MS to HTC: HTC One M8 isn't good enough for Windows 10

[Jazmac]

At least according to HTC officials. Microsoft says the HTC One M8 didn't make the cut due to Windows 10 hardware requirements. WTH? I suspect there is some bad blood since HTC has yet to release an M9 for the platform but that's my own speculation. Full story here

Microsoft has decided not to update some Windows Phone devices to Windows 10 Mobile, and one particular unexpected model included in this list is HTC?s M8 for Windows.

After several confusing tweets coming from HTC?s Twitter account, which first said that the M8 would actually get Windows 10 Mobile but then changed its mind and said that Microsoft was right and no upgrade would be released, the phone manufacturer ended up blaming the software giant for not providing the new operating system for its own devices.

If the latest tweet, HTC?s Twitter account said that it wasn?t their choice not to update the M8 to Windows 10 Mobile, suggesting that the device is indeed perfectly capable of running the new operating system.

?Microsoft decided not to include HTC One M8 to receive the Windows 10 update,? HTC tweeted, adding that this is happening ?due to hardware requirements of the Windows 10, HTC One M8 Windows won't receive the Windows 10 update.?
"Microsoft tightlipped in the HTC saga"

No details have been provided on how exactly the M8 for Windows does not meet hardware requirements because, at least on paper, the device seems to have what it takes to run Windows 10 Mobile quite smoothly.

The HTC M8 for Windows comes with a Snapdragon 801 processor running at 2.3 GHz and features an Adreno 330 GPU, as well as 32 GB of storage space, 2 GB of RAM, and microSD card support for additional storage.

Microsoft hasn?t yet replied to HTC?s claims, but it?s very clear that the software giant wants to get over this as soon as possible because the decision to leave behind some models only led to more criticism from the Windows community.

 

[LockOnTech]

Pretty disappointing that HTC is in the development late stages for marshmallow for, but the hardware is no good for windows 10.

 

[fdalbor]

More bad blood that Microsoft is going to have to live with. How can the 435 be OK for windows and M8 not be. I thought about getting a M8, glad i didn't. Sure makes it look like all the talk about OEM's doing W10 phones is just talk.

 

[Br1t]

I was affected by this an voted with my wallet. After joining Windows Phone the day WP7 came out I've jumped ship to Android for the first time. I went thru this with 7 to 8 and I'm not doing it again with 8 to 10. If and when MS actually gets itself together I may come back, I'm not holding my breath thou.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[mary beth hale]

Wasn't the HTC the first non Lumia/MS phone to be added earlier on to the Windows Device Recovery Tool? That would have indicated (to me) full support for upgrade to W10M. Guess I was wrong. Hardware restrictions...what a bunch of malarky. What does this say to OEMs about support for their phones if they choose to make a Windows handset?

 

[charlatan1978]

Isn't the HTC One M8 restricted to one carrier in the US? Could the carrier be blocking the official Win10m release?

 

[oviedofreak82]

Isn't the HTC One M8 restricted to one carrier in the US? Could the carrier be blocking the official Win10m release?

No since it was available on Verizon, AT&T, & T-Mobile. So this isn't a carrier issue.

 

[HeyCori]

A phone with almost no market share on a platform with almost no market share... Of course HTC wants to shift the blame to Microsoft. I'm quite sure HTC decided a long time ago that were not going to put any more resources into the M8. But they can't say that for PR reasons, so blame Microsoft, blame Microsoft, blame Microsoft.

 

[mary beth hale]

A phone with almost no market share on a platform with almost no market share... Of course HTC wants to shift the blame to Microsoft. I'm quite sure HTC decided a long time ago that were not going to put any more resources into the M8. But they can't say that for PR reasons, so blame Microsoft, blame Microsoft, blame Microsoft.

Didn't think of it that way. You're right.

 

[fdalbor]

I found it funny when they posted that almost half the windows phones would be upgradable. Like they were doing half their customers a favor and telling the other half to stick it where the sun don't shine. Does microsoft really think we are that stupid to buy that bull. I gave away my Dell tablet and my 820 and 925 and bought two Android phones and a Samsung tablet. I will keep my 640 just to see what W10 looks like, if it ever gets it. Waiting on provider and microsoft to release it. More, comming soon. How many times have they said that.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

HTC is so full of crap. They screw their customers over as it is and Microsoft is their scapegoat.
Bye Felicia.

 

[r2SN]

HTC is so full of crap. They screw their customers over as it is and Microsoft is their scapegoat.
Bye Felicia.

Did Felicia's boyfriend come to you too? hahaha

 

[ttsoldier]

A phone with almost no market share on a platform with almost no market share... Of course HTC wants to shift the blame to Microsoft. I'm quite sure HTC decided a long time ago that were not going to put any more resources into the M8. But they can't say that for PR reasons, so blame Microsoft, blame Microsoft, blame Microsoft.

This.

 

[Keith Wallace]

This makes no sense. The 1520 has a comparable SoC, and as does the "being reviewed" ICON--which is the same as the 930 that got supported. It could be about something funky HTC did with firmware, or they don't want to do the work. However, it's built on guts comparable to, or even better than, many of the supported devices.

