Windows Phone 8.1 is yet to gain traction and we already have some information regarding the upcoming Windows Phone 9 release. According to a leaked document revealing Microsoft's roadmap for 2015, the company plans to release a WP 9 Preview in Q2 or Q3 of 2015.

The final release of Windows Phone 9 is expected to be made available to compatible devices by the end of next year. Its desktop counterpart, Windows 9, is also going to have its Preview version around the same time.

If this information pans out to be correct, we are looking at a bit shorter period between major releases of Windows Phone. It took Microsoft 17 months to release Windows Phone 8.1 after it launched WP8. As per the document, Windows Phone 9 would take 16 months.

There's no information what features should we expect Windows Phone 9 to bring. The latest 8.1 release brought along neat features like the personal assistant Cortana, notification center, more control over settings which brought the platform up to speed with the competition. We are now to see if Microsoft manages to take the lead with its next release.

It's also going to be interesting to see if Windows Phone 9 will be made compatible with the current crop of WP devices. Previously, Windows Phone 8 was only available to new hardware and none of the WP7 devices already in the market got to try it.

Source | Via