Published by Steve Litchfield at 13:58 UTC, June 24th 2018

After several enquiries as to the latest table I'd put together for all the various Windows 10 Mobile-compatible smartphones, and realising that I'd lost track myself, I thought that a refresh was appropriate, approximately three months on from the previous incarnation and with several updates applied, not least confirmation of the extended support and special treatment given all Windows 10 Mobile branches (when compared to the appropriate Desktop branches).





This special treatment isn't because Microsoft loves its mobile OS, by the way(!) It's in recognition that phone users have little choice over branch upgrades. So, while desktop users simply upgrade over and over again, according to their own desires, smartphone users are at the mercy of whatever gets pushed over-the-air. And that, ultimately, limits the number of updates (especially security) that get applied, leaving the phone hardware more vulnerable than desktop hardware of the same age.

So, for example, as quoted here, branch 1709 (Fall Creators Update) on the Desktop isn't supported beyond "April 2019", while branch 1709 on Windows 10 Mobile runs out of official support in "December 2019", a full 8 months later!

As a result, effectively, Windows 10 Mobile's various branches (Creators Update, etc.) each now have 26 months support (patches, security fixes, mainly) on a rolling programme - and as usual it's worth making a fuss of this in view of the mess that is the Android smartphone world. Android OS has around 88% world market share at last count, so utterly dominant, yet the vast majority of handsets across the world are stuck on versions that are now unsupported to varying degrees in terms of patching security holes.

Just as an example (of how to use the table), take a humble user of a Lumia 640, launched in 2015 only six months before Windows 10 Mobile was available. Such a phone was officially upgraded to Windows 10 Mobile and can jump up to the Creators Update and thus will have support and fixes until June 2019. Around four years after lthe phone was aunched, which is a very decent support period if you think about it!

Here's the table - if it's too wide for your browser then just scroll sideways as needed.

Table updated June 24th 2018 OS>> Windows 10 Mobile branches, with launch date and revised minimum support periods Selected/relevant

device(s) Year

of launch Snapdragon

chipsets

/RAM Threshold 1/2

Up to Q2 2016 Anniversary Update

Branch '1607'

August 2016 Creators Update

Branch '1703'

Spring 2017 Fall Creators Update

Branch '1709'

Autumn 2017 Security updates until No longer supported October 2018 June 2019 December 2019 Alcatel OneTouch

Fierce XL

2016 210

2GB Out of the box

Yes, official Yes, official Yes, official Lumia 430, 435

535 2014 200

1GB Official upgrade Yes, official Yes, if previously

upgraded via

Insiders ring or

via the Interop Tools 'hack'.

Otherwise, 'no'* Yes, if previously

upgraded via the

Interop Tools 'hack'.

Otherwise, 'no'*

Lumia 635 (1GB) 2014 400

1GB Official upgrade Yes, official Yes, if previously

upgraded via

Insiders ring or

via the Interop Tools 'hack'.

Otherwise, 'no'* n/a

Lumia 640/XL 2015 400

1GB Official upgrade Yes, official Yes, official

Yes, if previously

upgraded via

Insiders ring.

Otherwise, 'no'*

Lumia 550/650 2016 210/212

1GB Out of the box Yes, official Yes, official

Yes, official

Lumia 735, 830 2014 400

1GB Official upgrade

Yes, official Yes, if previously

upgraded via

Insiders ring or

via the Interop Tools 'hack'.

Otherwise, 'no'*

Yes, if previously

upgraded via the

Interop Tools 'hack'.

Otherwise, 'no'*

Lumia 930/Icon

/1520 2013/

2014 800

2GB Official upgrade

Yes, official Yes, if previously

upgraded via

Insiders ring or

via the Interop Tools 'hack'.

Otherwise, 'no'*

Yes, if previously

upgraded via the

Interop Tools 'hack'.

Otherwise, 'no'* Lumia 950/XL 2015 808/810

3GB Out of the box Yes, official

Yes, official Yes, official HP Elite x3

2016 820

4GB Out of the box Yes, official

Yes, official

Yes, official Alcatel IDOL 4S

/IDOL 4 Pro 2016/

2017 820

4GB Out of the box

Yes, official

Yes, official**

Wileyfox Pro 2018 210

2GB Out of the box Yes, official***

* see my article here for explanation, plus see my newer article here on how to make the older phones pretend to be a Lumia 950 XL for the purposes of jumping branches (geek credentials needed!)

** this is now fully provisioned for this branch, as of April 2018

*** this will be fully provisioned on the July 2018 'Patch Tuesday' - and yes, this keeps getting bumped, I'm sure it'll get there in the end...

As I've explained on AAWP already, it's not that big a deal if you have a phone that maxes out on the Creators Update, probably a Lumia 640 or upgraded Lumia 930 or 830.

Note again the last row in the table, the Wileyfox Pro, which I reviewed here and here. It's low end but fully supported - indeed, it's whole reason for existing lies in the realms of security and support. In theory, this will be still be getting updates in 2019, Wileyfox claims the end of that year, in line with branch 1709, which it hasn't actually got yet! Though it's not bad for a phone powered by a Snapdragon 210!

The Wileyfox Pro - the only actively sold Windows 10 Mobile phone remaining?

In truth, ignore the Wileyfox Pro (which, let's face it, is as far from the cutting edge as it's possible to go) and the most recent Windows 10-powered phone is the Alcatel IDOL 4 Pro, itself just a European reworking of the 'IDOL 4S with Windows 10', which launched in the USA in the last months of 2016. And even that was something of a reworking of hardware from the Android world from February 2016, with just a faster chipset for the new OS. Coincidentally the same month that the HP Elite x3 was launched.

So, you could argue that we haven't really had any really new smartphone hardware in this ecosystem for over two years, an eternity in the mobile world. That's the glass half empty viewpoint! On the other hand, you could argue that the OS is still supported, the core apps are still being updated, we're still getting new UWP app releases, and - ahem - AAWP is still here to help out where it can with all of the above. So maybe the glass is half full after all!