Microsoft took the wraps off the Lumia 950 along with the Lumia 950 XL and the Lumia 550 at an event on Oct. 6. AT&T has already confirmed that it will offer the Lumia 950, but the handset will not be exclusive to the carrier.
In the past, many Windows Phone-powered smartphones such as the Lumia 1020 and Lumia 920 were exclusive only to AT&T in the United States. AT&T customers who want to use some AT&T-exclusive Windows Phones would have no problems. However, non-AT&T customers were left with limited choices: switch carriers or forget about the device.
Such a partnership may hinder sales of the device.
AT&T is the first carrier and the only one to confirm that it will offer the new Lumia 950; however, the carrier did not confirm if it will carry the Lumia 950 XL as well. Other carriers such as Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile are yet to confirm if they will carry any of the new Lumia smartphones.
A CNet report clearly notes that AT&T's confirmation on offering the Lumia 950 does not mean that the new Windows phone will be available only via AT&T.
"Microsoft said that its deal with AT&T is not exclusive to the carrier, and that the software titan was having discussions with other carriers both in the US and abroad about carrying both smartphones," reported CNet.
John Legere, the president and CEO of T-Mobile, has also tweeted that the carrier may offer the device if Microsoft "wakes up." Legere also mentioned in a separate tweet that T-Mobile does not want any exclusive rights to anything.
The Lumia 950 sports a 5.2-inch AMOLED display with 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution and 565 ppi. The Lumia 950 is equipped with a 20MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. A 1.8GHz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor powers the Lumia handset.
The latest Lumia 950 comes with 32GB of on-board storage with the option to expand the memory capacity to up to 200GB with a microSD card. The 3,000mAh battery of the Lumia 950 can offer up to 18 hours of talk time over 3G and standby time of 12 days.
The Lumia 950 smartphone will be one of the first smartphones to run on the new Windows 10 Mobile operating system, which will be one of the key selling points of the device.
The Lumia 950 will make its way to the shelves in November this year and smartphone enthusiasts will hope that along with AT&T, the mobile phone is also available via other major carriers such as Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile in the United States.
