Microsoft fans rejoice! The first two Windows Phones to support Windows 10 Mobile are about to be released. Microsoft has announced the UK availability of the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL. Both are available for pre-order today and both will ship by December 3rd. The 950 series is, needless to say, extremely important to Microsoft since they will be the first Windows 10 Mobile devices.

The first Windows 10 Mobile handsets, Microsoft’s Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, are now available on pre-order over at The Carphone Warehouse. Prices start at £469.99 for the Lumia 950 XL and £449 for the Lumia 950 — this is cheaper than they are on Microsoft’s Store. Carphone Warehouse also has the handsets available on a bunch of tariffs from the UK’s major retailers. 

The Lumia 950 features a 5.2in WQHD (1440 x 2560) OLED display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 CPU and 3GB of RAM. With imaging, you’re looking at a 20MP PureView with triple LED flash and a 5MP sensor on the front for Skype calls and selfies. Storage comes in at 32GB and, sadly, there is no SD-support on either the 950 or the larger 950XL.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is slightly larger than the standard model and it has the slightly more potent Snapdragon 810 at its core. Beyond this there is not much else to separate the two handsets; Microsoft is clearly taking the popular approach of offering two differently sized models, so as not to alienate those who aren’t into phablets.

Many people are reporting that the regular 950 and its XL big brother are almost identical–and in many respects they are. But there are also a few important little differences you need to know about. Here’s how the two Windows 10 Mobile flagships compare.

Lumia 950 vs Lumia 950 XL: Specs

Lumia 950

• Display: 5.2 inch AMOLED, 1440 × 2560 pixels at 564 ppi with Gorilla Glass 3
• Colors: Black or White
• Battery: User replaceable, Qi wireless charging, 3000 mAh
• Storage: 32GB + microSD
• Processors: Hexa-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808
• GPU: Adreno 418
• RAM: LPDDR3 3GB RAM
• Front camera: 5 MP 1080P video, ƒ/2.4
• Rear camera: 20 MP PureView, 1/2.4 " sensor, 4K video (2160p) at 30 fps, triple LED flashes, ƒ/1.9 aperture, optical image stabilization
• Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, 4G
• Size: 145 mm x 73.2 mm x 8.2 mm
• Weight: 150 grams

Lumia 950 XL

• Display: 5.7 inch AMOLED, 1440 × 2560 pixels at 518 ppi with Gorilla Glass 4
• Colors: Black or White
• Battery: User replaceable, Qi wireless charging, 3340 mAh
• Storage: 32GB + microSD
• Processors: Octa-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
• GPU: Adreno 430
• RAM: LPDDR4 3GB RAM
• Front camera: 5 MP 1080P video, ƒ/2.4
• Rear camera: 20 MP PureView, 1/2.4 " sensor, 4K video (2160p) at 30 fps, triple LED flashes, ƒ/1.9 aperture, optical image stabilization
• Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, 4G
• Size: 151.9 mm x 78.4 mm x 8.1 mm
• Weight: 165 grams

Let's get the similarities out of the way first. Both feature the exact same front and rear cameras: the excellent 20 MP PureView, 1/2.4 " sensor, 4K video rear camera and 5 MP 1080P video, ƒ/2.4 front camera. Both phones also have the exact same storage: 32GB plus a microSD card slot. Both also come in black and white models. Each phone also has the same connectivity options (see above).

From the surface look of things, both phones also appear to have roughly similar specs, but that’s a bit deceptive. For example, the 950 has 3GB of RAM, but its LPDDR3 RAM. The 950 XL has 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM, in other words, its RAM is slightly faster.

A more obvious difference is in the CPU and GPU. The regular 950 packs a hexa-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor. The 950 XL has a octa-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, which is about 10% faster. The 950 XL also has a more powerful Adreno 430 GPU. The regular 950 has the Adreno 418 GPU.

The remaining differences lie in the display and battery departments, which we talk about next.

Lumia 950 vs Lumia 950 XL: Display

Of course the most noticeable difference between the 950 and 950 XL is the display size. The 950 features a 5.2-inch display and the 950 XL has a 5.7-inch display. What’s interesting is that both these displays have the exact same 1440 × 2560 pixel resolution. However, since they are physically different sized screens, the regular 950 actually has a higher pixel density at 564 ppi versus the 950 XL’s 518 ppi. However, at those levels you aren’t going to notice a difference with the naked eye.

The one other display difference is the type of glass used in the display. The regular 950 uses Gorilla Glass 3, and the 950 XL uses Gorilla Glass 4, which means it’s more shatter resistant.

Lumia 950 vs Lumia 950 XL: Battery

The final differences lie with the batteries of the two devices. Both are user replaceable and feature Qi wireless charging, but because of the size of the devices, the regular 950 has a smaller battery at 3000 mAh versus the 950 XL’s larger battery of 3340 mAh. Microsoft says the larger battery in the XL gets you an extra hours’ battery life.

Lumia 950 vs Lumia 950 XL: Cost & Verdict

The Lumia 950 will cost £449.99 and the Lumia 950 XL will cost £529.99. Both will ship on December 3rd.

Both also look to be stellar flagships to showcase the new Windows 10 Mobile on. As for which you should get will primarily depend on screen size. Do you like a large phone–or a really large phone?

If screen size isn’t your deciding factor, then the 950 XL is the technically superior phone. It has a better battery, better RAM, battery CPU and GPU–and is even 0.1mm thinner to boot.