Microsoft officially took the wraps off the Lumia 950 on Oct. 6 this year but the company did not announce the exact release date for the smartphone. However, reports suggest that the Lumia handset will be available via AT&T starting Nov. 20, which is just a week before Black Friday.
Many Windows smartphone enthusiasts will be waiting for the Lumia 950 as it will be one of the first mobile phones to come running on Windows 10 Mobile.
A Windows Central report suggests that in-store signage of the Lumia 950 at AT&T stores have started to appear, which hints at the sooner rather than later arrival of the phone. A release date of Nov. 20 seems ideal as Nov. 13 is too early and Nov. 27 (Black Friday) is too late.
The Verge also reports that its sources familiar with Microsoft's plans claim that Lumia 950 will be available beginning Nov. 20.
A Lumia 950 webpage does appear on AT&T's official website but it does not state a release date of the mobile phone. AT&T has not announced the start date for preordering the phone or price. However, AT&T is expected to start taking preorders for the phone staring Nov. 12. Off-contract Lumia 950 is estimated to bear a price tag of $550 while customers may also have the option to purchase the device on a contract by paying $99 upfront.
Market observers believe that the delay in the launch is probably due to the Windows Hello feature on the phone. The new feature will enable unlocking the Lumia 950 by scanning the eyes of the authorized user with the help of the front-facing camera.
The Lumia 950 sports a 5.2-inch AMOLED display with 2,560 x 1,440 pixels resolution and 565 ppi. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor clocked at 1.8GHz and 3 GB of RAM powers the Lumia device.
The latest Lumia smartphone will have 32 GB of on-board storage and users can expand the storage to 200 GB with a microSD card. The handset is equipped with a 20-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
A 3,000mAh battery fuels the Lumia 950 which offers up to 18 hours of talk-time on 3G and up to 12 days of stand-by time.
Nov. 12 is just a few days away and customers will have to wait and see if AT&T starts preorders of the phone on the day or reveals more information regarding its release date.
