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Windows 10 for phones and small tablets

File:Windows 10 (mobile).jpgScreenshot of Windows 10 running on a smartphone, showing the start screen
Developer	Microsoft
Update method	Firmware over the air
Platforms	ARMv7
Kernel type	Hybrid
Preceded by	Windows Phone 8.1 (2014) Windows RT
Official website	microsoft.com/mobile/windows10

Windows 10 for phones and small tablets is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, succeeding Windows Phone 8.1. It will primarily aim to bring tighter integration and unification with its PC counterpart Windows 10, and provide a platform for both smartphones, and small tablets under 8 inches in screen size with ARM system-on-chips.

Due to this convergence, Microsoft promotes Windows 10 for phones and small tablets as being an edition of its PC counterpart, and has downplayed specific references to the Windows Phone brand in relation to it. However, critics have still considered the operating system to be an iteration and continuation of Windows Phone due to its lineage and similar overall functionality.

Most smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1 will be capable of being upgraded to Windows 10 for phone.

Development

In July 2014, Microsoft's then-new CEO Satya Nadella explained that the company was planning to "streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes," unifying Windows, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded around a common architecture and a unified application ecosystem. However, Nadella stated that these internal changes would not have any effect on how the operating systems are marketed and sold. On September 30, 2014, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10; Terry Myerson explained that Windows 10 would be Microsoft's "most comprehensive platform ever," providing a single, unified platform for desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and all-in-one devices.

Windows 10 for phones was publicly unveiled during the Windows 10: The Next Chapter press event on January 21, 2015; in accordance with Microsoft's unification strategy, this version will be branded primarily as "Windows 10" without any disambiguation, rather than "Windows Phone 10", although it was also referred to as "Windows 10 for phones and small tablets" during the event. Microsoft had begun to phase out specific references to the Windows Phone brand in its advertising in mid-2014. Unlike previous Windows Phone versions, Windows 10 will also expand the platform's focus to small, ARM-based tablets, thus making it a de facto successor to Microsoft's commercially unsuccessful Windows RT platform (which was based upon the PC version of Windows 8). Windows RT devices will receive a different update with some of the features of Windows 10 for PC.

Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones can be upgraded to Windows 10 for phones, pursuant to hardware compatibility and manufacturer support. In November 2014, a post by a Microsoft Twitter account stated that all Nokia and Microsoft Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 would receive updates to 10, but following the official unveiling, Microsoft reiterated and stated that they were targeting the "majority" of Lumia phones, and that not all phones would receive the update or support all of its features.

Features

Action Center has been redesigned to match the version adopted by Windows 10 for PC; notifications can be synced between devices, and certain types of notifications allow inline replies. The start screen resembles that of Windows Phone 8.1, except that wallpapers are now displayed as the background of the screen rather than within the tiles. The messaging app adds support for internet-based Skype messaging alongside SMS, similarly to iMessage. The camera app has been updated to match the "Lumia Camera" app previously exclusive to Lumia products. The on-screen keyboard now contains a "joystick" for manipulating the text editing cursor, and can be dragged around the screen.

Many of the operating system's apps are unified with their updated PC equivalents, and share user interfaces and code: the Office Mobile suite was updated, and a new cross-platform Outlook app was added. The new Photos app aggregates content from local storage and OneDrive, and will be able to perform automatic enhancements to photos.

Version history

Table of versions

Template:Windows 10 for phones and small tablets

See also

• Windows Phone version history

References

1. ^ "Our first look at Windows 10 on phones, and Universal Apps for touchscreens". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
2. ^ Savov, Vlad. "Windows 10 makes its phone debut". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
3. ^ "Microsoft reneges on Windows 10 upgrades for all current Lumia phones". PC World. IDG. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
4. ^ "Microsoft reveals Windows 10". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
5. "Nadella Raises Eyebrows With Plans to 'Streamline' Windows". PC Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
6. "Why did Microsoft choose Windows 10 instead of Windows 9?". Techradar. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
7. Oremus, Will (September 30, 2014). "Windows 8 Was So Bad That Microsoft Is Skipping Windows 9". Slate. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
8. "Microsoft is killing the Nokia and Windows Phone brands". The Verge. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
9. "Windows Phone 10 to be called just Windows 10". GSMArena. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
10. "Microsoft has 'tailored' version of Windows 10 for phones, tablets". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
11. "Microsoft's Windows RT isn't dead ... yet". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
12. "Microsoft finally shows off Windows 10 on smartphones and small tablets". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
13. ^ "This is Windows 10 for phones". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 22 January 2015.

• Articles to be merged from February 2015
• Windows 10
• Windows Phone
• Smartphones
• Mobile operating systems
• ARM operating systems