Select WP7.5 devices will get new homescreen and some WP8 features in WP7.8 but not WP8
Image via engadget
TheVerge reports that the new homescreen you just saw in the last post will come to WP7.5 devices as an update to WP7.8. There will be other features but that’s about it. No WP8.
Why? Because apparently the hardware won’t handle it. MS needed to up the ante and match the specs of their competitors (or more) and now that they have it appears there won’t be a move to WP8 for older WP7.5 phones (not that there are that many out there but Nokia is reliant on their sales).
If Nokia knew this, why didn’t they just up the specs before hand. Maybe they wouldn’t have been used by WP7.5 but as long as the phone would work normally, then it could wait for WP8? Or am I thinking to simply here.
So now it’s just past mid June. Nokia need these new devices ASAP and must survive pushing out the 900, 800, 710 and 610.
What bugs me is how on earth the super cheap windows phone devices are going to come to be if higher spec’d current gen WP can’t even get WP8.
MS’s Greg Sullivan says:
When you pull that Lumia out of your pocket after you’ve received that 7.8 update, it will look and feel the same as a Windows Phone 8 device
Well there we go. This explains everything clearly as to why Nokians were very cagey regarding updates to WP7.5 devices (citing that Nokia does not release a phone that they don’t support with updates). It also makes sense now why Nokia did not stick to the original plan of pumping out new WP7.5 Lumia after another if that would mean too many handsets with no upgrade path. Given the small userbase of WP7.5 it’s harsh but it probably did not make sense to invest into developing WP8 for WP7.5 hardware. But so what, MS has oodles of cash. Unless there was a time constraint, at least to reduce the negative vibe towards WP there should have been an update.
BTW, what features would I come to expect were WP8 to suddenly appear in my 800? Would NFC and SD card magically appear? At least the UI is changing. Hopefully it gets the new IE10 browser too.
Source: TheVerge
Category: Nokia, Windows Phone
About the Author (Author Profile)
Hey, thanks for reading my post. My name is Jay and I'm a medical student at the University of Manchester. When I can, I blog here at mynokiablog.com and tweet now and again @jaymontano. We also have a twitter and facebook accounts @mynokiablog and Facebook.com/mynokiablog. Check out the tips, guides and rules for commenting >>click<< Contact us at tips(@)mynokiablog.com or email me directly on jay[at]mynokiablog.comSubscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
mgmz
How will nokia now sell WP 7.5 devices till q4 ( i hope nokia steps up and realeses wp8 devices as soon as they announce it in Sep ..maybe on sale in nov ) Expect even further dip in q2 and q3 results …..:(
Not an issue.
Most of us had already guessed this. Me? I’m happy that I’ll get all the features of WP8 that my Lumia 800 can support.
I’m going to guess most of the people who whine about this don’t actually own a Lumia though.
Oh, and as a thought, my iPhone 3GS didn’t magically sprout a front facing camera or a retina display or the ability to use Siri when iOS was updated either.
You may want to ask yourself why.
Comparing Lumias to iPhone 3GS is very pathetic, 3GS was released 3 years ago. L900 should be compared to iPhone 4S and that is getting all the goodies of iOS 6 along with the new iPhone. Also, even iPhone 3GS & 4 will get iOS without some features and not a version of iOS5 with some iOS6 features.
unfortunately it is.
apps that utilize native code in windows phone 8 wont be usable on windows 7.8 phones no?
If that’s the case well that’s where it’s going to suck.
If something REQUIRES dualcore to run then I can understand, but if it’s merely incompatible code then that will suck. However, there may still be an option to bring WP8 to current lumia. It’s just not an official route.
All this native code stuff is all way above my head.
At any rate, im pretty sure this is quite an important question, and somebody is bound to ask, and get answers for it sooner or later.
Don’t forget there are a ton of apps on other platforms as well as native libraries that developers would want to port/use even tho there are no hardware or performance requirements that cannot be supported by old WPs – it’s not all about hardware requirements, convenience plays a big role as well.
Yes, one big part of the demand for the native code support was easier multiplatform code, with other platform already supporting native code and numerous libraries. This seriously sucks for WP7.5 owners.
Yeah? Like what? Specifically?
Fact is that there are over 90K apps for WP7.5, more every day and the vast majority of major bases are covered.
So unless there’s something that magically stops my current apps working, or means that developers won’t release WP7.8 versions of any new ones that aren’t hardware dependent then why is it an issue?
Especially as I’ll be buying a new phone between Xmas and March 2013 and all?
