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Microsoft Confirms Only a Handful of Windows Phones Will Receive Windows 10 Creators Update (zdnet.com)
Windows Phone has less than a 1 percent market share in the mobile industry, but it is not completely dead, yet. In fact, if you own a relatively new Windows Phone, it may receive a new update that will give new life to it. Microsoft has confirmed today that only a subset of Windows Phone handsets will be getting the Windows 10 Creators Update when it begins rolling out on April 25. ZDNet reports: [Here's] Microsoft's list of supported phones: Alcatel IDOL 4S; Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL; HP Elite x3; Lenovo Softbank 503LV; MCJ Madosma Q601; Microsoft Lumia 550; Microsoft Lumia 640/640XL; Microsoft; Lumia 650; Microsoft Lumia 950/950 XL; Trinity NuAns Neo; VAIO VPB051. "Devices not on this list will not officially receive the Windows 10 Creators Update nor will they receive any future builds from our Development Branch that we release as part of the Windows Insider Program. However, Windows Insiders who have devices not on this list can still keep these devices on the Windows 10 Creators Update at their own risk knowing that it's unsupported," said Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar in today's blog post. Microsoft attributed the short list of support phones to Insider feedback that indicated older phones might not be providing "the best possible experience" for customers. Microsoft also released a Fast Ring test build of Windows 10 Mobile for phones to Fast Ring Insiders today. That build number is 15204 and it includes a number of bug fixes. This is the first Redstone 3 build for Windows Phones. It's only available to Insider phone users of handsets that are on the list above.
"It's dead Jim ..."
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Microsoft confirms there are only a handful of Windows phones.
So I own what was the "Flagship" phone for Microsoft windows phone platform, the 1520. Admittedly its more of a "phablet" with its 6" screen but I don't understand why this phone isn't being updated. Is it that the built-in ram is only 2GB? Is it that it wasn't originally delivered with Win10? Grrr. I purchased this top-end phone when I started my side-job doing consulting for Microsoft. I figured showing up with an Nokia-MS phone...when I'm selling support for Microsoft products made sense.
https://www.engadget.com/2013/10/22/nokia-lumia-1520-hands-on/
The Creators Update adds a fair amount of stuff for desktop systems, but for mobile it's a pretty minor update. They essentially took all the desktop updates, and gave mobile the handful of ones that made sense. There are no mobile-specific updates.
For example... Edge is updated to latest version. And it goes downhill from there. Their really slow biometric login is now a little faster, their digital assistant supports a few more commands, you can uninstall apps that previously came with the OS.
This actually will be an update for everyone with a Windows Phone, all ten users. Two of the models are on display in hopes that they will one day be purchased. ;)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
No they haven't abandoned it quite yet, I'm guessing for political reasons within the organization? Though they now sell Samsung Android phones in their stores that are slightly modified in that they include a bunch of Microsoft apps (i.e. Office 365 and Craptana.)
Enough to keep the platform on life support. Still teasing the market with rumours of 'Surface Phone' vapourware emulating x86 on Snapdragon 835...
Footnote: Cerulean Moment is a crowdfunded project launching a new mid-range handset. Still a long way to meet their funding goal, however.
Perhaps, but based on this I think there is political pressure:
http://www.geekwire.com/2016/w...
It could also be that Microsoft has it in the back of their minds that they're going to have some "must have" feature and need the OS to be ready when the time comes, thus they maintain it. Or at least, this is what they've hinted at by saying that they don't want to release just another phone when (indirectly) commenting about surface phone rumors. Though I don't really see what they could pull off that hundreds of other OEMs (especially Google, Samsung, and Apple) won't think of. Supposedly continuum was going to be that "must have" feature, but it didn't really do them any favors, mainly due to practicality. Namely, who is going to carry around an extra keyboard and mouse on the off chance that they'll find an unused monitor that they can connect to? Likewise, including x86 support seems like an equally pointless thing to do. It's just an ill-conceived idea because it completely breaks the point of being mobile, IMO, and as an end user you're better off just carrying around a laptop.
It's a bit like how Microsoft (and its fans) kind of assumed that any device that ran Office would just immediately win out over its competitors for business customers, but to think so is to not understand mobile (Balmer admitted as such after he wrongly predicted that the iPhone would fail because, among other things, it doesn't have a physical keyboard.) That, and Microsoft overall has this mindset that any product can succeed if you throw billions of dollars at it.
I'd be tempted to use continuum if they have sold it as a standard feature on $200 handsets but the Elite X3 is only going to be purchased by business customers for staff who'd prefer an iPhone 7.
Being a slashdot nerd I have multiple monitors, USB keyboards and mouses plus an HDMI TV. I do have a 2009 era laptop running Windows 10, as a student but would gladly turf it once my degree is complete in favour of a pocket device which has possibly more processing power!
so that would be all the ones still in use then?
Left Windows phones (Lumia 640) for an iPhone when neither microsoft nor t-mobile would get together and sort out the wifi calling mess that left us stuck on Windows Phone 8. Can those users upgrade to 10 yet?
This will only accelerate my purchase of a new phone, and it won't be Windows this time.