Windows Phone 8 is a version of Windows Phone (Oct 29, 2012 - present) that succeeds Windows Phone 7.5 and includes many new features.
Windows Phone 8 ("WP8") is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to Windows Phone 7.5. Unlike Windows Phone 7 which was based on Windows CE, Windows Phone 8 uses the Windows NT kernel found in Windows 8.
Supported development platforms include C#/VB.Net with XAML, HTML, CSS and Javascript or Typescript and C++ with Direct3D. Although XNA applications can still be developed, they can only target Windows Phone 7.5 instead of Windows Phone 8 and are kept only for legacy purposes. Windows Phone 8 also supports building Windows Phone Runtime Components and has access to APIs also present in Windows 8, making development for both platforms simultaneously easier.
Download the development tools and SDK.
New features include C++ support, Direct3D, multiple resolutions, Micro SD card, NFC, Bluetooth, Multi-core processing, In-app purchase, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, voice commands, Wallet Hub, app2app communication, new background functionality, contacts and calendar write-access, lock screen integration, new tile templates, new camera APIs, built-in maps control, and much more.
Read about what's new in the Windows Phone 8 SDK.
More information
Learning resources
- Windows Phone 8 Training Kit
- Building Apps for Windows Phone 8 Jump Start
- Windows Phone 8 Development for Absolute Beginners
- Windows Phone Official Development Website
