14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has come a long way on the smartphone OS market, and it seems that it has finally managed to find a winning recipe with Windows Phone 8.1, so it might be high time for the company to finally focus on the hardware that its mobile platform is running on.
Over the past few years, Windows Phone has proved a great option for the entry-level and mid-range market, but Android and iOS are still dominating the high-end segment, and this is the area that Microsoft needs to focus on next.
Top-level Windows Phone smartphones already exist, including devices such as the Nokia Lumia 1520 or Lumia 928, but the latest series of Android-based flagship handsets shows that they no longer suffice if Microsoft wants to get a share of the high-end market as well.
Soon, the Windows Phone 8.1-based Lumia 930 will arrive on shelves with a focus on high end, but that smartphone falls behind devices such as Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8), or LG G3, and it's clear that Microsoft indeed needs to do something about it.
As a refresher, the phone was made official in early April with a 5-inch full HD screen, a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, and 2GB of RAM. It also sports a 20-megapixel rear camera, 32GB of memory, no microSD memory card slot, and a 2420mAh battery.
By all means, that`s more than enough for a handset running under Windows Phone 8.1, but it quite often happens than buyers are more interested in comparing the specs of different devices than in learning whether the OS actually needs bumped-up hardware in order to deliver the experience they are looking for.
And with Android currently loaded on the most powerful smartphones out there, featuring the newer Snapdragon 801 processors, more RAM and larger screens that also deliver a higher resolution, it's clear that Microsoft must keep up the pace in order to ensure that Windows Phone devices are relevant in the high-end segment.
As it turns out, the company might indeed be getting ready to make a move in this area, as reports on an unannounced new Lumia handset featuring very high-end hardware capabilities hit the web.
I'm referring here to the recently rumored codenamed Nokia McLaren, which is supposedly set to fill the high-end spot in the Windows Phone lineup, courtesy of specs in line with what the best Android devices out there have to offer.
Rumor has it that this phone will sport a 5.2-inch touchscreen display capable of delivering a Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution, paired with a Snapdragon 805 processor and the Adreno 420 graphics, and that it will run under the Windows Phone 8.1 GDR 2 platform release.
Moreover, the handset is said to come to the market with 3D-touch capabilities, which are actually hoover-based interactions, and which have been rumored before to become available in a new Nokia handset.
While no official confirmation on this handset has been provided as of now, chances are that it will become reality, given that the capabilities said to have been included in it have already been announced or are expected to be unveiled as part of other smartphones.
As mentioned above, Windows Phone might not need a very high-end smartphone, as it can deliver a great experience even on lower spec'd devices, but the ecosystem does need one, so as to be able to compete efficiently at all price points. It needs it fast, and here's why.
At the end of May, LG unveiled to the world its latest flagship Android-based handset in the form of LG G3, which is already up for grabs with a 5.5-inch Quad HD screen, a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, a 13-megapixel camera capable of 4K video recording, and 3GB of RAM paired with 32GB of memory (or 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage).
The phone became the best-selling LG flagship in South Korea within the first week of availability and might perform as well on other markets out there too, specifically courtesy of the top hardware it comes to shelves with.
Furthermore, handset vendors such as HTC, Samsung, Sony and others are also expected to release devices with similar hardware inside before the end of the year, so as to monetize users' hunger for more powerful smartphones, a need that seems to be continuously growing.
This also means that current high-end devices will no longer sport the best hardware there is, and that they could start being seen rather as top mid-level smartphones than as high-end handsets.
The aforementioned Lumia 1520, Lumia 928, and Lumia 930 would fall into this category, and Microsoft will see its mobile operating system no longer available in one of the most important segments of the smartphone market.
And then there's also the matter of being among the first to adopt a new, highly appealing technology, something that Windows Phone hasn't been that successful in doing so far, always lagging a bit behind Android.
Nokia McLaren is currently expected to arrive only sometime in November, which could make it a bit late to the party. LG is already there, while HTC, Samsung and Sony might arrive before the summer is over.
Should a Windows Phone handset packing a 5.2-inch 2K screen arrive a bit earlier, things would certainly look better for the Redmond-based company and for the entire Windows Phone ecosystem, as it would prove that it is finally ready to be competitive at all levels of the market.
Nokia Lumia 520 has helped the platform gain a lot of users in the entry-level area, Lumia 720, Lumia 1320 and others can appeal to the mid-range segment, but a true high-end Windows Phone device has yet to arrive.
Moreover, it also needs to be impressive enough to take on top Android devices without breaking a sweat, and to determine this way more high-end handset vendors to consider launching phones running under this platform.
HTC appears to be ready to return to the game, but LG, Samsung, and Sony might still need some persuasion. The release of a very high-end Windows Phone smartphones could be just the thing to do to show them that the OS can fare well on great hardware.
I've been considering buying a Windows Phone 8.1 device ever since the first rumors on its arrival emerged last year, and I'm more convinced than ever that the OS is a viable choice, although I've been on Android for the past three years or so.
However, I've been waiting for the right device to make the switch, and Lumia 930 did not convince me. Nokia McLaren, or whatever it will be called when brought to shelves, appears to be the right phone to be looking for right now, that's for sure.
All I can hope for right now is that it will arrive earlier than November, so that there won't be too many Android devices out there with similar specs, and I do believe that many others are thinking the same. Maybe Microsoft will see things the same way too.