Microsoft’s Proposed Specs for Value & Premium Windows 10 Mobile to OEMs
When Satya Nadella talked about Windows 10 Mobile, he specially said that Microsoft wants to concentrate on two segments instead of making a lot of Lumia which could also be confusing at times. Adding value to that statement, Microsoft Hardware Dev Centre is proposing two kind of phones to the OEM. A Value Phone and a Premium phone.
Value Phone: These low cost Windows 10 Mobile should support entry level SoC (processor etc), should have a 1GB RAM / 4 or 8 GB Internal memory, 3.5 to 5 inch display with WVGA, FVGA or qHD screen, 1400 mAh battery, 5 MP Rear camera and 3 MP Front Facing camera. All these phones should support LTE and Cortana.
Premium Phone: This category of phone will be little pricey. Microsoft wants to have Cortana, Face Unlock and Continuum for Phones to be working on them. When it comes to hardware, these phones will support premium SoC, should have 2-4 GB RAM with 32-64 GB internal storage with SD Card support. The display could be between 4.5 to 5.5 inch with FHD-WQHD screen. A minimum of 2500 mAh battery is also expected. It is also expected the phones to support WIFI B/G/N/AC mode and should include NFC.
There is one more category. Phablet. The proposed specs is between Value Phone and Premium Phone, but comes with at least 720P display and 3000 mAh Battery. I expect we should see more tablets or the combination like HP Stream 8 in near future.Check out the details here
The most interesting part is Face Unlock here, and the requirement points that Microsoft will be using IR Camera or a Scanner to get it done instead of relying on camera. This is something very similar to what Kinect does on Xbox One. We already have rumours of devices which will have IR Camera in the front, and if that comes out to be true, we should see Face Unlock Feature. The document says:
Face authentication in Windows 10 is an enterprise grade identity verification mechanism that plugs into the Windows Biometric Framework (WBF) as a core Windows component. Face Authentication utilizes a camera specially configured for near-infrared (IR) imaging to authenticate and unlock Windows devices and to unlock your Microsoft Passport. The system is designed assuming that images of you can be easily obtained. By building on Microsoft Passport and advanced camera technology, we utilize a variety of factors to ensure that your data stays secure.
There is also a mention of Fingerprint Scanner, but I guess thats not happening anytime soon.
