Microsoft is set to release a software update either this month or next month to Windows Phone devices currently on the market. Known as Tango, the update adds things like being able to MMS multiple images, forward your calls, turn your device into a hotspot, and there are probably countless under the hood tweaks that we’ll hear about whenever Microsoft makes this update official. Tango’s most notable feature, which isn’t demonstrated in the video below, is the ability to run on lower end hardware. Whereas every Windows Phone that’s been shipped either has a 1 GHz or 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon paired with 512 MB of RAM, Tango enables devices to run on an 800 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon with just 256 MB of RAM. The Nokia Lumia 610 is the first Tango device we can think of to have these lower end specs. It’s expected to launch within the next two weeks.
The more important question is what happens after Tango? The next version of Windows Phone is called Apollo, and according to multiple sources, including our own, Apollo will not run on older hardware. In other words, after your Windows Phone gets updated to Tango, then that’s it. There’s nothing after that. If you’re thinking about buying the Nokia Lumia 900 or HTC Titan II or Samsung Focus II, then you should be aware that in less than six months you’re going to have a device in your pocket that has, for all intents and purposes, been abandoned.
What’s so special about Apollo that it can’t be ported to older hardware? It’s based on the same kernel that powers Windows 8, while today’s Windows Phone are based on Windows Embedded. That key difference will enable handset makers to build Apollo devices that have high resolution screens, dual core processors, NFC, removable storage, and pretty much everything else that today’s flagship Android smartphones have.