14 DAY TRIAL // Lumia McLaren is one of the most exciting Microsoft devices that never came to be, even though on paper everything seemed to be quite fabulous.
And although the company shut down the project before it even got to see daylight, the Lumia McLaren, also known as Lumia 1030, made the rounds several times, with photos and leaks providing us with a closer look at the device that could have been.
Now a photo published by leakster Evan Blass shows the Lumia 1030 once again, and although there’s nothing too exciting to see here, it’s also worth a look at given the fact that it’s a Windows phone that could have helped the platform grow bigger - we all know that things aren’t going very well for Microsoft’s mobile operating system and devices like this could have contributed to better adoption figures.
Leaving the innovative features aside, such as the exploding live tiles, the Lumia McLaren looks quite appealing, retaining the familiar Lumia look, but boasting a camera bump that eats up a big part of the back. This clearly highlights the phone’s powerful camera, as Microsoft spent a substantial amount of time improving the device in this regard.
The spec sheet
As far as the specs are concerned, the Lumia 1030 was developed with a 5.5-inch full HD display, a Qualcomm 800 processor which at that point was the absolute best on the market, 2 GB RAM, and 32GB storage.
The main camera was a 20-megapixel unit, while on the front Microsoft picked a 2-megapixel version for selfies and video calls. Features such as 3D touch, which used sensors in the display to let users perform tasks before actually touching the display, were among the highlights.
Unfortunately, the McLaren was a stunning device only on paper, as the device never came to be, so all we got for now is this press render and the above information. Hopefully, Microsoft will reconsider decisions to kill off essential products before they launch because it did the same thing several times for Windows Phone and look where the platform is right now.