End of support for windows phone 10. Windows mobile platforms

08.08.2017, Tue, 16:37, Moscow time , Text: Valeria Shmyrova

The mobile platform Windows 10 Mobile is already isolated in its development from the rest of the Windows 10 family of systems, but will receive support from Microsoft for another year and a half. The universal Andromeda OS will be installed on new Microsoft mobile devices. Existing Windows smartphones will not be able to update to it.

Lifespan of Windows 10 Mobile

Microsoft intends to continue supporting the Windows 10 Mobile operating system for the next year and a half, Windows Central reports. After this period, the project will be closed. The company will begin installing another OS on its new mobile devices, currently known under the code name Andromeda OS.

The new OS should be modular enough to fit any form factor, so there will be no need for a separate system for mobile devices like Windows 10 Mobile. However, existing Windows smartphones will not receive the update to Andromeda OS.

Interestingly, at the same time as Microsoft, Google is working on a new OS codenamed Andromeda, which will supposedly combine Android and Chrome OS into a single platform.

Development along the feature2 branch

Microsoft previously announced that the development of Windows 10 Mobile followed a new branch codenamed feature2. Windows Central believes that this minor innovation, according to the company, was supposed to isolate Windows 10 Mobile from other systems in the Windows 10 family. This was the first step towards closing the project.

Windows 10 Mobile lets you sync content between your smartphone and PC

According to Windows Central, the feature2 branch was created specifically to continue supporting legacy ARM chipsets for the next year and a half. Support includes bug fixes, security updates, and new features for enterprise versions.

In addition, Microsoft will backport to Windows 10 Mobile the new Universal Windows Platform (UWP) APIs that are being implemented in Windows 10 desktop updates such as Redstone 3 and Redstone 4. Backporting is necessary because Windows 10 Mobile feature2 is, by and large, Redstone 2. and this state of affairs will continue until the end of its existence.

Backporting the API will ensure that apps built for Redstone 3 and Redstone 4 will run on Windows 10 Mobile, making the OS more viable in its remaining life. Once backporting stops, the OS will quickly fall behind other members of the Windows 10 family. As a result, smartphones like the Lumia 950 and HP Elite x3 will lose application support.

Windows Mobile Platforms

Windows 10 Mobile is a version of Windows 10 for mobile devices with a screen size of 9 inches or less. The OS was released in February 2015. Its distinctive features were the ability to synchronize content with a PC, connect the device to a large screen or use it as a PC with a mouse and keyboard, and support for UWP applications.

The future of Windows 10 Mobile has become a popular topic among fans and critics alike ever since Microsoft announced that Windows 10 Mobile development would move to the "feature2" branch and remain there. Although Microsoft has stated that the change is minor, Windows Central sources paint a different story; development of Windows 10 Mobile was separated from the rest of Windows 10 on other platforms. But why?

Microsoft has separated the development of Windows 10 Mobile from the rest of Windows 10 because Windows 10 Mobile is no longer required for what Microsoft plans for Windows on mobile devices. Sources suggest that Microsoft's next mobile device will run what the company calls internally Andromeda OS; a version of Windows that aims to be modular enough to run on any form factor and, as a result, eliminates the need for the Windows 10 Mobile edition. So Microsoft no longer needs a Windows-specific version of Windows 10, which means Windows 10 Mobile is now redundant.

This is great news, except for one important detail; Existing Windows smartphones will not receive updates to this "Andromeda OS".

Feature2 branch

According to sources, the feature2 branch exists to continue supporting what Microsoft's internal documentation calls "legacy ARM chipsets" for the next year and a half. The main goal of the feature2 branch is to continue serving Windows 10 mobile devices through 2018 with bug fixes, security updates, and new enterprise-specific features. It is also reported that Microsoft will support new UWP APIs that will be introduced in Redstone 3 and Redstone 4 on PC

The reason these APIs are "backwards" and not originally introduced is because the feature2 branch is technically Redstone 2 (but it's frozen). When Microsoft split Windows 10 Mobile into the feature2 branch, it also froze OneCore development on Redstone 2. Now, given that Windows 10 Mobile will not recreate the rest of Windows 10 development, this means that Windows 10 Mobile will support Redstone 2 for the remainder own life.

