Microsoft is vastly expanding the list of handsets that will be able to try out the Windows 10 Technical Preview. Microsoft made Windows 10 available for a select few Lumia handsets in February, giving phone owners the opportunity to test the next-generation operating system for the first time. Now, Microsoft has identified a total of 34 Lumia handsets (listed at the foot of this article) that will be given access to Windows 10 when the next build of the OS is released.
Microsoft said it had to limit availability initially, because only a small number of handsets had sufficient storage partition sizes to cope with the upgrade. Since then, the company has been working on a new "partition stitching" feature, which can re-size the system partition dynamically.
"This testing will allow us to support a lot more phones for the next flight [of Windows 10]," writes Windows engineering chief, Gabe Aul, on a Microsoft blog. "I get a ton of questions every day on Twitter about when your favourite phones will be usable, and I'm happy to report that the vast majority will be supported with the next flight."
Aul says the Windows team "feel great" about the partition stitching code, but that "we likely still have at least one more week of engineering to do to ensure we get a great build for the expanded list of devices," which means customers are unlikely to get their hands on the new build until mid-April.
Microsoft said last month that it is aiming to have Windows 10 ready to ship by the summer, which doesn't give the company much time at all to iron out the remaining issues with the code. The latest desktop version of the Windows 10 Technical Preview is still short of promised key features, including the Cortana voice assistant (for UK users), the Spartan web browser and the option to stream games from Xbox One consoles.
The phone is even further behind than the desktop, having only had one test release issued to the public to date. Microsoft could potentially stagger the release of Windows 10 across different devices, although the last thing the company needs is any further loss of momentum on phones. Windows Phone's global market share is already in decline, having slipped from a lowly 3% in Q4 of 2013 to 2.8% in the last quarter of last year.
Phones set to be offered Windows 10 upgrade
The following list is not definitive, according to Microsoft, but all of the following handsets are expected to be compatible with the next release of the Windows 10 Technical Preview:
- Lumia 1020
- Lumia 1320
- Lumia 1520
- Lumia 520
- Lumia 525
- Lumia 526
- Lumia 530
- Lumia 530 Dual Sim
- Lumia 535
- Lumia 620
- Lumia 625
- Lumia 630
- Lumia 630 Dual Sim
- Lumia 635
- Lumia 636
- Lumia 638
- Lumia 720
- Lumia 730
- Lumia 730 Dual SIM
- Lumia 735
- Lumia 810
- Lumia 820
- Lumia 822
- Lumia 830
- Lumia 920
- Lumia 925
- Lumia 928
- Lumia ICON
- Microsoft Lumia 430
- Microsoft Lumia 435
- Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM
- Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM DTV
- Microsoft Lumia 532
- Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
- Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
- Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM