[rld082982]

From knowyourmobile.com:

"Various reports suggest we will have a long wait to see the next Microsoft flagship Windows Phone

Microsoft’s Lumia line began at IFA 2014 with the introduction of the entry-level Lumia 535. Since then everything has gone a little quiet and we had expected to possibly hear about a new flagship Microsoft Lumia device in the next few months. But new reports suggest that won’t be the case... and we may have a long wait on our hands.

According to news from Geek On Gadgets, we’ll have to wait until September 2015 to see a new flagship Lumia device. A few days back we also heard the same news from a different source.

The latest rumour suggests Microsoft is planning to attend MWC in early March 2015 but will only be there to show off some new entry-level devices and no flagship handsets. The source reveals there will be a new device to replace the Lumia 625, one called the Lumia 435 and a brand new untitled device. "

[N_LaRUE]

We don't know anything for certain. We know of the 435 already.

Saying that, it wouldn't surprise me with W10 being released around May, showing off a phone and having it ready for release a few months later. Seems typical Microsoft.

[dameon_03]

I saw this earlier. I hope it isn't true and that they will at least show a flagship device. All we can do is wait and see as we have been doing already.

[rld082982]

435? C'mon.. that's a phone that's targeting third world countries. Same with the 530, and the 635, etc etc. Way WAY too many budget phones.

[Ltauhmise]

"Emerging markets" is where there's profit. People buy the phone's outright. It's really only here in the U.S. where phone subsidies allow people to get their hands on $600 iphones, androids and lumias. OEMS are not stupid--- for every 1 "flagship" buyer there is in Europe or the US, there might be 10 "emerging market" buyers looking to enter the smartphone arena. That's why you see so many $100-200 USD phones as opposed to $499-599 USD phones.

[N_LaRUE]

"Emerging markets" is where there's profit. People buy the phone's outright. It's really only here in the U.S. where phone subsidies allow people to get their hands on $600 iphones, androids and lumias. OEMS are not stupid--- for every 1 "flagship" buyer there is in Europe or the US, there might be 10 "emerging market" buyers looking to enter the smartphone arena. That's why you see so many $100-200 USD phones as opposed to $499-599 USD phones.

You don't understand how contracts work do you? OEMs still make their money on contracts. Don't go thinking they're only get a minimal price.

I'm pretty sure OEMs make enough money with these contracts otherwise they wouldn't do it.

As for your thoughts on making more money in emerging markets, that's a debate to have but without knowing the full details it's hard to quantify properly.

[fatclue_98]

This comment is US based.

Nokia never had a strong foothold in the States for various reasons which are not part of this discussion. The idea of constantly wanting flagships under the Lumia brand is Ill-advised, in my opinion. BlackBerry is a brand with a lot more prestige here and yet Chen is keeping Passport numbers purposely low. Flagship Nokias simply have not sold well in the US and even with Microsoft branding this trend is not likely to continue......unless.

Unless Microsoft hits a Giancarlo Stanton homerun with Windows 10, it's not in their best interest to pop out some more WP8.1 high-end phones that will (A) not be pushed by carriers, and (B) not make a dent against Android or iOS in terms of function or market segment. We may as well wait for W10 and see what the One Windows philosophy really is.

[kevin2577]

Also, with the HTC M8 and rumors that HTC's M9 might simultaneously launch with Windows and Android variants, we may get an HTC flagship this spring.

[Nogitsune Micah]

Idc about the m9, its irrelevant. I'm sad though to have to wait till nearly this time next year for my Lumia 1520 successor. The whole point of att next was because I was hoping to be able to upgrade to something new at the time.

[dgr_874]

This comment is US based.

Nokia never had a strong foothold in the States for various reasons which are not part of this discussion. The idea of constantly wanting flagships under the Lumia brand is Ill-advised, in my opinion. BlackBerry is a brand with a lot more prestige here and yet Chen is keeping Passport numbers purposely low. Flagship Nokias simply have not sold well in the US and even with Microsoft branding this trend is not likely to continue......unless.

Unless Microsoft hits a Giancarlo Stanton homerun with Windows 10, it's not in their best interest to pop out some more WP8.1 high-end phones that will (A) not be pushed by carriers, and (B) not make a dent against Android or iOS in terms of function or market segment. We may as well wait for W10 and see what the One Windows philosophy really is.

But in light of all the negativity that Windows Phones are getting lately (i.e. Ed Bott), wouldn't it do Microsoft wonders to release something good to generate some positive buzz for a change? Maybe it would be enough to keep people around until Windows 10 drops and some really good (hopefully) windows 10 phones come out? Its not like Microsoft cant throw away a few million on one top of the line handset for a few months right?

[AMRooke]

I assume that many of the early adopters of WP (like myself, since WP7 in 2010) have been some of the strongest proponents of WP, and we need a flagship to replace our aging L920s and L1020s. The L920s that my family and I use are in need of replacement, and waiting 2 years between flagship releases is simply unacceptable, especially when they need to get something out in the marketplace to give non-WP users a reason to try it. They released 8.1 without a corresponding flagship, which damaged their hoped sales boost. If they do the same with Windows 10, that will kill the platform.

If MS wonders why the sales of high end devices has been so low, perhaps it is because THERE AREN'T ANY AVAILABLE TO BUY!!! I was considering switching carriers to buy an Icon/930 when it came out, but upon learning that they overlooked the critical Glance capability, that killed it for me, so I went to waiting for the McLaren. I understand and agree with the decision to pull the 3D Gestures technology if it wasn't ready, but the McLaren would've still been a great phone without it. If anybody on this site has any connections with MS, please, please, please get them to wake up and support the people who have been their best sales force for years. Sales have certainly not been coming from the US carriers, who have actively fought sales of the WP platform almost since the beginning (try walking into any carrier and buy a WP, and see if they recommend a different OS). The only reason to allow the horrific carrier exclusive hardware agreements would be in exchange for pushing sales of the platform; which is certainly not happening, so please drop the exclusives immediately.

[fatclue_98]

But in light of all the negativity that Windows Phones are getting lately (i.e. Ed Bott), wouldn't it do Microsoft wonders to release something good to generate some positive buzz for a change? Maybe it would be enough to keep people around until Windows 10 drops and some really good (hopefully) windows 10 phones come out? Its not like Microsoft cant throw away a few million on one top of the line handset for a few months right?

It takes time and money to ramp up an assembly line. There are vendors that need to make sure there is an ample supply of components. Releasing a mass-produced product is not as easy as it may sound. Yes, Microsoft has the money but that is only a small part of the equation. This isn't the glory days of 2006 when suppliers had a ton of inventory on-hand and trucks were rolling day and night to deliver orders. Manufacturing has taken a brutal hit in the past few years and it takes a lot of time to get orders filled. Apple found that out with the Sapphire glass they wanted to use on the 6/6+.

[dkediger]

I would think the Verizon treatment of the Cyan update factors into this as well. Why release a flagship prior to 10 that the (US at least) carriers will stiff for the better part of a year before it gets the software it was designed for?

I also don't know how I really feel about this. Discouraged is the word that comes to mind, but then late summer/early fall is when my contract comes up and I'll upgrade. My Icon actually runs pretty well on DP 8.1.1 other than the wake delay. What I really want out of Cyan/Denim are the camera improvements, but overall, I'm really happy with what I have.

[exsanguine]

Just as long as one of them is a 1020 replacement I will be happy.

[Indistinguishable]

Idc about the m9, its irrelevant. I'm sad though to have to wait till nearly this time next year for my Lumia 1520 successor. The whole point of att next was because I was hoping to be able to upgrade to something new at the time.

Regardless of how you feel about the HTC One M8, or even HTC as a company, they're definitely not irrelevant. Microsoft is banking on HTC to fill in their flagship void. Whether or not you see it as a worthy device is irrelevant to Microsoft. They're playing a game of chess, and as sad as it may be, the HTC One M8 is their current King and the M9 may be the successor to the throne in the first half of 2015.

[TechmeIN64]

I bought a 635 in September because I wanted to test out the OS before I bought whatever flagship MS had on AT&T in time for the holidays. The 635 is a great device for the price, but I don't particularly want to use it for a year. I really hope the they come out with new devices in April as was previously reported, even if they don't ship with W10. I really don't want to go back to iOS/Android :(
This is dismal news.

[fatclue_98]

I bought a 635 in September because I wanted to test out the OS before I bought whatever flagship MS had on AT&T in time for the holidays. The 635 is a great device for the price, but I don't particularly want to use it for a year. I really hope the they come out with new devices in April as was previously reported, even if they don't ship with W10. I really don't want to go back to iOS/Android :(
This is dismal news.

Would you rather buy a device that may, or may not, be updated by your carrier (cough, cough Verizon) just to have a flagship now? AT&T is generally good with updates on WP8/8.1 but they were abysmal on WP7. Just because W10 will be available on all current WP8.1 devices doesn't mean they will all have the same functionality. There are rumours that new W10 devices may have an Intel SoC with x86 architecture. That would be a game-changer and that would be worth waiting for.

[agentmikeyd99]

435? C'mon.. that's a phone that's targeting third world countries. Same with the 530, and the 635, etc etc. Way WAY too many budget phones.

Yes so true. 3% will rapidly be 1% by Sep 2015

[RaRa85]

When and if they finally decide to release another flagship it will probably be another ATT or Verizon exclusive and that is the main reason why I left WP after four years with the platform. And after being on Android since October, I see the huge difference between functions of the OSs and the apps. The same available apps on both platforms are not even close in terms of app function and sometimes design(I do love the metro design language). But apps like ESPN Sportscenter and Evernote are totally different between the two and unless, like me, you've used Android or iOS extensively, you really don't know how bad the apps really are. People can talk about how budget phones drive the market until the cows come home but the reality is that most people don't get hyped about 5mp cameras, 512-1gb of RAM, and 8gb of internal storage and WVGA screen resolutions. Windows Phone desperately needs some excitement and momentum. Numerous competitor phones are everywhere on all the major carriers while WP is stuck with exclusives and budget phones that no one really cares about. And the apps are way behind. A lot needs to change in 2015. If the Xperia Z3 and the 1020 had the same sim card setup, I would still be enjoying that awesome picture quality. So while I'm really loving Android, I would like to come back to a Windows Phone platform that has much better apps and more importantly, has at least one flagship (kudos to HTC) that can be purchased regardless of carrier. With being already behind and the fact that that the next Samsung, LG, Sony, and Apple flagship will already be available before consumers even get introduced to a new flagship after months of boring phone releases, I don't see how waiting is gonna help Microsoft. It's like the longer they wait, the bigger the gap between market share and mindshare becomes. At least bring the 930 to ATT and T-mobile in the meantime if they will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 anyway.

Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android

[Camden Krupala]

They should (and they better (if they know what is good for them)) have a flagship at MWC2015. We know they will have a presence there so there will be some announcement. 430, sounds fair. But a successor to the 625? We have a 630, 635, and 638. Way too early for a 640(?). Regardless, I think we will see a flagship, as MWC is too big of a stage to only release a dirt cheap bottom of the line phone.

[Ruined]

Maybe they are purposely not releasing a flagship to give HTC some business.

[Marquis de Faux]

This comment is US based.

Nokia never had a strong foothold in the States for various reasons which are not part of this discussion. The idea of constantly wanting flagships under the Lumia brand is Ill-advised, in my opinion. BlackBerry is a brand with a lot more prestige here and yet Chen is keeping Passport numbers purposely low. Flagship Nokias simply have not sold well in the US and even with Microsoft branding this trend is not likely to continue......unless.

Unless Microsoft hits a Giancarlo Stanton homerun with Windows 10, it's not in their best interest to pop out some more WP8.1 high-end phones that will (A) not be pushed by carriers, and (B) not make a dent against Android or iOS in terms of function or market segment. We may as well wait for W10 and see what the One Windows philosophy really is.

I agree with all this, but what about the current Windows Phone customers that have no device to upgrade to? What about the people who were brought to Windows Phone with budget devices and are now looking for a high end upgrade? There needs to be at least one phone for these people or they will switch to Android.

[nallWhite]

MS seems to have a all in strategy for everything. Also, the current CEO wasn't a fan of them buying Nokia's handset unit. He wants them to be a software company before anything else. So, I don't see any push from the top to get anything out soon.

[doob9911]

Who knows. Samsung may launch new Ativ flagship. Ativ S2

[fdalbor]

This is a killer of a situation for Microsoft. They are pushing for the low end to build the mid-high in the future. I can understand that and commend them for the effort. The problem becomes when you don't have anything for your previous customers to upgrade to and you lose them. So what have you gained. Most of the people who buy Apple phones are people who bought them before. They are keeping their customers content; Microsoft is not. Most people don't care if their next phone is the best on the planet. But they do want it to be better than the one they had before. That is where Apple has been successfull. Of course they have the market share to prove that strategy works. While they only have 13% or so of the market; they hang onto that 13% and sell their old customers the next little bit better phone. If Microsoft had taken the 925, gave it a quad core 800, added a SD card and made a few improvements and sold it for about the same as the original 925 I believe they would have had a good replacement for the people who are now dropping the mark. But what do I know.