MICROSOFT_PRESS_EBOOK_INTRODUCING_WINDOWS_10

The first public release of Windows 10 for phones arrived as a Technical Preview in February 2015, a
few months after the first desktop Windows 10 Technical Preview. That initial release supported only a
handful of phones. Further preview releases, targeting a wider population of phones, arrived throughout
the rest of the year.
In late 2015, several months after the release of Windows 10 for PCs, Microsoft released two flagship
phones, the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL (shown in Figure 14-1), with Windows 10 preinstalled. Several
other manufacturers have announced support for the platform. The official release for other supported
devices will be in early 2016.
FIGURE 14-1 Microsoft’s Lumia 950XL was one of the first devices to ship with Windows 10 Mobile.
Windows 10 Mobile drops the word Phone from the name. That’s not just a semantic distinction;
instead, it reflects the intent for this operating system to power small tablets (with screen sizes under
8 inches measured diagonally), including models based on the same ARM processors used in phones
and small tablets that run other operating systems. As of this writing, in early 2016, no such devices
have been released.
Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for all phones currently capable of running Windows Phone 8.1,
although its availability on some devices might be limited by the mobile carrier or hardware
manufacturer.
Note This isn’t the first Microsoft operating system capable of running on tablets built with
an ARM processor. Windows RT, which powers the Surface RT and Surface 2 as well as several
third-party devices, was essentially Windows 8 recompiled for use with ARM processors.
Windows RT devices are not upgradeable to Windows 10.
168 CHAPTER 14 Windows 10 on phones and small tablets