 

[Krystianpants]

The lumia 930 uses the Krait 400 and is supported, the m8 is not. I think there's a few things at play here. MS is responsible for dealing with carriers to update any devices they deal with. This includes nokia/ms devices. They would not be working with carriers to update non-ms based devices. Blu for example works with carriers on their own device. This is only to get that initial 8.1 to 10 upgrade. Once they are on 10 MS starts controlling updates.

But since htc runs on specific carriers and may have carrier specific firmware on each device. It may require firmware updates on their part in order to have it function with any custom tech like their smart cover. They also have to work with carriers to have it tested, etc.. So i'm not sure how it can be blamed on MS since its internals are pretty much an upgraded lumia 930.

It may be one of those vague PR things. MS requires some firmware update on the HTC m8 in order to have windows 10 working properly. HTC says, they won't do that as it's an old phone and to put effort into it is nothing but money losses. There's nothing to gain from it. So saying "MS doesn't support it AS IS" could be true because MS does require something from HTC. Again, it's all speculation. But I think MS is willing to take the PR hit for HTC. They want to build better partnerships. If MS is to blame then future HTC devices that are windows based won't hurt HTC's sales. If HTC is to blame, then they would likely not do well with any new windows devices as people will be weary.

 

[Mad Cabbie]

This makes no sense. The 1520 has a comparable SoC, and as does the "being reviewed" ICON--which is the same as the 930 that got supported. It could be about something funky HTC did with firmware, or they don't want to do the work. However, it's built on guts comparable to, or even better than, many of the supported devices.

But the Icon was on one carrier, so maybe that has an effect. Also saw a tweet from Gabe about rendering issues with the icon. Now that one sounded strange, but hey, what do we know.

 

[Mad Cabbie]

The lumia 930 uses the Krait 400 and is supported, the m8 is not. I think there's a few things at play here. MS is responsible for dealing with carriers to update any devices they deal with. This includes nokia/ms devices. They would not be working with carriers to update non-ms based devices. Blu for example works with carriers on their own device. This is only to get that initial 8.1 to 10 upgrade. Once they are on 10 MS starts controlling updates.

But since htc runs on specific carriers and may have carrier specific firmware on each device. It may require firmware updates on their part in order to have it function with any custom tech like their smart cover. They also have to work with carriers to have it tested, etc.. So i'm not sure how it can be blamed on MS since its internals are pretty much an upgraded lumia 930.

It may be one of those vague PR things. MS requires some firmware update on the HTC m8 in order to have windows 10 working properly. HTC says, they won't do that as it's an old phone and to put effort into it is nothing but money losses. There's nothing to gain from it. So saying "MS doesn't support it AS IS" could be true because MS does require something from HTC. Again, it's all speculation. But I think MS is willing to take the PR hit for HTC. They want to build better partnerships. If MS is to blame then future HTC devices that are windows based won't hurt HTC's sales. If HTC is to blame, then they would likely not do well with any new windows devices as people will be weary.

I have to concur poopy! A well thought out post, offering possibilities as to why it isn't happening. I believe, firmly (sic), that it is a firmware issue, and like you said, HTC aka Horrible Taiwanese Company, aren't going to bother, just pass the buck.

I would also mention that despite your post, the ship jumpers managed to take over a thread and blame all their ills on one entity. I wonder how long it will be before we browse the other OS forums, and see them there, berating their new shiny OS that isn't so shiney. IOS 9.3 rings a bell.

 

[Cruachan 11]

Couple of points to this.

1. HTC are struggling as a whole, despite a series of fairly well received devices they aren't doing all that well. Spending time and resources on their one Windows Phone probably doesn't make much commercial sense for them, particularly if the feedback has been poor about the performance on W10M. That supposedly is why devices like my Lumia 925 aren't getting the update, even though I've had no issues personally.

2. HTC might feel that MS have let them down a bit. Going back to the Windows Mobile days, HTC were one of the premier OEMs with their own devices and also rebranded devices like the O2 XDA series. They produced what were considered the best Windows Mobile 6 devices by many, the HD2 and the HD Mini which still have a dedicated dev following, and were the lead OEM on Windows Phone 7 as well. MS made the decision to abandon WP7, and HTC had 6-7 devices at the time, so may well have got quite a lot of flak from their customers over those devices. Then after all that MS jumps into bed with Nokia.

 

[daveb673]

I don't mind saying I am seriously disappointed about this.
The HTC One M8 won't get Windows 10 Mobile and HTC blames Microsoft
The upgrade to Win 10 was one of the reasons I bought a flagship phone. HTC, because I really liked my TtyN (Kaiser). Well, not sure what I'll get next.
So, for those that loaded the W10 demo on their M8W??

 

[cannon#WP]

Maybe this is why I was accepted into the device insider program and moved onto a Lumia to "test Continuum". I was doing nothing but submitting feedback and uploading hundreds of diagnostic reports on my One that they probably got tired of it and got me off of it (for now). They probably knew for a while that they'd exclude the One from the official upgrade list.

I don't care who's "fault" it is, the fact is MS and HTC in the end couldn't make it happen so my one will remain on pre-Redstone insider Win10, just like my Titan 2 remained on WP7 and my Touch Pro2 remained on WM6.5.5. I guess I should've gotten use to broken promises.