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Windows Phone 8 to all current Windows Phones? Not so fast

Apr 17, 2012 9:02 pm by Kip Kniskern | 11 comments

Earlier today we reported that WMPowerUser posted a transcribed video interview snippet from Portuguese site Zwame.pt, quoting a Microsoft evangelist as saying that “all actual devices will get upgrade to the next major version of Windows Phone (we´re talking about Apollo) “.

While we would love to believe that, especially for the latest phones like the Nokia Lumia 900, tech journalists are hearing from their sources that it simply ain’t so:

Like the Verge, I also am still hearing current WPs won't get the Apollo/Win Phone OS 8 update: http://t.co/yLjMFvOn #dontgetyourhopesup

Apr 17, 2012 8:19 PM via MetroTwit ReplyRetweetFavorite

@maryjofoley

Mary Jo Foley

As we said in our original post, if the upgrade path were true, “it’s beyond us why Microsoft *wouldn’t* make that announcement, as consumers might be more willing to buy a Windows Phone now if they knew it was certain to get an Apollo upgrade”.

The Verge first posted an update to their story on the video with a typically vague response from Microsoft, but one that certainly didn’t confirm the evangelist’s claims:

Microsoft has reached to say that “we have nothing to share about future releases,” although the company does note that at the very least that “all apps in our Marketplace today will run on the next version of Windows Phone.”

Then The Verge posted again, this time quoting a “trusted source close to Microsoft” as saying that an upgrade path from current Windows Phones to Windows Phone 8 is “absolutely not the case, that instead:

there will be no upgrade path from Mango to Apollo.

We were surprised at the “news” today, and really aren’t very surprised that it’s being, unofficially at least, denied. Microsoft is in a bit of a tight spot here, as they can’t deny the report without possibly harming current Windows Phone sales, but they can’t really let it slide, either, as it came from a Microsoft employee.

So for those of you who just bought or are about to buy new Nokia, enjoy it, they’re really good phones. For those of us who bought Windows Phones on Day One, our two year contracts should be running out just in time for a nice new Nokia Pureview running Apollo!

This entry was posted in Mobile and tagged Apollo, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8. Bookmark the permalink.

Mario Albertico

It seems easier to believe this side of the story–no matter how dissapointing it might be. My dad is letting me use his line’s upgrade to get the Lumia 900 this weekend (I got an HTC Surround at launch), otherwise I would be in the predicament of wanting a new phone when my contract expires (in June) or waiting for Apollo.

By the way, I wonder when Microsoft/Nokia/AT&T will want to talk Lumia 900 sale figures because the black model has been #1 on AmazonWireless since launch (Cyan just dropped to #5 today)–that’s gotta be a pretty good feat when competing against all the penny Verizon ‘droids.
- Avatar Roku
  
  The Cyan version has been backordered on Amazon since about Friday. Is it sold out everywhere now? AT&T, BestBuy, and Amazon all have the cyan Lumia backordered.
GmailIsDown

my LG Quantum is failing and i was just going to do an early upgrade to a Lumia 900… i guess I should wait until the end of this year to get a Apollo phone?
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Shameer-Mulji/1685212657 Shameer Mulji
  
  Given that the Windows Phone Apollo will be much more feature rich than Mango and will support phones multicore processors, I would personally wait. Yes, I know it feels like a long time away but the wait, I’m sure, will be worth it.
- Avatar Roku
  
  Or get the Lumia 900 for free right now, pay the ETF ($325 – $10/month) and get a new WP8 handset at the end of the year on a new contract.
http://twitter.com/efjay01 Ef Jay

No one should buy a WP device today. One huge issue thats always ignored is the fact that theres no way to transfer your data to a new phone. That alone should put anyone off buying a current WP device, but buying a device that will be obsolete in just 6 months is an even more compelling reason not to buy WP, now or in the future as theres no guarantee this wont happen again.

