Why wait for WM10 on older phones?

[ajayden]

Windows 10 Mobile has only been released on 3 phones - 550/950/950XL, that too because there was a lot of request from users, for flagship phones. The forums are the evidence of the requests or complaints that "no flagships are released for nearly 2 years".

Now this demand has changed to Windows Mobile on older phones. Does Microsoft really have to provide updates for older phones?

Lets looks at 2 scenarios that I found on the internet.

1) Apple releases iOS to only selected devices. Below is the screenshot.


2) Samsung releases Android 6.0 Marshmallow to selected devices. Below is the screenshot.


We can see clearly from the above screenshots that Apple and Samsung don't release latest OS for older phones. I mean those phones that have already reached their "End Of Life" (EOL). By doing that, they are forcing their users to upgrade to the latest phone with the latest OS version.

Should Microsoft do the same? Or, do you think Microsoft is being nice to the users by offering OS update for phones that are older by 2 years or more?

I feel they should not provide upgrade for older phones and only provide newer phones with new OS. I say this mostly because the older phones are not designed for newer OS and those who are requesting for newer OS on older phones will complain in the future that the OS is buggy without understanding that they have installed the OS on an older phone.

Post your suggestions below.

 

[Charles Brown8]

Microsoft has a published list of older phones that will receive the 10 update and those that will not. My Icon being one of them that will receive the official update. I would suspect that those waiting for the official update are like me, hoping the official update also comes with a official firmware update for the phone that officially supports their phone and win 10.. I question your reasoning of older phones not getting the update if it's capable of running the OS acceptable.. My Icon is a snapdragon 800 that flies on win 10 and blows away over 90% of newer win phones released over past 2 years..

This is not a android platform with disposa phones for each OS update hehe...

That's my reasoning lol..

 

[ajayden]

@Charles Brown8 : Agreed that they have posted a list of phones that will be updated but then my suggestion is they should not update those phones, as that will lead to more complaints from users. When people complain about the latest phones (950/950XL), then we can expect more complaints on older phones. The post on our forums are also evidence of people already complaining about the OS performance on older phones.

 

[Charles Brown8]

Have you read the complaints for the newer 950 950xl? I don't have a fraction of the problems as the 950's and I am running .63 on my icon with no hard reset so I still don't see your reasoning. I'm sure the phones Microsoft weeded out from the upgrade were done so for a reason.. By Microsoft and they are writing the OS itself..

 

[slivy58]

We can see clearly from the above screenshots that Apple and Samsung don't release latest OS for older phones. I mean those phones that have already reached their "End Of Life" (EOL). By doing that, they are forcing their users to upgrade to the latest phone with the latest OS version.

Not sure what you are reading but in the one example, iPhone 4s came out in 2011 w/iOS 5 and now can be upgraded to iOS 9.2, how's that not providing latest OS for an older phone, pretty dam good if you ask me?

I came back onboard w/WM in late 2012, looking at my Ativ S, L1020 and L830, I'm hard pressed to see the advancements that should have been with the OS, now all three of my devices are basically EOL and running a stark, lackluster OS (W8.1) compared to the other platforms, everyday I'm reminded of its shortcomings which becomes real apparent when I power up my LG G4.

MS doesn't owe us anything legally but on the moral front I think they do, they've been giving us false hope for years yet fail to deliver time and time again, IMHO, doubt it'll matter cuz soon every WP will be "old" and destine for a museum near you, I've lost all hope for the platform as you can tell.

 

[tgp]

We can see clearly from the above screenshots that Apple and Samsung don't release latest OS for older phones.

I think you're missing something important here. WP8 was released in October of 2012, so the oldest WP8 devices are a little over 3 years old. Apple updated the iPhone 4s, which was released in 2011 with iOS 5, to iOS 9. Therefore, even if the oldest WP8 devices are updated to W10M, they are still not as old as the oldest iPhone that was updated.

Android OEMs have a very poor track record, so almost any update schedule beats them. Nexus devices would be a little more comparable to Apple & Microsoft's models. Google normally updates 2 year old devices to the new version of Android.

If every WP8 model officially gets W10M, Microsoft would fall somewhere in between Apple and Google.

 

[ajayden]

The whole thing about iPhone 4S receiving the updates is that "iPhone 4S is capable of running the OS". For Windows Mobile, I am sure that Lumia 1520 is capable of running Windows Mobile 10, but rest of the phones must not be upgraded.

 

[raycpl]

.........but rest of the phones must not be upgraded.

... My 830 running W10M thinks otherwise.

 

[ajayden]

... My 830 running W10M thinks otherwise.

I understand what you are saying. I also have 920, 1020 and 1520 running WM10 and they are running very well without any glitches. But, what we have here are few old phones running very well on WM10. Rest of the people are complaining about them not running well.

 

[Zulfigar]

People complain. Period. It's just in our blood to want more from life, that's what has gotten us to progress the way we are today as a society.

Now, if Microsoft didn't send out the upgrade, people would complain. If Microsoft sends out the upgrade, people will complain. It's just how it is, and soon we'll probably see people asking for ways to go back to 8.1 after Windows Device Recovery Tool gets upgraded and has the software for just Windows 10.

