Windows 10 Mobile won’t be coming to older Windows Phone smartphones until 2016

Owners of a smartphone with Windows Phone 8 or 8.1 will receive an update to Windows 10 Mobile in early 2016. Initially, Microsoft promised to release the update in 2015. There is no new information about which devices will receive the update.

Microsoft released the rtm version of Windows 10 Mobile in November with the market launch of the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. Older devices will also receive an update to the new OS, but users can only expect this in 2016, a Microsoft spokesperson told ZDnet.

Initially, Microsoft had the plan to make Windows 10 Mobile available for a number of existing devices from December 2015. According to the new statement, the company will begin rolling out the update “early 2016” for select existing Windows 8 and 8.1 smartphones. Since February this year, users can already install a Technical Preview of Windows 10 Mobile.

It is not yet clear which smartphones will or will not receive the update. Microsoft previously announced which devices will be the first to be equipped with Windows 10 Mobile. It concerns the Lumia 430, 435, 532, 540, 635 (1GB ram), 640, 640 XL, 735, 830 and 930. Furthermore, the manufacturer states ‘it is doing its utmost to make Windows 10 available on all Lumia devices. devices’.

Models with 4GB internal storage, such as the Lumia 530, will not receive the update in any case: Microsoft makes 8GB internal memory mandatory. There was discussion about this before, as Microsoft reported that 4GB of internal memory and external storage such as a micro-SD card would also be sufficient. However, that is no longer the case. Passage 2.3.1 on the hardware requirements page has now been updated from that same page earlier this year.

Windows 10 Mobile on the Lumia 950 and 950 XL