[Shan Ali Khan]

Hi ,
Can you upgrade our current windows phone 8.1 phones like 520 , 1020 to Windows phone 9
If Microsoft wont do this I think they will make a huge mistake by leaving the majority phones as old platform.

[Mthembeni mavundla]

Interms of hardware i think microsoft will allow phones from 520 to 1520 the dual core processor still does well

[shergitt]

Hmm not too sure, I mean we all know what happened to Windows Phone 7 devices. This was a question that went trough my mind from since the announcement of WP 8.1. It will sure be a mistake if they do that.

[DER1996]

Let's face it , Windows Phone needs all the PR and reputation it could get , and with the kernel being even more optimized and compressed ( wp8.1 update1 and w8 update 1 ) Microsoft is working on a better support for the low end and o, naturally , older hardware , and unless the 530 dethrones the 520 or WP 9 is so good that people ( who were screwed over btw ) would buy a new phone or they decide to go all iOS on us , I think there's a 80 % chance the 820+ will get WP 9 and 60% the 720- will get it too but again if they go apple like , it might lack some features especially key features because they need to sell new phones while keeping the old one compatible.
The best argument I'd support my opinion with is universal apps , they want to give access to a maximum of users and they realize that some people only use / can only afford second hand phones or older models .

[salmanahmad]

Hi ,
Can you upgrade our current windows phone 8.1 phones like 520 , 1020 to Windows phone 9
If Microsoft wont do this I think they will make a huge mistake by leaving the majority phones as old platform.

Since Microsoft isn't updating the kernel in the foreseeable future and the majority of Windows Phone users own a 520, there is a very high chance that 520 and above will get Windows Phone 9.

Let's face it , Windows Phone needs all the PR and reputation it could get , and with the kernel being even more optimized and compressed ( wp8.1 update1 and w8 update 1 ) Microsoft is working on a better support for the low end and o, naturally , older hardware , and unless the 530 dethrones the 520 or WP 9 is so good that people ( who were screwed over btw ) would buy a new phone or they decide to go all iOS on us , I think there's a 80 % chance the 820+ will get WP 9 and 60% the 720- will get it too but again if they go apple like , it might lack some features especially key features because they need to sell new phones while keeping the old one compatible.
The best argument I'd support my opinion with is universal apps , they want to give access to a maximum of users and they realize that some people only use / can only afford second hand phones or older models .

I found your statement about iOS weird, you said "they decide to go all iOS on us" what problems does iOS have with updates? They update their phones for 3 to 4 years, and that's pretty amazing if you ask me.

[jmpa07]

No they can't make the same mistake that did with WP7, because of that I started using iOS but I decided to give a chance to WP8 with a Lumia 925 😎

[kc77]

I said it on another thread of this type before, if Microsoft tells me that my 928 won't get WP9, I'm leaving the platform.

[anon8855939]

May or may not. As the windows phone advances it minimum requirements are increasing. Maybe dual core may work for windows phone 9 but 512 MB ram doesn't.

[Xpider_MX]

Too much speculations...

[roni09riku]

Maybe high end phones can upgrade. MS hasn't changed the kernel yet so hopefully there won't be a WP7 to WP8 crisis again. I'm not too sure about low memory devices like the 520. There are already some users (I personally know one) who experienced slowing down of their phone after upgrading to WP8.1. What more if they further upgrade to WP9? The hardware limitations will really pull down some devices.

[Mr Lebowski]

Geez 8.1 is just out of the bag, maybe wait a bit then start wondering.

[Jazmac]

Hi ,
Can you upgrade our current windows phone 8.1 phones like 520 , 1020 to Windows phone 9
If Microsoft wont do this I think they will make a huge mistake by leaving the majority phones as old platform.

Have you ever heard of Windows Phone 7? IOW, its happened before.

[herbertsnow]

God I hope not. My 520 isn't as fast as it use to since 8.1, WP9 would kill it.

[Asskickulater]

hardware wise I'm almost certain all 8.1 supported devices will get 9.0 (beware of carrier support though..) from what I've gathered and understood, microsoft always wanted to make all devices upgradeable to every update, they just ended up having to make a very hard decision, and in the end, chose to rewrite the os with a new kernal to help progressed toward the WP8/WRT merger

[Zulfigar]

Hi ,
Can you upgrade our current windows phone 8.1 phones like 520 , 1020 to Windows phone 9
If Microsoft wont do this I think they will make a huge mistake by leaving the majority phones as old platform.

Let them announce it first, and I bet the answer we're all looking for will be on the announcement too. :)

[maclancer]

Joe Bilfiore answered the question already:

SO ... we're trying to build an experience that runs cross device on your PC, your Xbox, your Phone-- in a service-oriented way (think: cloud collection)... but simultaneously work for the hordes of people who manually sync content using the shell or itunes. Getting both of these right has been challenging.

We moved away from the PC Zune client in the interest of serving the broadest phone-buying audience in the way they already knew. We learned that many people who ALREADY USED itunes or the shell viewed learning a new Zune client as a "speedbump" in the way of getting going on a new phone. So, we changed the structure to appeal better to those people.