But how will they sell wp 7.5 devices till fall?
In shops I imagine.
so that means i wont be getting dual core and nfc with the wp7.8?
what the fuck.
This is bullshit.
also, no HD update for my lumia 800?????????
No. Unfortunately your current Lumia will fail to spontaneously sprout additional hardware it currently does not have. I too was wishing that my screen would secretly respawn into HD.
However, you can in future install WP8 into your Lumia. Not supported by MS but it is possible: http://mynokiablog.com/2012/06/20/wp8-for-current-devices-available-for-enthusiasts-btw-this-is-a-wp8-lumia-already-right/
Thats bullshit. all phones should be able to magically sprout additional hardware from thin air.
Completely unacceptable.
Yeah true. To be fair, my housemate updated his iPhone 3GS and it sprouted an 8MP camera, front facing camera and dual core. I wish MS thought about that.
That’s the kind of miracle the N8 needs for its C: Drive.
iPhone 3Gs is a 3year old phone selling a lower price so that more people can get on to the Apple bandwagon. Atleast 3GS is getting iOS6 (although without some features) and not a rehash of iOS5 with some features. Also, apps build with iOS6 will run on iPhone 3GS with iOS6(maybe slower) which can’t be said for current WPs.
Now that would be cool, especially if my Lumia 800 can sprout a front-facing camera. Imagine… evolving right in front of our eyes… and feeling pissed at the same time as to why the FFC wasn’t even there when I first bought it a few months ago. :p
well.. when the update comes to my lumia, i want the update to include changing my windows logo capacitive menu into the new win8 metro logo…
I really hope that was sarcasm…
It is sarcasm. Not to worry here.
So it is the two-prong approach, as WP Central anticipated.
Apparently Nokia will also bring a host of new features for Windows Phone 7.5 and 7.8 Lumia devices.
really? mind telling a bit or show some links?
It was explained in the Kevin Shields part, late in the presentation – I’m sure the usual sites will cover it in detail too. Of course some of those new features were revealed by Elop at the Nokia AGM and were mentioned by myself at the time here on MNB.
The features are Lumia-exclusive apps, like DLNA support, a new camera experience, that type of thing.
Well the DNLA experience has been out for months in beta.
I’m more interested in increased language support, multitask support for Maps and other location based services, Native code support, IE10 with smartscreen ant-phishing filter, Wallet, Encryption, Added Bluetooth profiles, Real contact transfer support, VPN Support, Skype integration and other VoIP support running in the background and so on.
Nothing that requires a dual-core or higher resolution. And some versions of the 610 (for the operator Orange) has NFC, can this get WP8, nope so why even release it now?
Could care less about updates for some old apps and a new startscreen with some more colors. It’s not real customization anyway like you can do with MeeGo/Maemo, Android and Symbian ..even NokiaOS
Kevin Shields really ignored the real questions on what will Windows Phone 7.8 actually get ..or not get.
Nokia needs to address this soon, or it will be like the “burning platform memo” all over again. Lets kill Symbian before we have any new phones with this new OS will replace everything with. ..and then be amazed why people where not buying new Symbian phones.. and why the Symbian share in the world dropped so fast.. I wonder why the nokia E7-00 didnt seel to good…could it be that a few days after you finally released it, Elop officially said that Symbian was useless and we are moving away from it?
Why wouldn’t people want to buy a device that we now say there is no future in.. why ? how strange..
Have to hand it to them, they guessed right when I read the article here and at WP Central. I admit that I was disappointed that WP8 isn’t backward compatible with previous WPs, but as long as this 7.8 version have most of the features in WP8, and not to mention the custom camera app and Nokia’s camera update, I won’t mind.
off topic a bit- thought you’re looking for an 808 in Sarawak?
I didn’t say that I was looking for one. I already own a Lumia 800 and have no need for another smartphone. All I did was just to relay information regarding the 808 in Sarawak.
Further 4-6 months waiting for Nokia. Awesome work Elop, you burned your platforms more than 1,5 years before your main platform is for sale!
Btw. its no wonder they are quitting the Nokia world as it used to be. Almost all future spec launches will be made by Microsoft.
exactly…the little sales that wp had is going to go down now , as people will wait till fall to upgrade/buy their phones…hope nokia can take this hit
hope so to .. still have love for Nokia , but they have made such huge mistakes the past years that it’s not even funny anymore ..
The Lumias looked promising, and sales had potential to go up, now they will probably plummet.. now people finally know that they will not get Apollo, then they will buy something else, or wait.
