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Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 today, with multi-core support, a new Start screen, native code sharing with its forthcoming Windows 8, a new Wallet feature for mobile payments, SD card support, more screen resolution support, and IE 10. Phew.
Oh yeah, and existing users won’t be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8, just version 7.8 which basically is a stop-gap. Sorry! Microsoft really appreciates your business and loyalty, but it’s time for you to smile and bend over.
The new consumer-facing features are largely UI enhancements. The new Start screen gives more real estate to apps, ditching the right-side trough. All the tiles will be customisable, in small, medium, and large sizes. The SD card slot support will let people store media, or even sideload apps. The new screen resolution support will enable more devices, with support for WVGA, WXVGA and true 720p screens. Under the hood, Windows Phone 8 will support dual- and quad- core processors and is designed to be able to support up to 64-core processors. That’s not a typo; Microsoft is trying hard to future-proof this OS from the inside-out.
The new Wallet will have support for both NFC payment systems, and store cards and coupons. It’s basically a combination of what Google and Apple are doing, taking on both ends. And finally, if you have a ton of great Windows Phone 7 apps (I mean, someone must, right?) you’ll be able to run those on the new phone.
For developers, today’s news is all about how the new Windows Phone OS will share its core with Windows 8, Microsoft’s forthcoming future-of-Windows operating system that’s in Release Preview right now. Developers will be able to share native code between the two systems, and although it won’t be write-once-run-anywhere, Microsoft claims that it will take a minimal amount of reconfiguration to get code that runs on one to run on the other, thanks to a shared set of native APIs that will allow for quite a bit of re-use. Microsoft was also touting a new ability for developers to create in-app purchases as a new revenue stream. Microsoft expects to have a software developer kit out later this summer.
There’s welcome news for enterprise environments as well. Microsoft is promoting Windows Phone 8 as a complete security platform with secure boot and a vague promise of bitlocker-like encryption. Companies and other large organisations that want to manage which apps their users can have on their phones will get their own app distribution environments.
All in all, it’s a substantive upgrade that’s going to ultimately please lots of developers and corporate IT departments. But existing users are getting boned. If you’ve got a Lumia running Mango today, you won’t be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8. Microsoft is upgrading those users to Windows Phone 7.8, which includes the new Start screen. But once native Windows Phone 8 apps start coming out, 7.8 users will be out of luck. Sure, it had to do this to swap over its codebase, but that doesn’t make it suck any less for the existing userbase who, you’d think, it would want out there talking about how much they love their Windows Phones.
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“Sorry! Microsoft really appreciates your business and loyalty, but it’s time for you to smile and bend over”
I can’t think of any market other than the mobile phone one where some consumers have such a sense of entitlement to endless updates…
Well they’re miniature computers, and computer users (with linux and windows at least) are used to being able to install the latest OS regardless of whether it’s a good idea given their hardware.
It doesn’t seem too unreasonable for consumers to expect the same for their smartphones. Given all that however, I suppose perhaps smartphones are just too diverse to support in the same way that PC hardware can be supported.
Or perhaps not, I may be talking out of my arse.
Im a bit upset about this. I just ordered the Lumia 900 batman yesterday!!!
But now im thinking im gonna have to return it and get the HTC one X
A sound plan.
Just out of interest, will you be looking to get the One X PAYG?
No, I found both on a 12month contract for £36 with 500mb data 600mins and unlimited texts.
I just wanted a 12 month contract to try out winphone, but now it seems like im buying a demo and wont get the full experience.
Why do you ask?
Aww. Just trying my second One X to pay for a holiday.
Microsoft aren’t doing that we’ll in the mobile space right now. If a sizeable portion of their users feel cheesed off at being told they won’t be getting updates despite supporting an OS which has lacked a lot of the features available on other phones and they leave before windows 8 comes along then MS are really screwed.
People should buy phones for what they do, not what they might be able to do. If you were happy with your WP7 phone yesterday, why should you be less so today?
I agree on that point but as people in the Android space have learned, if you are trying to sell phones now and have to admit that it won’t get updated then you won’t sell many.
I feel a strange mix of Anger and Excitement.. I am quite glad that I brought the Titan in Sept 11 rather than waiting for the Lumia 900 though. So I get 18mths out of my phone if I upgrade in Feb next year..
I don’t see a particular problem. Microsoft have said all existing applications will be compatible with the new devices. Surely this is the important point? Most consumers update their hardware in 12, 18 or 24 month increments. Is it really a massive inconvenience to have to wait for your next upgrade?
A number of features are hardware dependent anyway.
Mobile phone users have been getting endless updates since 2007. It’s a precedent now. Longevity is now part of a mobile phone purchaser’s wish-list, and if they’re only looking for one good year with a $700 phone, they’ll look elsewhere.
Fact is that a lot depends on hardware. How do you expect them to update our processors and resolution via software update?
Siri on 3GS? ICS on all Android devices? PS2 games on PS3 (excl. launch model)? Sure it sucks to be an early adopter in hindsight but given the rate at which tech is evolving, it’s impossible for all developers to cater for entry level hardware when the rest of the industry is moving so quickly on.
