Microsoft finally announced the Windows 10 Mobile release to existing handsets, but about half of them won't get it anytime soon.
Windows Phone owners were already getting frustrated and losing their patience after several delays, and the latest news just adds more fuel to the fire. Yes, Microsoft acknowledged that it will start rolling out the Windows 10 Mobile update at last, but the list of eligible handsets is not very extensive.
Some Windows Phone-powered smartphones will get the treat sometime in the future, though Microsoft has yet to provide a definitive timeframe for the updates. Roughly 50 percent of active devices running Windows Phone, however, will not receive the update to Windows 10 Mobile "anytime soon."
The news comes from Alan Mendelevich, founder and CEO of AdDuplex.
AdDuplex Stats Teaser: on a very quick count roughly 50% of Windows Phone devices in use won't be running #Windows10Mobile any time soon.
— Alan Mendelevich (@ailon) March 19, 2016
To be fair, Microsoft never said it will update all of its handsets to Windows 10 Mobile. Still, the company did promise that it will try to upgrade as many Windows Phone handsets as it can. Half of them doesn't really sound like it's making good on its word. Microsoft reportedly reached this decision after assessing the feedback it received from device owners who tried out the Insider Builds. Based on that feedback, the company decided to push the update only to those devices with the "most positive reviews" for the firmware build. It's also worth pointing out that Mendelevich leaves some room for hope by saying that half of devices won't get the update "anytime soon," suggesting that they might get it at a later date. MSPowerUser, however, notes that those handsets may in fact "never receive" the new OS. Among those handsets that will allegedly skip the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade altogether is the Lumia 520, which is the most popular and most used Lumia smartphone. It remains to be seen which reports and predictions will turn out to be accurate, but for now one thing's for sure. The list of eligible handsets currently has fewer than 20 devices, and some of them will likely not support all features the latest mobile OS has to offer. At the same time, a "second wave" is apparently not in the cards.
@hpityu There are no plans for a second wave. ^JH — Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) March 17, 2016
If you're among the lucky owners of one of the eligible Windows Phone devices, here's how to upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile. If your device is not on the list, we'll keep you posted when we learn more.
