back to article Windows 10 won't come to old WinPhones until some time in early 2016

Microsoft has decided to delay delivery of Windows 10 for phones running Windows 8 or 8.1. Redmond's previously said that WinPhone 10 will appear in December, but is now issuing a statement to the effect that “The Windows 10 Mobile upgrade will begin rolling out early next year to select existing Windows 8 and 8.1 phones." …

Page:

  1. joed

    no GWX

    when you need one?

    I guess MS enjoys Satyadistic satisfaction when pissing off their customer base. On both mobile and PC platforms.

    1. N13L5

      Re: no GWX

      Your one in 50 smart mobe owners is way off.

      Most people who actually own one of those are probably using something else by now.

      And it only affects those still using an old beater, so your simple math doesn't hit all that close to the target.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Almost as good

    Woe is me. I'll just have to make do for now by wiping my arse and swirling my phone around in the water manually.

    Just kidding. iCertainly don't have a windoze phone!

    1. Pirate Peter

      Re: Almost as good

      "Just kidding. iCertainly don't have a windoze phone!"

      I do, and like it, for me the lesser of 3 evils

      all major phone OS's are trying to grab you data and monetise you and encourage you to buy apps etc

      winphone may have the smallest app store but it is not full of the rubbish of the other two, the phone does what I want , make calls and does texts and the few apps I needs (trains and weather) are there

      the interface is easier to use than android, and I don't have to suffer apples tax because you can only use their brand of things like the apple watch will only charge from an apple branded wireless charger etc

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Almost as good

        all major phone OS's are trying to grab you data and monetise you and encourage you to buy apps etc

        Better not hit the update button for Windows Phone 10 then.

      2. James 51
        Angel

        Re: Almost as good

        I'd recommend BB10 then. None of the data slurping, resonable if not expansive app store and can run android apps in a pinch so you're not completely stuck if you absolutely need something.

        1. Jonathan 27

          Yeah...

          Right, and you don't have to worry about missing major updates because BB10 is essentially abandoned so there won't be any.

          1. James 51

            Re: Yeah...

            No, there are at least two more coming though I'm prefectly happy with the way it is.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Almost as good

          "I'd recommend BB10 then. "

          Presumably if he invests in an expensive handset, he would like the manufacturer to likely be around for another 12 months. Blackberry are still loosing money and circling the drain...

        3. L05ER

          Re: Almost as good

          If you absolutely need an android app on your phone... You're doing IT wrong.

          1. James 51

            Re: Almost as good

            You need the official pebble app to get talk2watch pro working the first time.

      3. LucreLout

        Re: Almost as good

        @Pirate Peter

        I do, and like it

        We meet at last! I have the other one, and like it too (920).

        I'm eagerly awaiting the release of WinPhone 10, so I can see what it's like, not being an insider. 8.1 works extremely well - its rock steady, and my Nokia has outlasted everyone else I knows phone, save for some of those with an iPhone (credit where it's due).

        That being said, the reason I'm eagerly awaiting 10, is that I'm planning a jump to a Wiley Fox Android as my next phone, but figured I'd hold out for a couple of months and see what 10 delivers.

        1. Hellcat

          Re: Almost as good

          A/the 1020 user here. :)

          I've dipped into the insider builds a few times, but each time since it's my only phone had to drop 8.1 back on because of problems. Now on the current 10 build and fairly happy. There's a couple of sharp edges to clean up, but it's generally good to go. Can upgrade now after 2 years, but don't need to. Hardware still going strong and refreshed OS & universal apps could extend the little yellow monsters life well into 2016.

          1. Steve Gill

            Re: Almost as good

            Had my 1020 since release and still very happy with it.

            Best small camera I've ever seen and it has a perfectly well-behaved phone attached :)

            Not quite sure what wizardry Nokia put into the battery management that allows it to outlast new phones from other manufacturers even though it's well over 2 years old now.

            I will be very sad when it needs replacing.

        2. Chris Parsons

          Re: Almost as good

          At the risk of saying 'me too', me too!

          I had a 920, loved it, but wanted a really good camera instead of just a good one, so got a s/h 1020 on eBay. For me, it's brilliant, it does everything I want and does it well. I couldn't give a toss about Windows 10, and I couldn't give a toss about looking cool in front of some 20-something know-nothing. So there.

        3. GlenP Silver badge

          Re: Almost as good

          I finally got fed up waiting and got the Wileyfox.

