Yesterday, the blogosphere was set abuzz with conflicting news that the current crop of Windows Phone devices would and then wouldn’t receive the major upgrade to Windows Phone 8 “Apollo,” which is set to launch later this year. Sources close to Microsoft told The Verge that none of the currently available devices will get the update, but Microsoft developer evangelist Nuno Silva claimed in an interview with Zwame that all devices would see the upgrade.
So which side is correct? Well, we’re still months away from the rumored release window, so it’s pretty safe to assume that even Microsoft doesn’t know at this point, but that’s not stopping the company from attempting to squelch concerns. Today, Nuno Silva has issued a retraction on MSDN Blogs, suggesting that he was really talking to the fact that current Windows Phone applications on the Marketplace will run on the next version of Windows Phone. Apparently Mr. Silva confused phone upgrade-ability for application compatibility when he was making the statements to Zwame.
It’s important to keep in mind that this is not an indication from Microsoft that no current devices will receive the Apollo upgrade. While being entitled to the latest software upgrades is a topic of debate, we have a hard time believing that a high-end device like the Lumia 900 (or, 800, for that matter) won’t be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8. Love ’em or hate ’em, Microsoft does a good job ensuring that personal computers with all kinds of specs are able to run Windows 7/8, and we have to believe that will spill over to their Windows Phone division as well. Sure, it’s not likely that all current Windows Phone devices will see the upgrade (sorry 256-MB RAM Windows Phone owners), but a flagship device released 6 months prior to the update probably will.
Of course, time will tell. Microsoft should be unveiling details on the Windows Phone 8 upgrade over the next few months, outlining their plan for currently available devices.
[via The Verge, MSDN Blogs]