In a new 'festive' development, Microsoft's flagship Lumia 950 XL has received a massive $200 price-cut and is now available for $299 at the Microsoft eStore in the US. This Lumia 950 XL variant is the unlocked edition and is independent of wireless carriers.
Now, USP of the latest development, apart from the massive $200 discount on the price of the Lumia 950 XL, is the fact that the newest updates lend substance to earlier reports that had hinted that Microsoft would completely phase-out the Lumia smartphone range to make way for the next-gen Surface Phone. The latter is expected, by loyalists, to drive record sales for the Redmond-based technology giant.
Surface Phone is also expected to be a high-end handset running Windows 10 Mobile straight out of the box.
Remember that, before the latest $200 price-cut, the Lumia 950 XL was available for purchase for $499. Also, the comparatively less-advanced Lumia 950 seems to be out of stock at the Microsoft eStore; there are rumours that the out of stock smartphones would not be replenished. Rumour mills are also rife about the fact that after the Lumia 950 XL goes out of stock, new stocks would not arrive thus indicating the end of Lumia. However, these are mere speculations that deserve to be taken with a pinch of salt at this point in time.
Microsoft loyalists are also averse to such a potential development (indicated above) considering the fact that Windows Phones have remained unaffected by major security issues; despite the presence of comparatively lesser apps within the Windows app repository.
As far as the Surface Phone itself is concerned, there are reports that this device would feature Lumia functionality such as double tap to wake along with being mid-range. Microsoft is yet to come out with official updates concerning its purported Surface Phone smartphone.
