- Photo: Nokia
Whilst unveiling its upcoming Windows Phone 8 mobile OS, Microsoft unveiled a major bombshell: current Windows Phone handsets will not be able to upgrade to the latest WP8 version. Such a move appears to have left Nokia Lumia owners out in the cold.
Windows Phone 8 incoming
Much of the tech world’s attention is centred around Microsoft’s next gen desktop/tablet OS Windows 8, but the Redmond software giants are also planning on releasing a substantial update to their Windows Phone smartphone OS with WP8. The new OS version will actually be based on the same kernel used in Microsoft’s Windows RT tablet OS, and sport other advanced features, like multi-core processor support, NFC, improved Skype integration, Nokia maps, support for larger smartphone display resolutions, enterprise level encryption and so on. There’s just one problem though, Microsoft unveiled this week that current Windows Phone smartphone owners will not be able to upgrade to Windows 8; they’ll have to buy a new WP handset to enjoy all these benefits.
Users upset, CEO responds
Now, obviously this announcement incensed quite a few Windows Phone owners out there, and we suspect Windows Phone manufacturers, particularly those like Nokia who staked who everything on the Microsoft OS, were none too pleased either. One disenchanted Nokia WP owner even penned a complaint letter to Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop, who surprisingly answered and explained a bit about the situation. His response echoed Microsoft’s justification for the non upgradeable WP models, and he reiterated that existing Nokia Lumia phones, like the Lumia 900, will still be receiving many of the same desired WP8 features, such as the new home screen with an available upgrade to WP 7.8.
Reasons for lack of upgrade
Much of the justification for Microsoft’s controversial decision lies in the fact that many of the WP8 features require hardware (multi-core processors, NFC etc.) that current phones, such as the Lumia 900, don’t have. As a result, these Nokia Lumia phones and other models naturally won’t be able to support the new OS. Nevertheless, even if Nokia’s own CEO seems on board with the move, analysts have already slashed sales estimates for the Finnish company’s Lumia line-up after Microsoft’s announcement. At a time when Nokia is losing billions and many think the company is completely doomed, this certainly doesn’t help their situation.
Not unprecedented
Although a lot of the outrage over the upgrade situation is justified, at the same time it isn’t that unusual when it comes to smartphones. Many Android devices (we’re looking at you Sony) have taken forever to get the latest version of Android and old iPhones, pre-iPhone 4, were also unable to upgrade to the latest version of iOS.
Will Windows Phone 8 succeed?
The greater question for Microsoft, Nokia and all Windows Phone fans is whether the new version of WP will see better sales than its predecessors. Despite earning excellent reviews, WP failed to gain any traction versus either Android or iOS, with both juggernauts actually gaining market share. There’s a lot of belief that Google and Apple’s mobile operating systems are simply too entrenched for WP to gain significant ground – we’ll find out for certain when WP8 launches later this year.