“If Nokia knew this, why didn’t they just up the specs before hand. Maybe they wouldn’t have been used by WP7.5 but as long as the phone would work normally, then it could wait for WP8? Or am I thinking to simply here.”
I don’t think Qualcomm had their backwards compatible Snapdragon S3 chips yet.
Then why not just stick to Symbian, push development on this hard … then when you have the hardware wow the world with your new amazing Windows Phone 8 devices.. why release WP7.5 at all ..
after Elops burning plattform memo they where forced to sell something, and fast, and that was not Symbian, but they forced themselves in to this situation. If Eloped had kept quiet about replacing Symbian ..the sales would have kept going down, but not in the landslide way it did after his statment.
Wait , release a proper WP8 devices ,and then say you will replace Symbian with it..
Not kill Symbian, watch sales drop like a bomb..
Then waste a lot of money pushing Windows Phone 7.5 and Lumias when it was finally ready for release, then tell people sorry, you will not get a real update, and then not have a new Windows Phone 8 device ready …doing the same mistake again.
If Nokia didn’t put their full weight behind WP on that fateful Feb’11, you wouldn’t be watching this event today as WP would be completely dead by now – Nokia gave it a little bit of momentum at the huge expense for the company. Was it worth it? I think not, Nokia might not survive it… Still, Microsoft played the game masterfully.
well that might be true … WP might had been dead … now Nokia might be dying instead.. :/
Nokia IS dying.
So MS screwed Nokia well and good and we have MS fan-boys lauding it?
That just about sums it up. Look how proud and smug they are. Reminds me of another fruity fanboy type, the one their OS tries hard to catch up with and emulate. iFan clones.
So, the approach to the next major update is exactly as anticipated, talk of no major update turned out to be complete bullshit – and people throw a hissyfit? Yep, that’s MNB for you.
Oh boy, the L900 owners who just bought their device are going to be pissed. Plus it’s sold at full price in my country-USD570
Full steam ahead! Enjoy the party while it lasts!
I have Lumia 800 and I don’t care about hardware update, all I care are apps which I won’t get. It’s just like buying a brand new Xbox console and suddenly Microsoft pushes out a new one telling us all to fuck off. If I buy a smartphone that is new, I expect to use upcoming apps at least for two years.
Now don’t give me that “well there are many good apps out there”. Or “It will look like a WP8″. I don’t care about that.
they actually did that with the first xbox.when they saw that it won’t surpass the ps2 they pushed out xbox360 early to gain more customers before and have an advantage before the next sony and nintendo new platforms come out
actually that is not really true.
The Xbox was launched in 2001 – 2002
The Xbox Live service launched in November 2002
Original Xbox was discontinued 2005 -2007 depending on world location
Xbox 360 came 2005, 3 years later, and it was a brand new device.
Nokia Lumia 900 came out this year around April, May.
Now in June customers find out, they will not get a proper update, not the same thing at all.
Next time, I’ll buy iPhone, Apple wouldn’t fuck me over every six months because of their technological nearsightedness. Treat your customers with more respect Microsoft and get your shit together…
What an unfortunate boondoggle for Nokia customers. They are given the shaft when Symbian is unceremoniously dumped and their upgrade path is cut short. They are given the shaft when MeeGo is turfed. Now the Windows Phones that Nokia just released to much fanfare are end-of-life as well. A 3 month old phone is obsolete. I cannot possibly imagine a more poorly-implemented strategy on Nokia’s part.
I guess that it should come as no surprise to any savvy consumer given Nokia was selling 2-year old specs as current, but I foresee a lot of angry consumers and stagnant Windows Phone sales regardless. Even when Apollo is delivered to market, I wonder whether people who have been thrice burned will come back to Nokia.
This is basically the summary of the word “nightmare” from Nokia’s perspective. We already knew that at least the next few quarters were going to be bad simply because Lumia simply wasn’t gaining a lot of traction. The warning on Q2 all but confirmed that this was the case. Now, this announcement is effectively confirming that business will, in fact, be absolutely disastrous for Nokia over the next few quarters. Not bad – disastrous.
This puts a brick wall in front of WP adoption and it puts a brick wall in front of Nokia’s WP7 devices. Nokia is very, very far up shit creek without a paddle.
Once again, Nokia’s business strategy is to wait.
2 years will have passed since Nokia’s adoption of WP7 before they can have any hope at all that it will positively impact their bottom line. In the mean time it’s weighing very heavily on it. They wait and wait and wait. 5 years will have passed since Nokia was able to deliver a truly-competitive top-end smartphone.