The new experience in WP8.1 Dev Preview will get us to one system that works GREAT for "ordinary sideloaders" (it works with the Windows Shell) AND for people who use multiple devices and are more "cloud-oriented". it's re-architected to handle both of these well-- and in particular we're shipping it as an app on the phone and have committed to regular updates which will make a BIG difference over the next few months. You've seen one already and more are on the way.

Upcoming in the app: you'll see perf improvements (we hear you!), better stability, UI improvements (some of you have been asking for a "swipe" to change tracks), etc. etc. Do take a "months" time view of this, as there's plenty of stuff in the pipeline.

http://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone...phone_team_ama

[alejoseed]

God I hope not. My 520 isn't as fast as it use to since 8.1, WP9 would kill it.

Man, I not trying to offend nobody but are you hard? Did you even try a Lumia 520 with 8.1.1? Of course isn't faster than 920+ but it does very well the work

[mobilejk]

Based on Joe Bilfiore's comments I'm confident my duel core 1520's will get upgraded to WP9. As they should since they were purchased on a 2 yr agreement back at the end of 2013 so by end of 2015 MS device division should have their WP9 phablet available.

[N_LaRUE]

There's a thread that answers some of these questions already.

http://forums.windowscentral.com/win...al-thread.html

[TechFreak1]

Before some of you get all up worked up over windows phone 9, get a bucket of cold ice water and chucked it on yourself

Sit down and think, what happened with windows phone 7 was a kernel change - they changed the heart of the operating system to the NT kernel from Windows CE (This is what powered the Sega Dreamcast back in 1999 Microsoft Announces Windows CE Toolkit for Dreamcast).

This same heart that fuels Xbox one, Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista and Xp (plus a myriad of enterprise products).

Now, if you still think Microsoft will do a kernel hop for Windows 9 and Windows Phone 9...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...wLirQS2-o#t=16

[mariusmuntean]

I do not think MS will do the same mistake twice. Most of the WP8 devices will get wp9, I am sure.

[jomarr]

God I hope not. My 520 isn't as fast as it use to since 8.1, WP9 would kill it.

Lmao. C'mon now you can either update or not. Let there be lag for the other devices that's willing to update.. Either way it's just an option.

OT, just wanna share a story:

I remember a friend asking me if she should update her iPhone 4 to iOS 7, I told her no since I heard that it's laggy and she basically dumped my opinion on the water.. Oh the look on her face when she updated. I can still imagine it and it's still funny when I think about it. I wanna say I told you so but let me not put more frustration in her.

Updating old phones to the latest OS is always a risk.. You need to read reviews and let the excited people rant about it on the internet but if the hardware could still manage the latest update I don't see a problem in them getting it.

[TechFreak1]

Lmao. C'mon now you can either update or not. Let there be lag for the other devices that's willing to update.. Either way it's just an option.

OT, just wanna share a story:

I remember a friend asking me if she should update her iPhone 4 to iOS 7, I told her no since I heard that it's laggy and she basically dumped my opinion on the water.. Oh the look on her face when she updated. I can still imagine it and it's still funny when I think about it. I wanna say I told you so but let me not put more frustration in her.

Updating old phones to the latest OS is always a risk.. You need to read reviews and let the excited people rant about it on the internet but if the hardware could still manage the latest update I don't see a problem in them getting it.

The update is always optional, I have yet to see a windows phone automatically download and install an update without any user prompt. I agree if you are unsure, wait a few days and if there are problems with the update you will certainly hear about it (or read about it).

Also there are many subtle ways to imply "I told you so", without saying it (one of my sisters friend updated her iphone 4 to ios7 and it was laggy as a duck with one leg despite having advised them both not to update, I got my 920 and said I wanted to compare features, did rapid scrolling...checked the menus and after awhile went:

"Gee your iphone 4 is pretty darn fast now isn't it?
Makes my 920 feel like a snail stuck on a century old tortoise"

The look on both their faces, priceless:P)

[Draganta]

Hmm not too sure, I mean we all know what happened to Windows Phone 7 devices. This was a question that went trough my mind from since the announcement of WP 8.1. It will sure be a mistake if they do that.

This was because of technical reasons. It was impossible to upgrade 7 to 8.

As things look right now, I think we will be able to upgrade to Threshold. It is coming sooner than you might expect, and if Threshold is 9, then we have a pretty good chance. This is of course only an assumption.

[N_LaRUE]

Well at least this thread is staying on topic.

To address the issue at hand. As many on here have already pointed out, the kernel change was the main reason for the 7 to 8 debacle.

Will your 8x device be able to upgrade to 9? Sure. Will run all the features, probably not. Will it be smooth running? Maybe. We can't answer any of that.

That's all you really need to know. By the time WP9 is available your older 8x devices you will be ready for replacement anyway. People's expectations need to be checked. A two year old phone isn't going to be high on the priority list of MS on how well it runs. I know people like to milk their technology for as long as possible but smartphones don't work like computers.