Windows Phone 8.1 to Release Next Month

Microsoft officially confirmed that the Windows Phone 8.1 will start on June 24th of this year.

In line with the release, Microsoft will also roll out security updates for the new OS for a “minimum of 36 months” after the start of the Microsoft Support Lifecycle (MSL). The company’s support page also suggested that the updates are “incremental” and is based on a previous update. Users are advised to install the necessary updates to be fully supported.

However, the updates may be “controlled” by the carrier or the phone’s manufacturer and updating to its newest version requires a handheld with previous updates. In addition, the new update will “vary be country, region and hardware capabilities”.

Support for the Windows Phone 7.8 will end on September 9 while no word was said on the cease of support for Windows 8.

The new Windows Phone 8.1 will include a sack full of features, including the notable Action Center, the Apps + Store, Google supported Calendar, burst mode with auto deletion (camera), Smart search and Podcast app (Bing), a new browser (Internet Explorer 11) and a number of developer tweaks such as SemanticZoom, DatePicker and TimePicker.

The update will also support a novel email experience, Enterprise and Office, keyboard, media and messaging upgrades and changes on user experience (new backgrounds with “parallax motion”, double tap to unlock and power off, Live Tiles, Cortana and notifications).