Microsoft has reportedly decided to stop the sales of its Lumia smartphone series.

Microsoft allegedly plans to stop the sales of its Lumia series smartphones by the end of the year.

"Microsoft is preparing to end sales of the Lumia range this year, December 2016," a company employee said on the condition of anonymity, WinBeta reported. "This latest piece of information fits in line with recent actions from the company, where it has permanently cut the prices of many of its Lumia devices over the past few months."

Like Us on Facebook

"This seems to be an effort to sell off remaining stock and coincides with December being the final month since the price cuts have become larger as time has progressed," the anonymous employee added.

Microsoft has allegedly started offering Lumia smartphones at discounted prices to clear its stock. The company reduced the price of its latest Windows 10 smartphone - Lumia 650 - from $199 to $149. Apart from the Lumia 650, the U.S. internet and telecommunication giant is also offering a discount on three other Lumia range smartphones - the Lumia 950, and Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 650. It is now offering the Lumia 950 XL for $499 and Lumia 950 for $399.

Microsoft is expected to introduce its much-awaited Surface Phones in 2017. The Washington-headquatered tech major is rumored to release three models of Surface Phones. The advanced next generation Surface Phones are said to be equipped with 8GB RAM and Snapdragon 830.