Microsoft: All Current Lumia Phones Will Get Windows 10
Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 users rejoice; your phone will be getting Windows 10.
Microsoft this week announced the good news that all Windows Phone devices running version 8 or newer will be able to receive the update to Windows 10 when it drops by the middle, or end, of 2015.
Windows 10 was announced by Microsoft earlier this year, and the folks at Redmond have some big ambitions for the new system. Windows 10 will be a unified operating system, running on everything from laptops to tablets to smartphones and smartwatches, providing users with an end-to-end identical experience regardless of how they’re accessing it.
Windows 10 will run across an incredibly broad set of devices — from the Internet of Things, to servers in enterprise datacenters worldwide. Some of these devices have 4 inch screens — some have 80 inch screens — and some don’t have screens at all. Some of these devices you hold in your hand, others are ten feet away. Some of these devices you primarily use touch/pen, others mouse/keyboard, others controller/gesture — and some devices can switch between input types.
While it was certain that Windows 10 would be the new OS for laptops, desktops, and Surface tablets, it had been unclear as to whether or not the idea of a unified system would come to fruition on mobile devices with this iteration, or at the very least, if it would only come to devices launched after Windows 10 lands. Microsoft cleared the confusion on their Twitter and Facebook pages, which had been recently retitled to reflect Microsoft dropping the Nokia name from all future handsets. The first Nokia-less Lumia phone is already out on store shelves.
Windows 10 replacing the Windows Phone represents a pinnacle milestone for Microsoft, as the company has historically kept the two divisions separate, even as competitors like Apple and Google had great success employing that very tactic. Had Microsoft been a little more proactive in the past, it’s entirely possible that they would be enjoying a much higher market percentage than the 3 percent (and climbing) they have right now.
In the end, it may prove to be a lucrative decision to bring Windows 10 to all current Lumia and Windows Phone 8 devices, since it will encourage buyers to purchase sooner rather than later, knowing their devices will be able to accept the newer OS when it drops. That time may also draw users to Microsoft’s subscription services as well, like Xbox Live and Xbox Music Pass.
What are your thoughts? Will you be getting a Lumia?