So, to compensate for this, Microsoft will support the new UWP APIs that will be introduced in Redstone 3 and Redstone 4. This means that if an application developer is targeting any new UWP APIs that will be introduced in the next couple of Windows 10 releases, these applications will continue to work with feature2 Windows 10 Mobile. This should give Windows 10 Mobile an extra boost of life in the next year or so.

It is indeed true that Microsoft continued to compile Redstone 3 builds for Windows 10 Mobile for a while, but only to continue CShell development on smaller engineering devices. However, sources said that this is no longer the case as of last month as CShell will not be available for existing Windows smartphones. It's also worth noting that Microsoft's efforts to bring new APIs to Windows 10 Mobile are only planned until Redstone 4, but that could change.

Application support won't last forever

Once the APIs stop receiving calls, Windows 10 Mobile devices will very quickly fall behind the rest of Windows 10 when it comes to supporting UWP apps. As developers begin to integrate the new APIs coming with Redstone 5, these apps will not be able to run on feature2 with Windows 10 Mobile, meaning devices like the Lumia 950 and HP Elite x3 will quickly lose support applications. Microsoft may continue to support Windows 10 Mobile with security updates in 2018.

Microsoft will continue to release production builds of Windows 10 Mobile (outside of the Insider Program), and may also continue to align them with PC releases such as the Fall Creators Update. But since development has been split between Mobile and Desktop, Microsoft can choose to release mobile updates on its own schedule if it wants.

Some select Windows 10 Mobile phones may end support earlier. All mobile devices updated to Windows 10 Mobile version 1709 will continue to receive updates until the end of life date. However, smartphones running Windows 10 Mobile version 1703 will no longer receive updates after June 11, 2019.

The end of mobile OS support does not mean that users will not be able to use their devices. It’s just that devices running Windows 10 Mobile after December 10 will no longer receive security updates and other types of updates.

Microsoft warns users:

Your Windows 10 Mobile devices will continue to work after December 10, 2019, but will no longer receive any updates after that date (including security updates), and backup and other supporting services will no longer work.

According to Microsoft, system support can be extended for a fee or using third-party solutions.

Due to the end of support for Windows 10 Mobile, we recommend that customers upgrade to supported Android or iOS devices. Microsoft's mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve greater impact compels us to support mobile apps across these platforms and devices.

Useful information about the end of support for Windows 10 Mobile

• Support for Windows 10 Mobile version 1703 will end on June 11, 2019.
• Support for Windows 10 Mobile version 1709 will end on December 10, 2019.
• Creation of new device backups will stop on March 10, 2020.
• Windows Device Recovery will continue to provide recovery discs for Windows 10 Mobile devices. Microsoft has made no official announcement regarding the end of support for the tool.
• Photo upload and backup restore functionality will continue to work for 12 months after support ends (until June 11, 2020 or December 10, 2020, depending on the version of Windows 10 Mobile).
• The App Store may continue to function after support ends.
• Support Update still supports updates for Windows 10 Mobile devices. Microsoft says there are no plans to remove previously released updates from Windows Update.

Users who choose to continue using Windows 10 Mobile devices after support ends will be able to create manual backups. To do this you need to go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Advanced options > Create a backup.

Conclusion

Microsoft has failed to gain a foothold in the mobile market. The acquisition of Nokia did not allow for a qualitative change in the situation in this regard.

The end of support for Windows 10 Mobile and a shift in focus to releasing apps for Android and iOS devices marks the end of an era of failed attempts by Redmond to create a popular mobile operating system.

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Just a couple of days ago, Microsoft presented its financial report to the public for the third fiscal quarter of 2017. The most interesting detail that instantly excited the user fraternity was the mention in the report that the company’s mobile business would be restructured at the end of fiscal 2017, which falls in the month of June.

Popular journalists vying with each other about this news on their Twitter accounts, for example, Mary Jo Foley, as well as Paul Thurrott. On their pages, unequivocal information appeared that Microsoft plans to discontinue the Lumia line, as well as the Windows 10 Mobile operating system. Moreover, in order not to be unfounded, journalists provided insider information on this matter in support.

