developed to be compatible with the Surface Pen, and this is not at all surprising, especially because at some point Panos Panay, the man in charge with the Surface series, was said to be working closely with the mobile unit on several projects. It's possible that Surface Pen support could still go live on Microsoft phones at some point if the Surface Phone ever sees daylight.

Another feature that never made it to the market is the Smart Cover, which is a more advanced cover for flagship Lumias that allowed users to see Glance at any given moment.

And last but not least, the video also shows what seem to be Active Sides, a feature that we've seen before on the never-released Lumia McLaren. Sensors embedded in the sides of the phone allowed it to detect the hand of the owner, thus making sure it doesn't lock or auto-rotate based on the position of the palm.

Without a doubt, Lumia 950 and 950 XL were both supposed to be much more exciting products and this video does nothing more than to show that Microsoft missed an excellent opportunity to grow in mobile.

As for the reasons all these features were canceled, nothing is certain at this point, but everyone seems to be blaming CEO Satya Nadella's increased focus on cloud for the dropping interest in phones.

Source: Microsoft Originally Wanted Lumia 950 XL to Be a Samsung Galaxy Note Killer