All modern Windows Phones can get Windows 10, flagship 'later this summer'

With Windows 10 for phones around the corner, at least in a preview, the question still on many people's minds is 'What about my phone?'

The issue is both simple and complicated. Let's break it down.

Short Answer

Yes, all current Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 devices can get Windows 10 as an upgrade. Sure, there could be some restrictions (mostly the camera), but the Lumia 530 and Lumia 635 are just as likely to get this update as the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 930.

Microsoft was certainly showing off all of their current phones with Windows 10 today and boasting about this fact.

Even for the Windows 10 preview program, all of those phones should be able to get the upgrade. Microsoft has said this for a while now, so this isn't even news. However, I can state that as of today, they are still sticking to that message.

Longer Answer

Carriers. You know how they are. They still play a role in which phones get updated and which do not so they still have some power here. However, since Microsoft has a preview program (both for early builds and one for later builds), people have options.

Flagship and release

As mentioned earlier, Microsoft was hitting the message hard that a flagship Lumia phone is on the horizon. Ifi Majid, director of product marketing for Microsoft Mobile Devices, mentioned that such a phone (and updates for current phones) were likely "later this summer".

For some time, I have noted that I do not expect a flagship until summer time, aligning with a proper Windows 10 release, and this is still the case. I'll have more on this maybe tomorrow as to my thoughts about how and why on this timing. For now, I'd plan on that timeframe.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.