Xda-Developers | Microsoft will end all Windows 10 Mobile support in December
It's practically ancient history at this point, but the XDA-Developers was originally a Windows Mobile-focused website. Even the name "XDA" comes from O2 Xda, a Windows Mobile PDA. That's why from time to time we like to cover news from the other realm. The tile-based operating system never really made it to the mainstream. The lack of applications, even from companies like Facebook, made using their devices a pain. For better or worse, Microsoft has acknowledged their defeat in the mobile OS war a long time ago. They've been releasing Microsoft applications for both Android and iOS for the past couple of years, and have shifted all their mobile attention towards promoting their services. It's been more than a year since the company announced the end of life for Windows Phone 8.1. Now, they're letting us know that Windows 10 Mobile will soon follow its predecessor.
The Verge noticed the addition of an end-of-support date for Windows 10 Mobile in an official online document. Microsoft states that only devices eligible for version 1709 of the system will receive security patch support until December of 2019. For version 1703 (which runs on Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL), support will end on June 11th, 2019. Neither of those two versions has received a major functional update in some time, nor has Microsoft released new Windows Mobile-powered hardware. If, for whatever reason, you still want to hold on to your old phone, then consider unlocking its bootloader. You can do so for any Lumia and non-Lumia Windows Phone device.
Officially, Microsoft recommends its users move to Android or iOS devices, for obvious reasons. If you are a die-hard fan of Microsoft, or just want to use some of their apps, you can do that on both of those platforms. Microsoft even has a launcher for Android which integrates with Windows 10 and Cortana for cross-platform multi-tasking. What we've been expecting for a long time has finally happened, and none of us should pretend to be surprised. Focusing their development effort on other segments, like cross-platform apps, have shown far better results for Microsoft, anyway.
Microsoft Launcher (Free, Google Play) →
Microsoft Cortana – Digital assistant (Free, Google Play) →
Source: Windows 10 Mobile End of Support FAQ Source: Device operating systems lifecycle FAQ Via: The Verge