Microsoft could quit the Lumia line in December
An anonymous Microsoft employee has allegedly revealed the company's plan to put an end to sales of Lumia phones by the end of 2016.
Lumia phones have likely reached the end of the line.
Microsoft will stop selling Lumia devices like last year's flagship 950 and 950 XL by December, according to an alleged Microsoft employee speaking on terms of anonymity to tech site WinBeta.
After purchasing the Lumia smartphone division from Nokia in 2014 for a slightly more than the hefty $7.2 billion announced price, Microsoft has struggled to make a dent in the smartphone market. In May, the company sold its operation of low-end phones for a fraction of that cost, and laid of over 1,800 employees.
That wouldn't mean Microsoft would exit the phone game entirely. Earlier rumors that pointed to Microsoft quitting the Lumia sub-brand added that it could make a high-end Surface phone instead, one that better fits into Microsoft's family of Surface tablets.
Although the idea of a Surface Phone is merely a rumor, an especially cryptic (and now deleted) tweet by Microsoft Director of Engineering Laura Janet Butler stated that the Surface Phone was "not NOT confirmed."
Screenshot of Twitter by @onleaks
While this doesn't confirm the rumor, it is unusual for a senior member of the Microsoft team to use the term "Surface Phone."
If Microsoft does have plans to release a new Windows phone, our best chance at an official reveal will be during the company's October hardware launch event.
Microsoft commented, "We have nothing to share."