And what was it that MS has been doing all along, bashing android for their lack of updates? And they are going to turn around and do the exact same thing? They should be doing t better as they are coming from so far behind but it seems they are intent on pressing that self destruct button. Really starting to understand why this company is so despised and ridiculed in the tech industry.
- Ratros
  
  Sorry to say something like this, but your post has almost no point at all. We all know today’s Smartphone OS is more than a single software, but an ecosystem; but we also know that not everyone is fully integrated to a specific ecosystem. It means that a) people uses the basic functions of a phone more than any apps b) most apps are now cross-platform c) personal data are going to the cloud and basically it can be accessed at any place.
  Microsoft is never famous for its PR department. And I don’t see any hope that we’ll hear a definite answer from them very soon. But simply saying that Microsoft comes too late and should give it all up is nonsense. There’s still plenty of room in the industry and Windows Phone has showed up its potential.
  Once Again, I wish Microsoft fire the whole marketing department ASAP. How could they make a mistake like this?
http://gregsedwards.wordpress.com Greg Edwards

While it would be a great bonus to be able to update my HTC Trophy to Windows 8, I won’t whine too much about the prospect of having to buy a new phone to get Apollo. Because I take care of it, my current phone has aged pretty well. However, like all first-generation WP7 devices, it doesn’t have a front-facing camera for video chat. It has a 5MP camera. It has 16GB of non-removable storage. There’s no NFC support. Personally, I’ll want a device that can take full advantage of all the features Apollo can offer. I’ll be near the end of my current contract by the time Apollo ships, so I’ll likely prefer to re-up and get a new device.
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On the other hand, if I’d just dropped $200 on an HTC Titan II or even $100 on a Lumia 900 and was now facing the prospect of a handset that wouldn’t receive an Apollo update, I might have a very different opinion.

But if you read the quote carefully, you’ll notice it says “there will be no upgrade path from Mango to Apollo.” Who’s to say there won’t be an interim release that provides the upgrade path?

Bottom line, I think Windows Phone needs all the goodwill it can get. Barring a hardware limitation, I think a guaranteed free upgrade to Apollo for all existing WP7 devices would go a long way towards showing Microsoft’s commitment to its loyal customers. But should we feel entitled? Probably not.
JSYOUNG571

FLASH BACK 2010. T-mobile was the last carrier to come out with the last Windows Phone 6.5 HTC HD2 phone. It was brand new and right at the same time that Microsoft mentioned the Windows Phone 7 and OS. When word hit that Microsoft was releasing Windows Phone 7, those people who purcahsed the HTC HD2 phone knew they were in line to get the upgrade to OS 7. Microsoft delivered a major upset to those people and they never were able to get their phones updated to OS 7. Instead, Microsoft released the HTC HD7 phone and required people who wanted the latest OS to buy the phone over again. That was the last straw for a lot of customers, which cause people to jump to iPhone or Android. This is also why Microsoft has had a hard time trying to win customers back and begging for another chance. With the release of the Nokia Lumia being the last Windows Phone 7.5 release on the hills of Apollo, I am almost scared that history is going to repeat its self again. It also means that Microsoft has not learned it’s lesson of burining out their customers trust from the last time. This time the consequences will be a severe blow to Microsoft’s smartphone customers, who will be pushed over to Android and iPhone again. Microsoft will have no choice but to throw in the towel, because they have ****ed what small amount of customers they had off….AGAIN.

My list of phones with Microsoft.

(2007 – 2009) Tilt 1 – 6.0 OS could only be updated to 6.1 OS

(2009 – 2010) Tilt 2 – 6.5 OS was never updated.

(2011) I got mad and left.

(2012) Along with my Android phone, I decided to give Microsoft another chance and join the Windows Phone 7 platform with the Titan phone with the 7.5 OS.
- DS
  
  Microsoft didn’t release the HD7, HTC did. Why on earth would you blame Microsoft for your disappointment? That’s like blaming Microsoft for Acer releasing a PC with XP just prior to Vista’s launch that doesn’t support Vista! Microsoft has nothing to do with it. Microsoft stated at the beginning that WP7 contained not one single byte of code from Windows Mobile. Wherever you got the idea that you’d be able to run WP7 on an HD2, it was far from Redmond. Prior to Microsoft imposing strict requirements on the device manufacturers for WP7, they didn’t. The carriers and device manufacturers controlled specific device updates, not Microsoft.
B_Sack

You may not get the entire overhaul of the OS (aka Apollo), but will likely see updated features, continued support & app updates ect.