Windows Phone 8 not coming to existing devices – they will get WP7.8 instead

In recent weeks there have been many rumours over whether existing Windows Phone devices will get a full upgrade to Windows Phone 8. Well the answer is official: they won't. The reasoning for which is a lot better than Apple's miserable excuse. Current hardware just isn't able to run Windows Phone 8 in its full feature set form. Everything isn't bad though, existing devices will get updated to Windows Phone 7.8.

What owners of current devices will get is the new start screen and customisable live tiles, which we covered briefly in our new feature recap earlier. Not much else is known about what Windows Phone 7.8 will and won't get but Anandtech has managed to get word that applications which are built for Windows Phone 8 will not run on Windows Phone 7.5 or 7.8.

Perhaps best of all, is that the update will be delivered free of restraint from carriers and be available over-the-air later this year – presumably in fall alongside Windows Phone 8.

KitGuru says: Good move Microsoft, supporting older devices and bypassing nagging carriers in the process.

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