Microsoft Surface Phone release date, specs rumors 2016: Lumia series axed; New flagship smartphone to arrive in October?
Microsoft has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now. According to reports, the American software company is preparing to launch several hardware products this year including Microsoft Surface Book 2, Microsoft Surface Pro 5 and the highly anticipated Microsoft Surface Phone. There are speculations suggesting that the company will no longer release another Lumia smartphone as they have already replaced it with the new Surface Phone. Rumor has it that the new flagship smartphone will be announced next month.
According to a report by MS Power User, Microsoft has already removed the Lumia brand from the front page of their U.S. Microsoft Store website. However, interested buyers can still see the Lumia series through the Devices category.
According to Phone Arena, the Lumia category link was removed last month and might possibly return with another name.
Several rumors have been circulating since early this year saying that Microsoft is axing the Lumia series. The brand name was acquired by the company from Nokia in 2013. However, Microsoft has failed to deliver a Lumia device that can capture the interest of consumers. When the Redmond-based company launched the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL in 2015, it promised to capture the attention of tech fans. However, it failed to challenge the leading smartphone makers in the market such as Apple and Samsung.
Meanwhile, IBT reported that Microsoft Surface Phone will come out in three variants. However, all devices will carry the same 5.7-inch screen with AMOLED display technology. According to the publication, the three variants will differ on processor, storage capacity and RAM.
The reports suggest that the base unit of the Surface Phone will come out with 3 GB of RAM paired with 32 GB of storage capacity. The next version will carry 6 GB of RAM and 128 onboard storage, while the top-tier model will be packed with a whopping 8 GB RAM and 500 GB internal storage.
