Microsoft's Lumia 640 smartphone is displayed at the Microsoft booth during the 2015 Computex exhibition at the TWTC Nangang exhibition hall in Taipei, Taiwan, June 2, 2015.
Microsoft's Lumia 640 smartphone is displayed at the Microsoft booth during the 2015 Computex exhibition at the TWTC Nangang exhibition hall in Taipei, Taiwan, June 2, 2015. Reuters/Pichi Chuang

Updated [Jan. 25]: Microsoft seems to have delayed the launch by mid-February. To know more, read Microsoft Lumia 650 launch delayed until mid-Feb.

The Lumia 650 release date is earlier than expected, with Microsoft set to launch its mid-range Lumia 650 powered by Windows 10 Mobile on Feb. 1. Previous speculations had predicted the handset would see the light of day at the Mobile World Congress 2016, which kicks off on Feb. 22 in Barcelona.

According to Windows Central, Microsoft is yet to announce the pricing and availability of the device. The report also mentioned that the tech giant has cancelled the speculated launch of the Lumia 750 and 850. Thus, Lumia 650 could be the only Lumia device that the company unveils in 2016 as Microsoft is focusing on launching another flagship which will be a part of the Surface line.

Ahead of its launch, the Lumia 650 was last week approved by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). The filing reveals that the handset would bear model number RM-1152. Multiple reports indicate that this could be the last 5-inch Lumia that Microsoft will launch. Lumia 650 could be even be the last Lumia ever, reports Techno Buffalo.

Running on Windows 10 Mobile, the Lumia 650 is expected to feature 5-inch display with 720 x 1,280 pixels resolution. Under the hood, the device is speculated to be powered by one of the Qualcomm’s low-end CPUs, probably the Snapdragon 210 or 212 processor. A 2,000 mAh battery unit will be there to keep the lights on.

The mid-range 4G LTE supported handset is rumoured to house 1GB of RAM along with 8GB of native memory which can be expand via microSD card slot. An 8-megapixel rear facing camera with LED flash will be accompanied by a 5-megapixel front camera for selfies.

Rumours are rife that Panos Panay, vice president for Surface Computing at Microsoft Corp and his team are reportedly all geared up to unveil a Surface Phone, which is currently internally tagged as ‘Panos Phone’ in the second half of 2016.

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