Currently there is very little we know about Windows Phone 8 (Apollo), only that it will be greatly based on the Windows 8 kernel, thus bringing a closer bond with Microsoft’s desktop platform. However the one simple question on everyone’s mind is if Microsoft will bring Windows Phone 8 to current generation Windows Phones. Paul Thurrott says - No.This report comes a day after a report suggested that Microsoft was testing Windows Phone 8 on the Lumia 800 and even the Lumia 610. Thurrott insists that there is no chance of Microsoft bringing the latest version of Windows Phone to current generation handsets and sites the following reasons.
- The current Windows Phone ecosystem being too small. He states that since there are just 20 million handsets sold to date the economics of bringing Windows Phone 8 to those handsets are not worth the cost.
- Hardware not powerful enough to support Windows 8 kernel on current hardware.
- Carriers will “never, ever, ever, ever deliver this update to users”
Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop went on to say how Windows Phones don’t need multi core processors because of the superiority of the underlying OS.
Nokia even sent out free Lumia handsets to developers to win them over to the Windows Phone platform.
The first point of their being just 20 million handsets sold, refers to the 20 million customers who stuck by Windows Phone knowing that it was still far behind iOS and Android and trusting the OEM’s to deliver an experience that would make it worth their while. So is Microsoft going to tell the 20 million who purchased their handsets to forget them and move on to their new operating system ? Unless Microsoft or Nokia are planning to give away 20 million free handsets to these users I would be surprised if any one of them decide to sell a newly purchased device in favor of a newly released platform.
Regarding the hardware limitation, This would Microsoft and Nokia huge hypocrites. After boasting how well Windows Phone performs on single cores and publicizing how superior Windows 8 performs on legacy hardware I can’t imagine that the same company would state that Windows Phone 8 wont perform on existing hardware. If it is unable to perform, maybe Microsoft has to go back into the drawing board to make it work.
The last point of carriers not providing the update should make anyone who purchased a Nokia Lumia 900 walk back into AT&T and return their device for an iOS or an Android handset. AT&T has been pushed to sell the Lumia 900 as Nokia’s big comeback. Currently the handset is reported to be doing extremely well in the U.S. because of this. I can’t imagine how betrayed a customer would feel if they are told that the device they have just purchased will be left out of the next big update because it was outdated.
So on behalf of all Windows Phone users out there. This one is for Microsoft, Nokia and all Windows Phone manufacturers and partners. Your platform success is due to the current user base… Stand by your slogan that Windows Phone ‘puts people first’ and bring Windows Phone 8 to all Windows Phones.