The Lumia 650 may be Microsoft’s only Lumia release of 2016

Rumours say Microsoft will only reveal one more Lumia phone in 2016, and that it’ll be the Lumia 650, not the Lumia 750 or Lumia 850 we’ve been expecting. The news comes from a leak published by Windows Central, where anonymous sources are quoted, saying they expect the Lumia 650 to be shown off — quietly, through the company’s blog — on February 1. If accurate, this may mean Microsoft won’t be taking any new, unseen hardware to Mobile World Congress later in February.

The Lumia 650’s name gives its mid-range specs away, and according to the leak report, the phone will have a 5-inch, 720p screen displaying Windows 10, all powered by a Snapdragon 210 or 212 processor, with 1GB of RAM. Making a big deal out of such as device at MWC doesn’t sound likely.

The other specs mentioned are also standard fare for mid-range phones, such as an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, 8GB of internal storage, and a MicroSD card slot. For reference, that spec is almost identical to the Lumia 640, which can be found on the T-Mobile and Cricket networks following its announcement in April 2015.

Where does this leave the Lumia 750 and Lumia 850, if the 650 is to be Microsoft’s final Lumia phone of the year? According to Windows Central, the two phones have been cancelled, and won’t be released at all. That hasn’t stopped rumors about one or other of them continuing, and we’re still hearing talk of Microsoft announcing something at, or around, MWC.

It could go either way. Microsoft’s shown it’s not all that bothered about the Lumia range, and is apparently concentrating efforts on making a Surface phone. Churning out endless mid-range Lumias probably isn’t high on its to-do list, if this turns out to be true. However, all this is based on rumor, and Microsoft’s actual plans for the Lumia 650, 750, and 850 are still unknown.

Mobile World Congress begins on February 22, and we’ll bring you all the news from the show over its duration.