          I liked the 1020, mainly bought for the camera, but just too many little niggles and the lack of app support finally swung it.

  3. a_yank_lurker

    Which is worse

    Which is worse, Winbloat 10 for PCs or phones? 10 is making Bob smell like roses.

    1. Jonathan 27

      Re: Which is worse

      It outperforms Windows 7, Major Linux distros and MacOS in tests so why do you think it's bloated?

      1. Known Hero

        Re: Which is worse

        @jonathon 27, I upvoted you because it is a damn good system as you point out, but bloat does not equate to speed alone. Bloat is doing things by default that you neither wish or need.

        Unfortunately windows 10 falls very deep in this category

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Which is worse

          "Unfortunately windows 10 falls very deep in this category"

          Have you looked at the amount of crud you get with say a default Linux install?! Windows 10 is mild in comparison.

          1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

            Re: Which is worse

            "Have you looked at the amount of crud you get with say a default Linux install?"

            And yet a typical Linux install takes up far less disk space than typical Windows 10, odd that?

            From here, Windows 10 16GB/20GB for 32/64-bit, Ubuntu 7GB:

            https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-10-specifications

            https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TrustyTahr/ReleaseNotes/UbuntuGNOME

            Also its easy to fire up Synaptic or whatever package manager and de-install anything you really feel is unneeded for your system. If you are doing it a lot, then just use command line 'apt-get' (or equivalent) program to remove packages, and when done, use 'history' to list what you did, and copy/paste it in to a bash script that allows you to do the same on other installations.

            1. Paul Crawford Silver badge
              Trollface

              Re: Which is worse

              Opps, did I just feed a Troll?

            2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
              Thumb Down

              Re: Which is worse

              Want an OS with no Crud? Go try DSL (Damm Small Linux) or many of the 10 distros listed here

              http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/10-of-the-most-popular-lightweight-linux-distros-1295034

              Then you can be sure to have no crud as you call it.

              Even with a Linux distro that contains CRUD there are often minimal versions that do exactly what it says on the tin. Then YOU can choose what bells and whistles YOU want.

            3. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Which is worse

              "From here, Windows 10 16GB/20GB for 32/64-bit, Ubuntu 7GB:"

              For Windows, that's including paging and hibernation files, but not for Ubuntu.

              "Also its easy to fire up Synaptic or whatever package manager and de-install anything you really feel is unneeded for your system."

              It's even easier in Windows using add / remove features.

              "If you are doing it a lot, then just use command line 'apt-get' (or equivalent) program to remove packages, and when done, use 'history' to list what you did, and copy/paste it in to a bash script that allows you to do the same on other installations."

              You can do similar in PowerShell - like BASH in concept but far more powerful and fully object orientated - it supports for example real parallel execution branching and can continue across reboots.

              1. Richard Plinston

                Re: Which is worse

                > For Windows, that's including paging and hibernation files, but not for Ubuntu.

                Wrong!

                The 16 or 20 GB is the _free_ space required for an _update_ from Windows 7 or 8. The paging and hibernation files would already exist.

                The 7GB is for a fresh installation and this would include the space required for swap file.

                Ubuntu includes many applications and language systems, such as LibreOffice and Python, but not for Windows.

                > It's even easier in Windows using add / remove features.

                Ubuntu package manager also installs/removes thousands of applications, not merely 'features'.

                > and can continue across reboots.

                That is required because Windows _needs_ reboots. That is because Windows has a limitation that files that are in use cannot be deleted or replaced. Other systems have inode file systems that can delete and replace an open file, the open file continues using the inode until all programs close it. Thus, with *NIX, reboots are not required.

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  Re: Which is worse

                  "The 16 or 20 GB is the _free_ space required for an _update_ from Windows 7 or 8."

                  So that's including keeping a complete copy of the current OS then for roll back / uninstall...

                  "Ubuntu includes many applications and language systems, such as LibreOffice and Python"

                  Quite - so bloated with lots of unnecessary crap as per the original comment....

                  "Ubuntu package manager also installs/removes thousands of applications, not merely 'features'."

                  So does Add / Remove Programs (where Add / Remove Features also resides) in Windows.

                  "Thus, with *NIX, reboots are not required.!"

                  So you have obviously never updated a kernel then....

                  1. Richard Plinston

                    Re: Which is worse

                    >> "Ubuntu includes many applications and language systems, such as LibreOffice and Python"

                    > Quite - so bloated with lots of unnecessary crap as per the original comment....

