It"s been over a year since Microsoft unveiled its last Windows 10 Mobile handset, the Lumia 650. At the time, that device was nicknamed "the last Lumia", as there were no indications that the company was planning to release any more phones in its Lumia line, which it had previously continued after the acquisition of Nokia"s devices and services business in 2014.
In many markets, its Windows phones are now sold out; indeed, earlier this week, Microsoft removed the last Lumia handsets from its Store in the UK. But a product listing on the Microsoft Mexico site for an unannounced "Lumia 651" has raised fresh questions about the company"s plans.
The listing - alongside Microsoft"s other Windows 10 Mobile handsets - shows a device that"s remarkably similar in appearance to the Lumia 650, which isn"t terribly surprising given its model number. But there is one key difference in the specs, to suggest that this is more than just a typo on a 650 listing; aside from the fact that both the 650 and 650 Dual SIM are shown separately on the same page, it also states the Lumia 651 has a 5.2-inch display, rather than the 5.0-inch screen of the 650.
However, there are no other references to the Lumia 651 anywhere else on the Microsoft Mexico site, which only deepens the mystery.
Could the 651 be some local variant of the Lumia 650, which launched there a year ago? There are precedents for that - for example, the Lumia 635 was sold in some markets as the 636 and 638 with slightly different specs to the "standard" model sold elsewhere. And in 2012, Nokia launched the Lumia 505, an entry-level handset exclusively sold on Mexico"s TelCel carrier.
But given that Microsoft has evidently been winding down its Lumia line around the world, and that there have been no hints of any plans to offer more Lumia devices - even modified versions with unique hardware variations - that seems unlikely. For now, the Lumia 651 remains a curious anomaly.
Source: Microsoft Mexico via WindowsLatest