We are just few hours away from Microsoft's 'Windows 10 devices' event at the Skylight
at
Moynihan Station in New York City on Tuesday. The company is expected to make
several
announcements including the launch of its new Lumia flagships, a new Surface Pro
tablet,
and the new Microsoft Band.
A flurry of leaked details around long-rumoured Windows 10 Mobile flagships, the Lumia 950
(codenamed Cityman) and Lumia 950 XL (Talkman). have already given us a glimpse of what
to expect from the Tuesday event. The company is also likely to reveal an affordable Windows
10 Mobile smartphone - the Lumia 550. The event kicks off at 10am EDT (or 7:30pm IST) on
Tuesday.
Microsoft's rumoured Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL can be expected to be available starting
October 10, according to a report. The Redmond giant is said to have chosen a separate
October event for itsflagship Lumia smartphones to avoid a major event such as IFA where
its devices may have been outshone by other product launches.
The company is widely expected to bring biometric authentication in the form of an infrared
iris scanner in its flagship smartphones. The feature would let users log in with facial
recognition via the iris scanner, and it is said to be a part of Windows Hello feature in
Windows 10. Another notable feature that Microsoft may finally bring to Windows 10 Mobile is
Surface Pen technology, tipped to be included in the Lumia 950 XL.
The first leaked live image showed the alleged Lumia 950 XL in a Blue colour variant being
charged and showing the home screen of the smartphone. Some of the apps visible on the
home screen were Xbox, Office suite, Flipboard, Twitter, and Skype among others.
Both the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL are tipped to include on-screen navigation buttons, as
per recent leaked images. A bunch of images claimed to be of the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950
XL show that the smartphones may feature triple-LED flash modules at the rear and could
feature optional dual-SIM variants.
Considering that Microsoft India has in the recent past launched the dual-SIM variants of
various Lumias in India, we can expect to only see the dual-SIM models of the upcoming
Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL in India. We will however have to wait for Microsoft's Tuesday
event for confirmation.
One of the leaked images showed the Lumia 950 featuring a circular rear camera module
that also included the flash module integrated. In another leaked image, the Lumia 950 XL
was purportedly seen featuring its triple-LED flash module on the left of the rear camera
module. The live images also suggested that both the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL would
feature a rubber-like back panel. Notably, the leaked live images also tipped that the Lumia
950 may sport front-facing flash. Both the handsets can be seen sporting PureView Zeiss
sensor in the live images.
Based on preliminary specifications leak, the Lumia 950 may feature a 5.2-inch QHD display
and is likely to come with Snapdragon 808 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM, and a
3000mAh battery. The Lumia 950 XL, on the other hand, is said to equip a 5.7-inch QHD
display, and is powered by a Snapdragon 810 chipset coupled with 3GB of RAM. Both the
handsets are said to include a 21-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel selfie sensor.
A recent report claimed Microsoft will release the new handsets running Threshold 1 version
of Windows 10 Mobile. The Threshold 2 version was rumoured to be released only in
November for desktops, tablets, and smartphones. A report hinted that the Threshold 1 build
of Windows 10 Mobile may come with build number 10240, much like the Windows 10
desktop RTM build number. To recall, Microsoft started rolling out Windows 10 Build 10240,
which was said to be the RTM (release to manufacturing) build, to Windows 10 Insiders and
hardware partners just few weeks before the final release date.
Last week, the Microsoft Store accidentally listed the Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL
unlocked versions in "Windows 10 Ready Phones" page. The listing was soon after pulled
down though not before tipping various details including some innards details. According to
the listing, the Lumia 950 would feature a 5.2-inch QHD display while the Lumia 950 XL
features 5.7-inch QHD display, both in-line with previous details. Both the smartphones were
seen packing a 20-megapixel rear camera with Carl Zeiss optics. Other features listed for
Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL smartphone included 32GB inbuilt storage with external
microSD card support up to 2TB. Notably, the Microsoft Store claimed that both the Lumia
950 and Lumia 950 XL will run Windows 10 instead of the Windows 10 Mobile.
A Russian third-party online retailer recently started taking pre-orders for the yet-to-be-
announced Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. According to online retailer's listing (which was
pulled down soon), the Lumia 950 XL would come at RUB 62,990 (approximately Rs. 62,450)
and Lumia 950 was said to be priced at RUB 56,990 (approximately Rs. 56,500). Both the
handsets were listed to start shipping in October.
A purported press render of the Lumia 550 was also leaked recently by the reliable tipster
@evleaks, aka Evan Blass. This was not the first time that the alleged Lumia 550 was leaked
in images. It looked similar to the Lumia 540, however, with a Windows logo on the back
panel replacing the Microsoft logo seen on the Lumia 540.
The alleged Lumia 550, as per the leaked details, would feature 5-inch HD display with
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating; a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC clocked at 1GHz;
1GB RAM; and 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can further expand via a microSD card (up to
128GB); a 5-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash; a 2-megapixel front-facing
camera, and a 1905mAh battery.
One of the leaked images on the Internet claimed to be of the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
showed the smartphone's battery and camera module in a unit without a back shell.
According to leaked image, the Lumia 950 XL would sport a removable 3340mAh battery.
The SIM card/ microSD card slot was placed just above the battery. It also appeared as if the
battery would have to be removed in order to insert a SIM card or a microSD card.
Some of the other attendees of the Microsoft's Tuesday event are likely to be Surface Pro 4
tablet, the successor to the Surface Pro 3.
The next generation Surface tablet is likely to feature integrated fingerprint sensor on the
Surface keyboard. The Surface Pro 4 is said to sport a "razor-thin" bezel and be smaller,
thinner and lighter. A recent report even claimed that the tablet may come with 2 display size
variant - the device is said to change its size between 13-inch (when a keyboard is attached
to it), and 12-inch when it is being used as a tablet. Another size rumoured is 14-inch screen.
The Microsoft Band is also said to receive a refresh at Tuesday's event. The purported leaked images of the next-generation Band has shown a new curved display and metallic body sides.
The Tuesday event can be expected to be Microsoft's last attempt to be back to mobile space
after the Windows-powered smartphones having failed to gain any traction from consumers
as well as developers for building apps. The company has also lately been shifting its focus
from hardware to software. We can say that the two upcoming high-end flagship Lumias hold
the fate of the company's future in mobile space.
Some previous reports had mentioned that the company was testing other Lumia handsets
including the Lumia 850 (codenamed Saana) and Lumia 650 (codenamed Saimaa) as well;
though not many details about both the handsets have surfaced on the Internet, making their
launch at the event unlikely.
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