The rumoured new Samsung Ativ SE Windows Phone device is expected to launch in April, but supposedly won’t run Windows Phone 8.1.
Although Microsoft is strongly expected to launch the Windows Phone 8.1 update at the Build Developers’ Conference this week, it looks like Samsung’s new Ativ smartphone won’t be up to date.
Originally leaked images of the Ativ SE suggested that the smartphone would come with Windows Phone 8.1 out of the box, but it seems you’ll need to wait for the update to be pushed out by your chosen carrier.
According to specs obtained by The Verge from “sources familiar with the plans”, the Samsung Ativ SE will be very similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4, coming with a 5-inch 1080p full HD display.
Just like the Galaxy S4, it has a 13-megapixel rear camera and even features the brushed metal effect, despite not being made from metal.
The Ativ SE supposedly has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. You’ll also get microSD card support.
It’s not clear whether the Ativ SE will come to the UK, as at the moment there’s murmurings of a Verizon exclusive for the American markets.
It will supposedly be released on April 23 alongside the Windows Phone 8.1 release date and a bundle of Nokia Lumia devices.
The release date information was acquired earlier this week from “various sources”, which also suggested that we’ll see the Nokia Lumia 930, Lumia 830 and Lumia 630 become available at the same time.
These would be the direct follow-on devices to the Nokia Lumia 920, Lumia 820 and Lumia 620, which are tipped to be unveiled at Nokia’s press conference during the Microsoft Build Developers’ Conference this week.
Windows Phone 8.1 will be a pretty major update for the Microsoft mobile OS, potentially offering the Action Centre notifications hub and a personal voice assistant called Cortana.
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