Microsoft really wants to be a strong competitor for tech gifts this holiday season, and they are prepared to go up against big Apple. Apple may have the iPad Pro, but Microsoft has the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.  In the same manner, Microsoft is planning on having three new phones to come up against the new iPhone 6S, and this is what is known of the Microsoft Lumia 950, 950 XL, and 550 Release Date, Specs, Price, and Carrier. 

Gotta Be Mobile had recently reported that the Lumia 950 will be launching very soon.  In fact, Microsoft and wireless carrier AT&T Wireless have a set release date of November 20^th for shoppers in the United States. This has been confirmed by multiple sources. 

Considering that the Lumia 950 was announced a while ago, there is a lot of wondering why there was a delay.  Part of it is allegedly because the Microsoft's software team needing to finish up work on Windows Hello, the feature that allows owners of smartphones (as well as notebooks, desktops, and tablets) to log in with just their face. 

As far as a price, it hasn't been released as yet, but it will have a two-year contract with AT&T, and it will be the only carrier to offer it in the United States.  There will probably more information as the November 20^th release date approaches. 

If the 950 is going to be available on November 20^th, then the 950XL should be available at the same time.  The big mystery is when the Lumia 550 will be available.  So far, the only word is that the Lumia 550 will be available for the holiday season, as GSM Arena states that its expected release date will be in December of 2015.  It doesn't seem to be available as of yet on the Microsoft store, but it is planned to be downright affordable as it can with a price tag of $139. 

As for the Lumia 950, it will have a 5.2 WQHD (1440 x 2560) OLED display, with the inside being a Snapdragon 808 and 64-bit Hexa core.  It should have about 3GB of RAM, and it will have a 32 GB variant.  As for the cameras, it has a 20 Megapixel camera on the rear and a 5 Megapixel camera on the front.  The battery will be a 3000 mAh detachable one, and it will also have a USB Type-C charging port as well as Qi wireless charging. 

The Lumia 950 XL has the same type of OLED display with 1440 x 2560 resolution, but it will be much larger at 5.7 inches.  The inside will be powered by a Snapdragon 810 with an identical 32 GB storage option and 3 GB of RAM.  It will have the same 20 Megapixels for the rear camera as the Lumia 940, but it will have a triple LED flash.  We'll assume that the front-facing camera has the same specs at 5 Megapixels.  The battery has a bit more mAh at 3300, and it is removable with the USB Type-C charging port and Qi Wireless charging. 

So it looks like users will be given their Lumia 950 and 950XL for November 20th, but will have to wait until December for the 550.