Microsoft Confirms – Windows 10 For All Lumia Devices Including Low-End Ones, But There’s A Catch
Microsoft has assured people that all Lumia devices will be updated to Windows 10, the Redmond-based company’s latest Operating System. However, there’s a small catch.
Microsoft has offered a confirmatory solace to people who have bought Lumia devices and are worried whether their devices will receive the much-awaited Windows 10 update. Microsoft is working to get Windows 10 working on devices with just 512MB RAM. This includes the low-end Lumia 520 as well.
The news was tweeted by Microsoft operating systems group vice president Joe Belfiore on Sunday.
Hey all: we ARE working on Win10 for 512MB, including 520. Our ambition is to make #Win10 available for these devices but features may vary
— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) February 8, 2015
There’s just one catch: Small memory means some Windows 10 features will be cut out to make the forthcoming OS run smoothly on the phones. Windows 10 is one of the most hotly awaited Operating Systems that has been created keeping in mind the desktop, tablet as well as the mobile users. Hence it is quite naturally expected that there will be multiple variants of Windows 10 that will be intended for the different class of devices.
Windows 10 on mobile will be available through the Insider Program first, but only on a limited number of handsets, Belfiore wrote. He was referring to the developer program which lets users install software that hasn’t been yet completely certified for mainstream consumption, but is nearly ready for mass distribution.
It is quite apparent. Microsoft cannot ignore even low end Lumia devices in its update program. Phones such as the Lumia 520 have become strategically important to Microsoft’s Windows-phone efforts. This is primarily because the low-end market is critical for the company. Microsoft might want to match Apple by being able to sell multi-hundreds-of-dollar handsets, but the company’s biggest hit has always been the low-price market.
Introduced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) nearly two years ago, the 520 was Nokia’s cheapest Lumia at the time. Priced lucratively at just $183, the phone’s price fell further to less than a hundred dollars when bought with a calling plan. Helped with the pricing, by May 2014, Lumia 520 was the single most popular Lumia, with Nokia outselling all other makers of Windows Phones by a significant share.
Hence any phone or more specifically Lumia that helps the bottom-line can’t be ignored. Furthermore, Microsoft desperately needs a phone handset hit. The company is steadily losing in the smartphone war. The Windows Phone market share fell in 2014, to an estimated 2.7 per cent, down from 3.3 per cent in 2013. Such numbers need to be strengthened and hence your Lumia will now have Windows 10, even if some features are absent.
[Image Credit | Microsoft]
