Windows Phone 8
Windows Phone 8 is the second generation of the Windows Phone mobile operating system from Microsoft. It was released on October 29, 2012, and, like its predecessor, it features a flat user interface based on the Metro design language. It was succeeded by Windows Phone 8.1, which was unveiled on April 2, 2014.
| Version of the Windows Phone operating system | |
Windows Phone 8 Start Screen | |
| Developer | Microsoft Corporation |
|---|---|
| OS family | Windows 8 |
| Working state | Discontinued |
| Source model | Closed-source |
| General availability | October 29, 2012 |
| Latest release | Update 3 (Build 8.0.10532.166) / April 14, 2014 |
| Update method | Firmware over the air |
| Package manager | XAP, APPX |
| Platforms | 32-bit ARM architecture |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (NT kernel) |
| License | Commercial proprietary software |
| Preceded by | Windows Phone 7 (2010) |
| Succeeded by | Windows Phone 8.1 (2014) |
| Official website | Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) |
| Support status | |
| Unsupported as of January 12, 2016 | |
Windows Phone 8 replaces the Windows CE-based architecture used in Windows Phone 7 with the Windows NT kernel found in Windows 8. As a consequence of this, Windows Phone 7 devices cannot run or update to Windows Phone 8, and new applications compiled specifically for Windows Phone 8 are not made available for Windows Phone 7 devices. Developers can make their apps available on both Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 devices by targeting both platforms via the proper SDKs in Visual Studio.
Windows Phone 8 devices were manufactured by Microsoft Mobile (formerly Nokia), HTC, Samsung and Huawei.