Back to topic though, no. I don't agree with your ideas that Microsoft shouldn't upgrade thousands of people, I believe everyone should get their free upgrades because of one major ordeal - the store.

Why the store? Because soon, a good majority of applications might just be Windows 10 only apps, and what will people do if there's no free upgrade? Well, I'll let you use your imagination (it starts with a c).

 

[ajayden]

People complain. Period. It's just in our blood to want more from life, that's what has gotten us to progress the way we are today as a society.

Now, if Microsoft didn't send out the upgrade, people would complain. If Microsoft sends out the upgrade, people will complain. It's just how it is, and soon we'll probably see people asking for ways to go back to 8.1 after Windows Device Recovery Tool gets upgraded and has the software for just Windows 10.

Back to topic though, no. I don't agree with your ideas that Microsoft shouldn't upgrade thousands of people, I believe everyone should get their free upgrades because of one major ordeal - the store.

Why the store? Because soon, a good majority of applications might just be Windows 10 only apps, and what will people do if there's no free upgrade? Well, I'll let you use your imagination (it starts with a c).

Ok then lets use some "C" here. Facebook app has been updated to Windows 10 already. Does that mean that I will not have an app in the store for my 920 running 8.1 currently? I will try to uninstall the facebook app from my L920 and install again. Lets check if I find an 8.1 version to download.

Even if apps are upgraded and not available for a certain phone, then just like android play store, they must prompt that it is not available for the phone.

 

[Charles Brown8]

The whole thing about iPhone 4S receiving the updates is that "iPhone 4S is capable of running the OS". For Windows Mobile, I am sure that Lumia 1520 is capable of running Windows Mobile 10, but rest of the phones must not be upgraded.

Hmmm.. I do believe the 930 and Icon run the same snapdragon 800 / GPU as the 1520. What makes you think they don't qualify.. Snapdragon 400 winphones with 1gig of ram are having a good track record with win10 mobile. What exactly is your reasoning behind this. The HTC m8 has a snapdragon 801 I suppose that is on your list of phones not to be upgraded too.

Thank god Microsoft is calling the shots hehe

 

[slivy58]

The whole thing about iPhone 4S receiving the updates is that "iPhone 4S is capable of running the OS". For Windows Mobile, I am sure that Lumia 1520 is capable of running Windows Mobile 10, but rest of the phones must not be upgraded.

If you want a sure-fire way of killing off a platform in an instant then this would be the way to go, the new W10M capable offerings to-date pale in comparison to the older hardware, alienating that user base would surely accelerate WM demise.

 

[ajayden]

If you want a sure-fire way of killing a platform in an instant then this would be the way to go, the new W10M capable offerings to-date pale in comparison to the older hardware, alienating that user base would surely accelerate WM demise.

The user base that I am suggesting to alienate, are the ones saying that "Windows is a dying OS"

 

[ajayden]

Hmmm.. I do believe the 930 and Icon run the same snapdragon 800 / GPU as the 1520. What makes you think they don't qualify.. Snapdragon 400 winphones with 1gig of ram are having a good track record with win10 mobile. What exactly is your reasoning behind this. The HTC m8 has a snapdragon 801 I suppose that is on your list of phones not to be upgraded too.

Thank god Microsoft is calling the shots hehe

You might want to read the number of negative posts by users in the forum. That is what prompted me to think that older phones are not to be updated.

 

[ajayden]

Hmmm.. I do believe the 930 and Icon run the same snapdragon 800 / GPU as the 1520. What makes you think they don't qualify.. Snapdragon 400 winphones with 1gig of ram are having a good track record with win10 mobile. What exactly is your reasoning behind this. The HTC m8 has a snapdragon 801 I suppose that is on your list of phones not to be upgraded too.

Thank god Microsoft is calling the shots hehe

Here is also a good read to see how iOS 9 slowed down most phones.
iPhone Slow? What?s Up with iOS 9 Performance

 

[slivy58]

The user base that I am suggesting to alienate, are the ones saying that "Windows is a dying OS"

Well I'm not sure if you are serious or afraid of reality, you do keep abreast of the latest headlines do you not?

 

[ajayden]

I am not able to edit my previous post. So here is another link about how slow iOS 9 is on the iPhone 4s.
Will iOS 9 slow down my iPhone 4s or iPhone 5/5s? Perhaps a little (Video) | 9to5Mac

 

[slivy58]

You might want to read the number of negative posts by users in the forum. That is what prompted me to think that older phones are not to be updated.

I'd say most of the complaints are justified, and why, because there is too much inconsistencies in the OS and the reasoning behind same devices having varying results (a proven fact), and who's fault is this, surely not mine or yours.

 

[ajayden]

I'd say most of the complaints are justified, and why, because there is too much inconsistencies in the OS and the reasoning behind same devices having varying results (a proven fact), and who's fault is this, surely not mine or yours.

So doesn't that mean that there is an issue on running the OS on older devices and that means the devices must not upgraded?