                    So, you think that office suites and software development systems are "unnecessary crap".

                    Actually that is what people buy computers for.

                    1. Anonymous Coward
                      Anonymous Coward

                      Re: Which is worse

                      "Actually that is what people buy computers for."

                      Probably < 1% of people buy a computer for open source dev tools, or open source Office copies.

                  2. Richard Plinston

                    Re: Which is worse

                    >> "Thus, with *NIX, reboots are not required.!"

                    > So you have obviously never updated a kernel then....

                    Of course rebooting is a simple way to get the updated kernel to be loaded (when there is a new kernel), but your point was that "PowerShell .. can continue across reboots". It _needs_ to be able to continue across reboots because of the limitations of Windows during _every_ update and is not an actual advantage.

                    It is easy enough for superuser to get a bash script to run after a reboot, just add it to /etc/rc.local.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    For about one in fifty ?

    > """For about one in fifty"""

    My understanding is that Windows 10 will not be available for many of the existing Windows Phone 8.x phones, the smaller memory ones (and none of the WP7 ones). So that may be one in a hundred ?

    1. Phil Kingston

      Re: For about one in fifty ?

      And even that was a backtrack from their earlier statements that ALL phones running Windows 8 Phone will get 10.

      Quite why people stick with Windows phones and MS's constant crapness for handling everything around it, I don't know.

      1. Thought About IT

        Re: For about one in fifty ?

        I much prefer the user interface on my Lumia 925 with 8.1 to the Androids and iPhones which preceded it. Sure, there aren't many apps for it, but the ones I need are there. However, I'll be just as pleased if MS never get around to forcing Windows 10 on it, as that messes up the UI.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: For about one in fifty ?

          I already disabled update checks because I do not want 10 on my phone, everything I saw till now hints it is a step back unless you need Office on a phone... (which I don't).

      2. Sandtitz Silver badge
        Meh

        Re: For about one in fifty ?

        "And even that was a backtrack from their earlier statements that ALL phones running Windows 8 Phone will get 10."

        What was the wording on that statement? All Win Phones or just all Nokia/Microsoft phones?

        There are non-Lumia WP8 devices out there from HTC and Samsung (source: Wikipedia) which are at the mercy of the manufacturers. I'm not expecting them to receive Win10 since not all of them even got the 8.1 treatment.

        1. Paul Shirley

          Re: All Win Phones or just all Nokia/Microsoft phones?

          Nokia/MS devices are effectively *all shipped* WP phones, with negligible sales of anything else.

          I've always believed tier 1 OEMs are building WP phones because their sealed Android patent agreements with MS either explicitly require it, or 'voluntarily' supporting WP reduces the licensing fees on Android. Without that carrot|stick I think they would all have abandonned it the moment MS got into bed with Nokia.

          MS have mismanaged WP from day 1, simultaneously complacent about everyone loving whatever they threw out the door and equally complacent about their ability to force compliance on an industry they have little leverage in. Seems even with Ballmer gone the wishful (or should that be magical) thinking continues.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @Phil

        "Quite why people stick with Windows phones and MS's constant crapness for handling everything around it, I don't know."

        Because it works for me. Got one of the 2nd gen WP7 phones, eventually upgraded to WP7.5 (didn't like the 8 interface, so never bothered with WP7.8) and well.. It simply works and does what I need from it. Maybe my environment also has something to do with that because I never bothered to upgrade to Win8 and also have no plans for Win10 any time soon. It's Win7, Office 2010 and VS2012 here, so I suppose my environment is also dated a bit.

        Main reasons for me to use Windows Phone: simple but useful interface, Office connectivity (from word to Onenote), and I can even use it to log onto my BSD servers (SSH) as well as Windows servers.

        Why would I upgrade (or change) if what I have works for me?

      4. cambsukguy

        Re: For about one in fifty ?

        Why do I stick with my WinPhone...

        I am using an Android for some development work for an app and it uses Bluetooth. Well, BT can be flaky and rubbish sometimes but the Android phone I am using (Moto 4E) is atrocious.

        As I have mentioned before, UI pop-ups for BT pairing etc. end up hidden, trusted device popups likewise. You don't know that you are supposed to go somewhere else.

        But I am here to tell you about the god-awful volume control issues. The BT connects and the sound is now A2DP over the connected device . Oh, it is too loud, reduce the BT volume on the phone, good.