Really looking forward for WP8 – was tempted to upgrade my HD2 (rooted to Android) to a Galaxy Note but i’ll probably be jumping ship to a WP8 around Xmas time
Haha the HD2 will probably be the first phone to get WP8 based on its previous adventures..
The fact of the matter is that Windows Phone will likely now complete its full assimilation into the rest of Microsoft’s OS, System and Server stack and enter into a regular 3-year Product Lifecycle to match its cousins over on the more established hardware ecosystems…
…You will then be entitled to any incremental updates common to the version of the software that you bought (ie. the full numbered OS designation: 7, 8 etc.), but after that…you’re restricted to system-level security updates until your software version is no longer in its advertised support period.
People get far too sensitive about these things. I could have told you roughly when Windows 8 was going to be released about 10 years ago…and we’ve known of Microsoft’s desire to homogenise their currently disparate environments into a single platform for at least a loooong time. If anyone remotely techy/interested in tech current affairs was genuinely shocked by this announcement…they don’t deserve the freedom to think.
The ignorant souls out there who didn’t know better and bought a phone with Windows Phone 7 recently? You’re still in charge of a device which is an absolute pleasure to live with day-to-day!
Bottom line, you are going to get the basic UI changes and aesthetic changes in WP7.8, which is to be expected, most of the major updates are to do with hardware, which would mean you need a new phone anyway…
How is this any different from Samsung releasing a load of new software bits and bobs for the Galaxy SIII which will not make it to the SII when the hardware is good enough? Also not all Android devices are updated to ICS and iPad isn’t getting iOS6, it’s no different to all of those…
To be honest, I just ordered the Batman Lumia 900, which is still an awesome phone on WP7.5 but I will be returning it so I can get a WP8 phone when they are released…
Meh, moan if you want guys but I waited just for this, so it doesn’t worry me! Off to pre-order some Windows 8 Phones…
windows 7.5 users get all windows 8 features apart from the ones that are limited by hardware.
So they will get the new home screen
the new wallet features
So name some features non hardware specific that affects 7.5 users? God they havent even announced the user updates, just the back-end updates and people are already going on android / iphone biased rampages…. Whatever happened to the day of non fanboyism reporting.
The point is they won’t get the unified kernel. That’s a pretty big deal. In fact, it’s huge.
did it ever occur to you that maybe the old chips arent compatible with the new kernel? Or that in testing to many updates “bricked” the phones to not make it viable?
Fine by me. I’m going to have a 7.8 Titan that I love, with most of the features of the shiny new operating system and when I see a WP8 phone that I like, I’ll be buying that. My phone isn’t going to stop working just because of WP8. Seems to me that quite a few WP7 users are thinking the same way.
Yes, exactly this. I’m looking forward to the 7.8 update, and excited about the eventual new WP8 upgrade from Orange.
I have noticed most the people who complain about it, are either IOS or android fanboys, i guess they arent happy with their phones the way they are, i could easily use my Lumia 800 for another 12 months till my next free upgrade even without the 7.8 upgrade.
The big deal will come when developers start writing apps in native code that WP7.8 users won’t be able to run. But hopefully by that time it will be time for an upgrade..
Windows phone started out dictating minimum specs for their phones to manufacturers to prevent debacles like this. Windows phone guy cries softly in the corner with Zune guy. Surface pad probably won’t upgrade either.
No debacle here move along now. I have a top class phone that’s going to be able to use most of the functions available to Windows Phone 8 users until such time as I’m ready to upgrade.
What with the changes in Kernal’s, unification of the coding and one of the best SDK’s in the business, the only crying you’ll see is from those who don’t have and have never tried the stuff… bit like now actually.
I think you’re on the wrong site. You either want Gizmodo USA or Endgadget. We’re non-troll friendly here. Too civilised old chap.
Denial? OK. Moving along.
Apt name. How did you get your star? You might want to make your way over to Endgadget. They welcome your sort there.
Sorry did you need a pat on the back to congratulate you for your windows phone purchase? You might want to make your way over to a windows phone forum?
How did YOU get your star? Seems like questions like those belong on the US sites you mention. Thanks for playing.
No pat on the back needed. Only someone who is actually affected by this replying to an inflammatory comment made by someone who clearly has no knowledge. I got my star by using Knowledge experience. You might like to try that route.
Still. Don’t want to go feeding the Troll, so. You be careful out there, someone as naive as yourself could get into trouble.
Thanks for stopping by, please don’t come back.
Affected how? My comment ruined your day? I just pointed out the fact that MS started out by claiming they want their phones to have minimum specs so they can follow an upgrade path and not be fractured like Android. Then they scrapped that so they could push out as many phones as they wanted.
Seems like you’re the one that rode in on his mighty horse feeling a little sad for himself that he needed to defend his purchase and his superior e-peen star.
You probably haven’t seen me before because I read comments less and less when the REAL trolls started showing up with posts attacking authors and users. I like it here just fine, you can go back to your live journal and complain over there.
I’m glad I saw this, I’m due an upgrade in October, was going to go for the Titan or the Lumia 900, now I’ll just go PAYG and wait for WP8.