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Rumours are swirling that current Windows Phone blowers will be denied an upgrade to the next version of the software.
With Windows 8 expected later this year, Windows Phone owners are itching to know whether their smart phones will be updated to the accompanying version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system.
But according to The Verge, a source close to Microsoft has said that Windows Phone gadgets running the current version of Windows Phone (7.5, aka Mango) won’t be updated to Windows Phone 8 (codenamed Apollo).
That would be a rum do for anyone who just bought a Nokia Lumia phone for instance, as it would mean updates for that mobile drying up in less than a year.
Not everyone feels the same way, however. A video posted by WMPowerUser has a Microsoft ‘evangelist’ stating that all devices will get upgraded to the next version.
Microsoft has been cagey about responding to either claim. In a statement sent to CNET UK that doesn’t really address the issue it said, “All apps in our marketplace today will run on the next version of Windows Phone.
“Beyond that”, the statement concludes, “we have nothing to share about future releases.”
So current apps will definitely work on Windows Phone 8, but the jury’s still out on actual devices.
If Microsoft does deny the update to mobiles that are currently in the wild, that decision could be down to hardware requirements. The Windows Phone operating system currently only supports single-core processors, but the::unwired reports that Windows Phone 8 could demand dual-core chips and beefier screen resolutions, making existing mobiles incompatible.
If Microsoft is indeed planning on giving current phones the cold shoulder, it’ll probably keep quiet about it to avoid putting people off buying Windows Phone devices in the meantime.
Do you think Microsoft will continue to support Windows Phones? Or will Tango be the last software version existing mobiles see? Let me know your predictions and thoughts in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