My outlook on Nokia just keeps dimming. I think we’re looking at the end days here.
Hey, it’s Microsoft’s strategy, plan and decisions – this had nothing to do with Nokia. Microsoft is calling all the shots when it comes to WP which is a lesson to others why you need to have in-house software if you want to control your future. Samsung is not doing Bada / Tizen without a reason – they don’t want to become a cheap OEM without any possibility to control their fate. Samsung is the smart one in this game. Apple as well.
As for Nokia – Microsoft used them as a crutch when any WP traction was fading and Microsoft needed a big name to stand behind them. Now they don’t need Nokia anymore and it’s every man for himself. Nokia should have known better, they’ve spent almost two decades fighting against Microsoft in the mobile space and doing whatever it takes to prevent Microsoft to turn them into the next IBM. It’s nobody’s fault but Nokia’s, it’s not as if Microsoft haven’t played this game countless of times before.
Microsoft absolutley needs Nokia and don’t think that both Microsoft and Nokia don’t know about the problem of the next 2 quarters and I suspect we’ll see that issue addressed soon.
I m happy with the future update’s give it to me now maybe next year i’ll buy the new window’s 8 phone.
How the hell do you want wp7.5 to be upgradeble to wp8 if they don’t share the same code? The only way to upgrade id to virtually do a clean install of the new os, just like you would do on a pc. As long as they gibe new features in this 7.8 update everything is fine.
I’m worried about the apps compatibility. But this depends on the developers eventually. If they want to make their app compatible with mango devices. At least it’s easy to code the apps so it shouldn’t be that hard.
And fuck all the haters. you first complained of the lack of features in the platform. Now that we get them, even the ones with mango devices get them, you still complain
Well since you can only update a WP7.5 devices connected to a computer, what is the big deal.
You information is synced to the cloud or locally with soon to be renamed Zune. Why not wipe the devices and put a different OS on it? There is not technical reason it can’t be done. They just choose not to.
Then add you Live Id at start up and you cloud synced info will be back on a clean devices, and local sync can be put back as well
“fuck all the haters. you first complained of the lack of features in the platform. Now that we get them, even the ones with mango devices get them, you still complain”
Well what features are we getting… a new startscreen? That is all that has been revealed.. and some updates to existing applications that was coming anyway..no matter what the WP8 launch had said .. they have been planned for 6 months already and well known
My comment on Phonearena:
Powerhungry Android can run perfectly smooth on 1.4Ghz chip, why can’t the more efficiënt Windows Phone do it as well.
I’m very disappointed with Microsoft, they have given Windows Phone users some excellent support in the past, but now when the platform is finally going to mature, they just push us to the ground and kick us in the groin with us Generation 2 smartphone owners not being able to update to Windows Phone 8. I know my Lumia 800 won’t magically have dual-core or a HD screen resolution but now the moment Windows Phone 8 arrives my phone will be hopelessly outdated, which right in his mind developer is still even going to be making apps for Windows 7.8 when all the fun is happening in the new 8.XX versions.
I didn’t expect my Mozart to get any new update, Windows Phone 7.8 is a very nice improvement if my old Mozart were to receive it, but my Lumia 800 which I’ve had for only 2 months with Nokia pushing it and its brothers endlessly in the world markets to get Windows Phone 7.8 and not 8.0 is horrendous. It has some excellent mid-range specs but now it won’t even be able to get the new WP8 apps.
Perhaps my expectation were to high, thinking I would get a brand new Mercedes, but what I’m getting is just a Lada painted like a Mercedes but I still had to pay the full price.
I wonder how Blackberry is doing with BB10…
It has nothing to do about power it is about the kernel, new resolutions and other hardware additions. I never expected current gen phones to get the full WP8 upgrade and nor did I want them to if it meant dumbing-down WP8 to do it. If you visit this or any other blog even infrequently you should have been aware of the possibility at least. The current gen running 7.8 will be awesome phones and by the time Nokia releases the PureView Lumias that we really want it may be getting close to upgrade time anyway.
Is window phone 7.8 have ie10 or not ?
Is their any possibility of Nokia browser on lumia family by Nokia as an exclusive apps for their users
Nokia Lumia 900 runing WP 7.8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c_vk0UnlIk&feature=player_embedded#!
basically, nokia lumia 900 is CAPABLE to upgrade into wp8 but is not made available for them.it’s like a talented person didnt get the opportunity to shine
please someone tell me wich the last WP version disponible for Lumia 800 and how can i get it please