Samsung and Verizon are expected to launch the Samsung ATIV SE sometime this month but the smartphone will ship with Windows Phone 8 and not the upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 OS.
Windows Phone has never been much of a priority for Samsung which finds the majority of smartphone sales coming from its very popular Android-based handsets. That doesn't mean Samsung has given up on making new Windows Phone smartphones; the company plans to release a new Samsung ATIV SE with Verizon later this month, and the smartphone's full specifications have been leaked.
The Verge is reporting the Verizon Samsung ATIV SE will go on sale later this month; some rumors claim the device will be released on April 18 and will be priced at $99 when signing a new two-year contract.
The ATIV SE is very similar to Samsung's Galaxy S4 in terms of design and some of its specs. The smartphone will use the same five-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution display and 13-megapixel rear camera found on last year's flagship Galaxy S4. The smartphone will apparently use a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM to keep things flowing smoothly. It will also include 16GB of internal storage and a microSD expansion slot that will support up to 64GB microSD cards.
The Verizon Samsung ATIV SE has also taken most of its design inspiration from the Galaxy S4 as well, complete with physical Home, Back, and Search buttons. The smartphone also uses a similar brushed metal look on its back, just like the Galaxy S4. The ATIV SE will reportedly ship with Windows Phone 8 out of the box and not Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 8.1, which is expected to be released and ship on smartphones from Nokia this month.
The Verizon Samsung ATIV SE will reportedly receive an update to Windows Phone 8.1 once Samsung has put the device and the new OS through testing. The lack of Windows Phone 8.1 could be a potential deal breaker for customers looking to purchase a Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone with its many notable new features, like its Cortana virtual assistant, a new centralized notification center feature, and redesigned Start screen and Live Tiles.