        10 seconds later, use the UI, change radio station (for it is a radio app) and boom, the BT is at full volume again.

        It turns out that this happens with the regular volume too. Not only that but it doesn't remember the BT volume differently for different BT device as my WinPhone does. It could be the app but it doesn't seem reasonable

        Add to that that the Low Energy is a pain to make connect etc. where I have minimal issues with iOS and WInPhone for that matter and the whole thing leaves me cold.

        And, the worst parrt of all, the UI audio feedback is sent over A2DP when connected, which means it affects the device connected. This is definitely not what one would want at all. I was forced to disable all UI feedback to use the app seriously at all.

        Awful, horrible, unbearable, don't know how people get by using it. Presumably, the same way that all iPhone users I see in cars tapping away on their phone while driving - they just don't use Bluetooth apparently.

    2. ROC

      Re: For about one in fifty ?

      WP 10 Preview is fitting/working ok on my Lumia 635 with the typical 512MB RAM, and 3-4GB free internal storage. My issue is that it is still not ready to replace 8.1 on my 640, and I am not willing to allow forced updates (as with the PC version) when MS "thinks" they are ready/safe to use. That is an absolute show-stopper for any interest by me in Win 10 on any platform, and the privacy issues are nearly as critical, although it seems most can be turned off, leaving what about any modern system can glean from "metadata" type snooping.

      Consider, too, that 1 in 50, or even in 100 is still still millions of users, so would those numbers not interest anyone for app sales??

  5. Mikel

    Question

    Is there some field of endeavor these guys do well in? They should try focusing their efforts on that. Origami, maybe, or performance art. Shirley not software design and implementation.

    1. Captain DaFt

      Re: Question

      "Is there some field of endeavor these guys do well in?"

      I think they'd make an excellent digestive tract. Everything that disappears into the Microsoft maw always comes out shit.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Question

      They have an incredible legal and lobbying departments.

      They can make theft legal, ownership rights non-existent, anti-competitive behaviour invisible and reclassify words so they no longer bare any semblance to their original meaning.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Question

        2 thumbs down but no counter argument?

        That's just lazy.

        1. Chika
          FAIL

          Re: Question

          'Bois will be 'bois, I guess.

          All except Shirley, of course.

    3. captain veg Silver badge

      Re: Question

      They could try their hands at making vacuum cleaners. That way they'd have a chance of shipping a product which didn't suck.

      -A.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rolling out to "select existing Windows 8 and 8.1 phones."

    Probably going to use Santa's Naughty list.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    Oh, yeah!

    Please enjoy today's two minute hate on MSFT.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh, yeah!

      I think 'hate' is too strong a word. My comment is merely ridicule - just taking the piss out of the Enemy, as is traditional.

      When Microsoft cease hostilities and stop trying to subvert the PCs of their existing (and largely satisfied) customers, I'll go back to being indifferent to their activities.

      For the record : I fully intended to make my next phone a Windows phone, provided that the functionality was OK. Windows 10 is probably good enough for my purposes, but I won't touch it with a barge-pole given their current behaviour towards their customers.

      1. GENGHIS7777

        Re: Oh, yeah!

        People want them to be modern and ridicule them for letting Apple get away on them in smartphones. When they try to change people criticise them for changing too fast. Fortunately the silent majority have more sense and vote with their pockets. Microsoft is doing fine. You build a company that has billions in annual sales. I'm a happy customer.

    2. BobChip
      Meh

      Re: HATE - Oh, yeah!

      No, not hate, just sadness. I used to hold MS in high esteem. I no longer do, and the reason lies in their hubris, greed and casual dishonesty. I once feared that MS would fail totally (because that would have been a BAD THING for everyone), now I am just standing on the sidelines watching a car crash in slow motion, and I doubt that anyone really cares. A lot of people are going to get hurt.

  8. Mint Sauce
    Windows

    I guess I'll be keeping my Nokia for a while yet

    My WinPho 7.8 Nokia is still nice to use though small screened, & a bit slow by more modern standards. It's a well made product, with a good OS that's done nearly everything I wanted (despite several of the usual Microsoft crazy decisions they always make with software). I'd have liked to finally replace it in the next year or two, but it sounds like WinPho 10 is a huge step backwards in usability & functionality :-(

    No idea what to replace it with. Not a huge fan of Android, won't pay the Apple tax, there doesn't really seem to be much choice any more.

    I should probably form a support group with the other WinPho 7 user... ;-)

Page:

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like