With Continuum, could Windows 8.1 RT's upgrade path be Windows 10 phone?

[grahamf]

If a Windows 10 phone can act as a desktop/tablet when hooked up to a bigger screen (and keyboard/mouse), what's stopping something like a Surface RT from running Windows 10 Mobile with Continuum permanently enabled? I believe the RTs' hardware should be compatible - though USB driver support may be iffy.

 

[Tumultus]

Nothing is stopping it other than Microsoft having decided against it. In its current form, does an RT device really need Windows 10 Mobile? Most of them (especially the Surface) have full blown Office on there, so, what else could you need on a light weight tablet on Arm?

 

[grahamf]

Nothing is stopping it other than Microsoft having decided against it. In its current form, does an RT device really need Windows 10 Mobile? Most of them (especially the Surface) have full blown Office on there, so, what else could you need on a light weight tablet on Arm?

Mostly a clear and supported update/app path.

 

[Dawood Ahmed]

Windows 10 apps wont work on windows 8, windows 8 RT and windows phone 8,8.1. So it would be better to get windows 10 mobile for windows RT devices. If MS don't want to do this, they should at least unlock the boot loader so people who bought Windows RT can get some other OS which is still supported. (Windows RT will just get security updates but no updates to apps as everyone will be developing for windows 10)

 

[grahamf]

Honestly from a third-person perspective I can't see any reason why this wouldn't work. Maybe that it wasn't intended for the "second" screen to be touchscreen but I really doubt that Microsoft would code in that limitation, especially when manufactures were making Android phones that convert to laptops and tablets and such a concept could be a hit with Windows 10's Continuum. I don't know about driver issues, but the Surface RT used decent chips so Microsoft should be able to support it if they wanted to.

I'd like to believe that Microsoft is working on it, but it's a lower priority and they don't want to make promises. Plus they would be converting from a PC OS to a mobile OS, so there would probably be a lot of work to do to make the upgrade procedure stable. And there's still the whole deal about Office, as the mobile versions are not as feature-filled as the desktop version, even Office RT.

 

[Steve Adams]

RT devices are dead, Enjoy what we have now. I have two surface 3s to continue on with the windows devices. But the rt system was a great one, just nobody saw the potiential.

 

[Greywolf1967]

Microsoft is not going to invest in the code time to ever attempt such a thing. That said, there is a chance something like this could happen if the right people are put on the job.

I have no idea who they are as a team or even if they dabble in Windows Mobile anymore, but the Dark Forces Team and one other ( but his handle has slipped my mind), would be the ones to thumb their nose at Microsoft and make The Surface RT run Windows 10 for mobile.

The same ones who did a hack as a proof of concept ( Windows RT on th HTC HD2), also made Microsoft out to be liars after saying they could not bring older hardware to Windows Phone 7, it was mainly The Dark Forces Team that made the hack real.

 

[Greywolf1967]

Sorry I should have looked on the picture I posted........
Cortula ( on Twitter I believe ), and the dark forces team ( name on the boot loader software as DFT )

They used to report any updates and new hacks over on XDAdevelopers boards.