 It's been a long time since Microsoft has had an interesting phone to talk about, but now we have the Lumia 950. It's the first smartphone running Windows 10. The $600 950 is going head to head with the best phones out there, and to make it, it's going to need a few tricks up its sleeve. It has one or two, but is that enough? But before we get to the interesting stuff, we've got to talk about first impressions. Let's face it, this hardware is not particularly interesting or notable. The 950 is a rectangular plastic slab with no real defining design characteristics. It's virtually indistinguishable from the ultra-cheap Lumias Microsoft has been selling for the past couple of years. It has modern smartphone things like a fast processor and enough RAM, and there's a 5.2-inch display that's sharp but a little washed out. It also has a removable back, which is neat if you want to swap the battery. The camera is 20 megapixels, and it's fine but slow. Basically, if this were just another Android phone, it'd be okay. But it's not an Android phone. It's Windows 10, and that's what makes this phone different. The real story here is Windows 10. Instead of it running on a laptop, it's running on your phone. Microsoft likes to talk about how Windows 10 is now a unified platform. The same code that runs on your laptop also runs on this phone. That's true, but on the surface, Windows 10 on a phone feels a lot like Windows Phone 8 did. There are a couple minor interface updates and slight UI changes, but this isn't a complete overhaul. I do like the new Hello feature, which lets me look at my phone to unlock it, just like I can do on a Windows laptop. It's kind of like Android's Face Unlock from four years ago, but it's actually usable, though you have to bring the phone pretty close to your face to make it work. But what is new and big and different is this Continuum feature, which lets you turn your little phone into a PC. To do that, you need Microsoft's $99 display dock, a monitor or TV, and a mouse and keyboard. It's admittedly a fair amount of accessories to tote around, and after using it, it's not clear to me that this is any better than just using a laptop. You plug your phone into the dock, fire up the Continuum app, and boom, your phone's display and contents are on the big screen. It's basically trying to be the dream of turning your phone into a full-size computer. You can check your email, browse the web, compose Word documents, or send text messages from a full-size keyboard on a big display. You can even have one thing up on the big screen and do something else entirely different on your phone. There's something fun about crushing emails with a mouse and keyboard and then unplugging my phone and walking away. Most of this works fine, but the system really drags its feet when you fire up the browser and try to navigate to a few sites, which are now full desktop versions. But beyond that, you can't do much, because the only apps that really support this feature are Microsoft's own. I can't use Slack in Continuum, nor can I use Twitter, Netflix, or a bunch of other apps I might want to see on a big screen. That may change, and developers might enable their apps to work with it, but history tells us that they likely won't. So it's not like turning your phone into a computer, it's like making your phone screen really huge so you can do more phone stuff. And that's admittedly cool, but it's limited. And if anything, Continuum magnifies what is still the biggest problem with Windows 10 on phones, the apps that matter just aren't there. I really like managing my email with Gmail or Inbox on an iPhone or Android, or pay for my delicious Chick-fil-A lunch with my Apple Pay or Android Pay. And good luck if you want to use a smartwatch or other wearable, the vast majority of them just won't work here. None of that is new, it's been the problem with Windows Phone for years, and it's the reason why so many people don't even consider it an option when buying a new phone. Microsoft managed to update the hardware, which trust me, was desperately needed, but it still has the same old problems that have plagued its mobile efforts forever. Lumia 950 may be a phone to satisfy the few remaining Windows fans that want to have every device to use, but unfortunately, it doesn't do enough to resurrect Microsoft's mobile efforts.
 It's been a long time since Microsoft has had an interesting phone to talk about, but
 now we have the Lumia 950.
 It's the first smartphone running Windows 10.
 The $600 950 is going head to head with the best phones out there, and to make it, it's
 going to need a few tricks up its sleeve.
 It has one or two, but is that enough?
 But before we get to the interesting stuff, we've got to talk about first impressions.
 Let's face it, this hardware is not particularly interesting or notable.
 The 950 is a rectangular plastic slab with no real defining design characteristics.
 It's virtually indistinguishable from the ultra-cheap Lumias Microsoft has been selling
 for the past couple of years.
 It has modern smartphone things like a fast processor and enough RAM, and there's a
 5.2-inch display that's sharp but a little washed out.
 It also has a removable back, which is neat if you want to swap the battery.
 The camera is 20 megapixels, and it's fine but slow.
 Basically, if this were just another Android phone, it'd be okay.
 But it's not an Android phone.
 It's Windows 10, and that's what makes this phone different.
 The real story here is Windows 10.
 Instead of it running on a laptop, it's running on your phone.
 Microsoft likes to talk about how Windows 10 is now a unified platform.
 The same code that runs on your laptop also runs on this phone.
 That's true, but on the surface, Windows 10 on a phone feels a lot like Windows Phone
 8 did.
 There are a couple minor interface updates and slight UI changes, but this isn't a
 complete overhaul.
 I do like the new Hello feature, which lets me look at my phone to unlock it, just like
 I can do on a Windows laptop.
 It's kind of like Android's Face Unlock from four years ago, but it's actually usable,
 though you have to bring the phone pretty close to your face to make it work.
 But what is new and big and different is this Continuum feature, which lets you turn your
 little phone into a PC.
 To do that, you need Microsoft's $99 display dock, a monitor or TV, and a mouse and keyboard.
 It's admittedly a fair amount of accessories to tote around, and after using it, it's
 not clear to me that this is any better than just using a laptop.
 You plug your phone into the dock, fire up the Continuum app, and boom, your phone's
 display and contents are on the big screen.
 It's basically trying to be the dream of turning your phone into a full-size computer.
 You can check your email, browse the web, compose Word documents, or send text messages
 from a full-size keyboard on a big display.
 You can even have one thing up on the big screen and do something else entirely different
 on your phone.
 There's something fun about crushing emails with a mouse and keyboard and then unplugging
 my phone and walking away.
 Most of this works fine, but the system really drags its feet when you fire up the browser
 and try to navigate to a few sites, which are now full desktop versions.
 But beyond that, you can't do much, because the only apps that really support this feature
 are Microsoft's own.
 I can't use Slack in Continuum, nor can I use Twitter, Netflix, or a bunch of other
 apps I might want to see on a big screen.
 That may change, and developers might enable their apps to work with it, but history tells
 us that they likely won't.
 So it's not like turning your phone into a computer, it's like making your phone
 screen really huge so you can do more phone stuff.
 And that's admittedly cool, but it's limited.
 And if anything, Continuum magnifies what is still the biggest problem with Windows
 10 on phones, the apps that matter just aren't there.
 I really like managing my email with Gmail or Inbox on an iPhone or Android, or pay for
 my delicious Chick-fil-A lunch with my Apple Pay or Android Pay.
 And good luck if you want to use a smartwatch or other wearable, the vast majority of them
 just won't work here.
 None of that is new, it's been the problem with Windows Phone for years, and it's the
 reason why so many people don't even consider it an option when buying a new phone.
 Microsoft managed to update the hardware, which trust me, was desperately needed, but
 it still has the same old problems that have plagued its mobile efforts forever.
 Lumia 950 may be a phone to satisfy the few remaining Windows fans that want to have every
 device to use, but unfortunately, it doesn't do enough to resurrect Microsoft's mobile
 efforts.