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Microsoft is trickling out more information about Windows Phone 8, codenamed Apollo. Samsung, Huawei, HTC and Nokia all plan to release smartphones based on the platform, with the first models likely going on sale in November. Importantly for developers, Windows Phone 8 handsets will be able to run apps designed for Windows Phone 7, but Windows Phone 8 apps won’t necessarily be able to run on Windows Phone 7.
Windows Phone 8 will be a lot more like Windows 8, especially from a mobile development perspective. Media and gaming apps will be able to take advantage of some Windows 8 features, meaning Windows Phone 8 games will be more impressive than their predecessors. Other new features in Windows Phone 8 include the Internet Explorer 10 browser, disk encryption, secure boot, Skype integration, Microsoft Wallet, NFC support, speech recognition and a new interface.
Unnamed sources tell TechRadar that Microsoft will officially launch Windows Phone 8 on October 29, three days after the release of Windows 8.
