What happens to all my apps in WP 8.1

[Kon Bick]

Hey,
as I am new to WP I haven't followed what happened during the transition from WP 7 or 7.5 to 8 but I remember there was an update that would require new apps as the old ones would not run on the newer version of the OS. What will happen to all my purchased apps in WP 8.1? I read that no WP 8 apps will run on WP 8.1, so I am right now hesitating to buy new apps...

But how was it last time? Were identical apps offered soon after the transition? Or did some apps not show up anymore? Will microsoft help developer with the new needed code (i.e. give advice what is to do)?

And, I also read that Windows 8 RT apps will run on our phones then. Is that true? Or not entirely clear yet?

Thanks for your information!

 

[a5cent]

Someone has informed you very incorrectly, on all counts. You need to stop listening to whoever is feeding you this :smile:

Most WP7.x apps ran just fine on WP8.x. A few exceptions did exist however. It took a few months for developers to get on the same page as MS, but it sorted itself out fine.

All WP8 apps are expected to run perfectly under WP8.1 without any changes. Making use of some of the new OS features will require that apps are updated, but that is normal.

Windows 8 RT apps will never run on WP. WP is expected to eventually replace W8RT however, at which point we will have a single OS for tablets and smartphones. Currently WP and W8RT are "just" becoming more similar (from a developers point of view), so it will require less effort for devs to build apps that run on both. That is the extent of "compatibility" for now.

EDIT: It is true that WP8.1 apps will not run on WP8.0, but that too is normal.

 

[Zulfigar]

Hey,
as I am new to WP I haven't followed what happened during the transition from WP 7 or 7.5 to 8 but I remember there was an update that would require new apps as the old ones would not run on the newer version of the OS. What will happen to all my purchased apps in WP 8.1? I read that no WP 8 apps will run on WP 8.1, so I am right now hesitating to buy new apps...

But how was it last time? Were identical apps offered soon after the transition? Or did some apps not show up anymore? Will microsoft help developer with the new needed code (i.e. give advice what is to do)?

And, I also read that Windows 8 RT apps will run on our phones then. Is that true? Or not entirely clear yet?

Thanks for your information!

WP8 and WP8.1 (unlike WP7) are using the same OS, so there's not going to be as many problems as before, but there might be a few (as well as new features for current apps to grasp onto), but for the consumer, I would expect a few problems, but they'll get fixed before the OS goes truly live (those who are on the preview program will see majority of the problems).

As for the number of apps, they're all going to be there this time around, as the OS is the same, but better (like Windows 8 to 8.1), so no worries there!

About RT though, no information has been published about it yet, might never be found out until the Build conference April 2nd, so stay tuned!

 

[a5cent]

About RT though, no information has been published about it yet, might never be found out until the Build conference April 2nd, so stay tuned!

And there will continue to be no information about RT apps running on WP, because it's not happening. ;-) By 2015... when I expect RT to go away, it will likely be very easy to port between the two however.

 

[Kon Bick]

Okay, thank you for your answers! Maybe the source where I got all this information from was pure presumption then rly:

That is good news, because I don't have to fret to not see some of the now available apps in 8.1.

 

[SwimSwim]

WP7.X apps mostly ran fine on WP8. There were a few optimization errors, and some didn't getting along at all. But overall, apps from WP7.X worked fine on WP8, and then developers could also update their apps to take advantage of new features in WP8.

Also, while some things are being changed from a developer stand point (to bring closer harmony to Windows RT), WP8.1 is not nearly the dramatic change that WP8 was (well, from a development stand point... Feature wise: wow...).

Please note, WP8.1 apps will /NOT/ work on WP8. So apps will be forwards compatible, but NOT backwards compatible.

Cheers.