Lumia 950XL demo units pulled from Microsoft Stores, shipped back to corporate

If you were planning to visit a Microsoft Store anytime soon to check out the new Lumia 950XL, you might want to postpone your trip. As we’ve learned from two locations, the 950XL “prototype” demo units were pulled from shelves at all Microsoft Stores this morning and shipped back to corporate.

From conversations with Store staff, it appears that there’s an issue with the prototypes themselves, and not simply with the installed software. Certainly, if the issue were firmware-related or due to problems with the installed build of Windows 10 Mobile, logic would dictate holding onto the units and flashing new software when the issue has been resolved. That’s not the case, however, as couriers were dispatched this morning to pick up the devices.

We’ve requested a comment from Microsoft on why the units were returned, and when replacements might be shipped to stores. We’ll update this post as soon as we receive word. Developing story.

Update (10/16/2015 at 11:01AM PST): Microsoft has confirmed the removal of Lumia 950XL devices from Microsoft Stores. You can read their statement here.

Further reading: Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, Microsoft, Microsoft Store, smartphone, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Phone