14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft hasn’t launched any new flagship Windows phone this year, but its partners were hard at work to bring new high-end devices to the market.
The HP Elite X3 and the Alcatel IDOL 4S, both of which come with a Snapdragon 820 processor, are currently the most powerful Windows phones to date, but unfortunately, their availability is still super limited.
For example, the Alcatel IDOL 4S is available exclusively in the United States at T-Mobile, so if you’re living in Europe, for example, there’s no way to buy one.
And yet, it looks like Microsoft is working with its partners on changing this, as a recent update for the Windows Device Recovery Tools hints at some new versions of these two devices.
As MSPU notes, the latest update brings support for Telstra HP Elite X3 and the unlocked version of Alcatel IDOL 4S, which means that the first model could soon launch in Australia, while the latter could hit the shelves in international markets.
Truth be told, there’s no reason not to make these devices available worldwide, especially because there are no other high-end Windows phones running Windows 10 Mobile and demand still seems to be quite good, and not necessarily from existing Windows Phone owners.
The death of the Lumia brand
And while there are people waiting for these devices to become available in more countries, there’s also a rumor that Microsoft could actually cut down the number of Windows phones available to buyers worldwide by simply killing off the Lumia brand.
People with knowledge of the matter said Microsoft wanted to focus on just one model, and this could be the Surface Phone, so keeping the Lumia series alive makes no sense for the company.
It goes without saying that there are lots of buyers out there who’d gladly grab a high-end Windows phone if they could, so let’s just hope that making the HP Elite X3 and the Alcatel IDOL 4S available worldwide is indeed part of Microsoft’s plans.