Microsoft could be plotting a Lumia 650 for February

As rumours ramp up about prospective new Lumia 750 and possibly 850 launches during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, it seems that Microsoft will indeed launch a new phone in February.

If you’ve recently purchased a new Lumia 950 or Lumia 950 XL or if you purchase one soon, claim your one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal.

Less than two weeks ago, we confirmed the specifications and design of Microsoft’s Lumia 650.

Last Lumia or not, the 650 is already getting mixed descriptions: “To its credit, the Lumia 650 was described it as having a very nice fit and finish, appearing even more luxurious in hand than the Lumia 950 variants”.

While the arrival of the new Microsoft smartphone is far from being a simple rumor, it is however not a big event per se. They are saying that they expect a Lumia 650 model to be presented silently and through the organization’s official blog on Feb 1. The company plans on starting a new flagship under the Surface line that served as an innovator in the field of tablets and laptops. It should also have front and back cameras of 8 and 5 megapixels respectively.

If previous reports hold true, the Lumia 650 will feature a 5-inch display with 720p resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 SoC with four cores of Cortex-A7 CPU clocked at 1.3 GHz a piece, Adreno 304 GPU and 1GB of RAM. The company earlier this week made available the latest version of the mobile OS to the Microsoft Lumia 640, and it is now seeding the update to the less expensive Lumia 535.

“We need some sort of spiritual equivalent on the phone side that doesn’t just feel like it’s a phone for people who love Windows”, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela said last December during an interview with Windows Weekly (via Softpedia). When you open the app, it checks your phone and lets you know if it’s eligible to upgrade, if an update is required before you can upgrade, or if your phone can’t be upgraded. Generally speaking, Microsoft has walked away from a focus on hardware to a focus on software experiences, like Windows 10 Mobile and Continuum.