If you've been following Microsoft news over the past few months, you're probably wondering about the company's plans for the high end segment. A high-end Microsoft phone may debut with Windows 10. Microsoft is waiting for the official Windows 10 announcement before it unveils high-end Windows-based phones.
The information comes from Ravi Kunwar, Director – North, Nokia India Sales, who sat down for a chat with Digit on the sidelines of the company's Lumia 430 launch, here in Delhi. Kunwar said that while Microsoft has been focusing on the budget segment, the company is not done with the premium segment yet and will unveil devices in that segment later this year, when Windows 10 is launched.
This will also make a lot of sense, since all the features of Windows 10, particularly the Continuum aspect, will require quite a bit of computing power. Hence, the high-end Lumia 940, which has been rumoured, may debut later this year, alongside Windows 10. It is also important to note that Continuum on Windows 10 is similar to Apple's 'Continuity' feature and similar efforts by Google.
Further, another thing Microsoft has been shying away from is 4G connectivity. Except the Lumia 638, the company hasn't pushed the 4G element on any of its new devices, while competitors like Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola and others have been making 4G connectivity an important part of their devices.
Kunwar confirmed that at the back end Microsoft is 4G ready. This means that most of the company's current phones are capable of 4G connectivity and Microsoft can add the functionality through a software update in the future. Kunwar said that 3G is currently the widespread mode of mobile Internet in India, which is why Microsoft is going for that aspect.
Microsoft has unveiled devices like the Lumia 530, Lumia 540, Lumia 532, 435, 430, 640 and 640XL in the recent past, which have all been marketed minus the 4G element. It seems that all or most of these devices are actually 4G capable though and Microsoft will enable the feature as soon as it sees India moving towards widespread 4G coverage.