In particular, according to Turrot, Microsoft plans to leave the telephone business no later than June of this year. This is when the 2017 fiscal year, which appears in the financial report, will end. And according to Joe Foley, in a personal comment to her, the general manager of Microsoft confirmed the almost complete lack of revenue within the telephone business.

Some analysts see evidence of the alleged restructuring of the telephone business and, accordingly, the closure of the Windows 10 Mobile mobile platform, data from the quarterly report presented by the software corporation. As evidence, analysts point to significant differences between previous and recent Microsoft reports. For example, in the Redmond giant's previous report there was a section entirely dedicated to Windows Phone, as well as Bing, Windows Store and Windows Server. If we talk about the most recent report, which was presented a few days ago, then it not only does not have a separate paragraph dedicated to the mobile operating system, but in general there is no mention of Windows 10 Mobile.

Not only users in their comments, but many experts are increasingly bolder in suggesting that it is already possible to order a wake using Windows 10 Mobile. All this is very sad, because whatever one may say, the Redmond mobile operating system still has a huge number of fans. Moreover, many remember last year's statements about their intentions to produce mobile devices in various price categories. In addition, everyone remembers that the Internet was full of leaks and leaks about the development of the mysterious Surface Phone smartphone, which should support programs for Windows 10. However, today the reality of the existence of the Surface Phone smartphone is at least doubtful.

On the Internet, only the lazy did not discuss the topic of the death of the mobile version of Windows, and recently the gathering clouds over this platform have become so obvious that everyone is waiting for Microsoft to finally admit it officially. Some of the popular services have long abandoned support for their applications for the Windows 10 Mobile platform, in addition, many simply are not updated. Among these services was the Viber messenger, popular in our latitudes, which no longer supports Windows 10 Mobile. In addition, VKontakte also stated that the Redmond mobile system has ceased to be a priority for them.

The announced completion of the restructuring of the mobile division will lead to the fact that about 2,850 employees will be subject to dismissal. In conclusion, it is worth noting that the global share of Lumia smartphones at one time accounted for 95% of the market, this serves as further evidence that the actual cessation of sales of these devices could mean the death of the entire mobile operating system. By the way, let’s mention the rumors that claim the imminent launch of Surface devices, the target audience of which will be educational institutions. However, this information is at the level of rumors, while many analysts warn users against purchasing Windows 10 Mobile smartphones, as the platform will soon cease to be supported.

Microsoft has officially announced plans to end support for Windows 10 Mobile by publishing a message on the official support website about the end of support effective December 10, 2019.

Windows 10 Mobile is an unpopular Microsoft product that was released in March 2016. The technology giant admitted the failure of the mobile version of the OS, and officially recommended that users of this OS switch to iOS or Android.

Starting December 10, 2019, Windows 10 Mobile users will no longer receive updates, including security patches.

A remarkable fact is that the two models Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL will lose OS support from Microsoft even earlier - on June 11, 2019.

What to do

Until December 10, 2019, you can use your phone running Microsoft Windows 10 Mobile the same way as before. You will receive all updates, including critical ones. Support will end on the 10th - but this does not mean that some devices will be blocked.

You can continue to use your device, but over time the OS will become outdated. Without support from the developer, this will happen faster, since Microsoft does not even plan to release security patches - which makes using the smartphone even dangerous.

Owners of the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL models are even less fortunate; their phones will no longer be updated in the summer of 2019. But just like other Windows 10M devices, they will continue to work.

You can decide for yourself whether to urgently migrate, whether to sell your phone or find an alternative solution. There are already several instructions on the Internet on how to transfer a Windows 10 Mobile device to Android. The latest OS is Android, a free system from Google. These instructions are unofficial.

Probably, Microsoft or Google, closer to the date of the “death” of Windows Mobile, will present a beautiful and convenient solution for migrating to a new OS, but the situation may take a negative scenario when you are left alone with the device, in this case we recommend get rid of the device within six months - sell the phone, since further use will become unsafe and unstable due to the lack of patches from the developers.

Share in the comments what you think about the news about the closure of support for the mobile operating system from Microsoft, and what do you plan to do after December 10?

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