Is the 650 the last budget oriented Windows 10 phone?

[glovenc]

I ask this only because the info I'm reading seems to be that this is the last Lumia and that the Windows phone will henceforth be associated with Surface. What does that mean for the low end W10 mobile devices from this point forward? I doubt I'll be able to afford a "Surface" phone seeing as how I cannot afford a Surface tablet.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

The info you've read is wrong. If you're looking at WMPowerUser, they've been conveying a lot of falsely interpreted information lately. They're not great right now for reliable news. The Lumia 650 is supposed to be the last Lumia of the year, but that's not that bad. We'll get more Lumia's next year.

 

[ibbyj]

I think that you may be forgetting that "Lumia" is just Microsoft's Windows Phone brand. There are other manufacturers out there that can release what they want when they want.

What I could see potentially happening is Microsoft tightening up ship and releasing maybe one to two high-end Microsoft branded Surface Phones a year. Similar to how Apple does it. But, instead of locking down their software for exclusive use - they let OEMs use the software as they please.

Microsoft was never really in the business of making their own hardware, they got that from Nokia. However, I do see them taking what they learned and streamlining it.

Just a thought.