Windows Phone 8.1 is an update that many Windows Phone 8 users are probably waiting for. After all the update is expected to introduce a host of changes and improvements to the operating system, as well as bring about new features, one of them supposedly being Cortana, the voice assistant feature for Windows Phone. However the question about app compatibility remains and we have to wonder if Windows Phone 8.1 will be that drastic that it might “break” apps, or have apps run into compatibility or optimization issues.
Windows Phone 8.1 has leaked six ways from Sunday, thanks in no small part to the availability of the platform’s SDK just a few weeks ago. We expect to see Microsoft go official with WP8.1 in a big way at the BUILD conference early next month, and after that it should be just a matter of time before we see the arrival of the first phones running the software, not to mention the arrival of updates for existing devices. Recently, Microsoft started taking one more step towards the arrival of WP8.1, as it begun recording 8.1 compatibility during app submissions. Don’t let that have you thinking that WP8.1 will break existing apps – current Windows Phone 8 software should keep running without a hitch. But the need for this new designation becomes apparent when you consider new functionality arriving with 8.1 in specific, and how new apps might offer 8.1 support, but not work with the old 8.0.
