Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2, recently announced at the Mobile World Congress 2015 Barcelona event, will roll out to only newer smartphones, new report claims.
Microsoft analyst and enthusiast Paul Thurrott announced in a tweet, quoting a trusted internal source, that the update 2 will not be pushed to existing smartphones running the current Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 OS. This means that the new Windows Phone iteration will be made available on handsets that Microsoft releases in future.
“Unconfirmed, but source tells me Windows Phone 8.1.2 will not roll out to previous phones, just ship on new devices”, Thurrott tweeted.
The Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 adds support for Bluetooth Keyboards. The firmware update also brings in some other changes, including the slightly tweaked settings menu, which now holds all sub-categories in one unified list divided by headlines, as well as the option to pin individual settings to the home screen allowing users to quickly change their handset’s configurations with just a few taps.
The update also brings along a magnifying glass icon located at the bottom of the screen which can be used to directly search for settings, content, and applications.
In addition, the Redmond has also made few changes in the app permission settings, allowing users to disable access to the camera and other privacy features on a per app basis.
Microsoft is yet to officially confirm the report. The company has also not disclosed the official shipping date for Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2.
False, there has already been a report confirming that it has been released in India. It would make no sense not to release it; ever since WP8 was released, Microsoft has worked against fragmentation.
False report. Update 2 is being released in India currently. The delay in USA is because of the carriers. Anyway, I want Windows 10. I am willing to wait for it.
I just brought the 1320, so I have to upgrade to the 640 XL, to see the current upgrade and for windows 10
The report about WP 8.1.2 rolling out in India seems a little sketchy. You’d think that there would be some official word from Microsoft if that was the case. It would be nice to see Microsoft at least roll it out via Preview for Developers, even if the likelihood of carriers updating their existing customers was slim. Any improvement is nice but it seems that the star of GDR2 is Bluetooth keyboard support. I wonder whether that actually requires new firmware, in which case PfD wouldn’t help anyway. Even if there’s not much in it, I still think that Microsoft would be doing themselves a favour by releasing it because anything new will keep the most faithful WP users happy for a little while. Of course, any resources they dedicate to that are probably resources diverted from Windows 10 development, so it hurts us users in the long run. What kind of world is this where we can;t just have everything now?! 😉