All Windows Phone 8 smartphones to get Windows 8.1 update... eventually

 

Windows Phone 8 smartphone owners can relax today, following confirmation from Microsoft that all handsets will eventually receive an update to Windows Phone 8.1.Speaking to Computerworld, Microsoft's Windows Phone director of public relations Greg Sullivan said "We will not have the same experience as we had when Windows Phone 7 was upgraded to Windows Phone 8". When the company revealed the newest iteration of its mobile operating system, existing Windows Phone 7 owners were disappointed to discover that their handsets wouldn't be receiving an upgrade, but thankfully that won't be the case for the current crop of handsets, including the Pureview camera-packing Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520 phablet.Once Microsoft releases the 8.1 update to mobile networks, it will eventually filter down to every Windows Phone 8 handset. Unfortunately there's still no indication of when that might be; Microsoft has yet to commit to a specific date to launch the new software.The list of new features is being kept under wraps too, although that hasn't stopped the rumour mill from speculating. Current favorites are Cortana, a virtual assistant meant to compete with iOS 7's Siri, a new Quick Settings swipe-down menu and separate volume controls for ringtone and multimedia playback.We'll learn more when Microsoft makes the change list official a little closer to launch.