14 DAY TRIAL // There have been lots of rumors surrounding Microsoft’s BUILD 2014 developer conference, which is set to kick off today at 5:30 PM CEST (11:30 AM EDT).
If I'm to disregard all the insiders claiming that they have legit information on what’s going to happen later today at Microsoft’s conference, there’s only one thing that I can be certain of, and that’s the unveiling of Windows Phone 8.1
There's no doubt about it, Microsoft will announce the new version of Windows Phone and at least one smartphone that will ship with the new operating system later this month.
Other than that, there’s nothing that I can confirm given that as all the details leaked in the last couple of weeks are based on speculations and rumors.
Obviously, some of the leaked info may have been correct at the time of its emergence, but the situation may have changed in the meantime, so they are not accurate anymore.
For example, I’ve been reporting several times that Microsoft and Nokia will announce the Lumia 630 and Lumia 930 at BUILD 2014, but according to the latest hearsay, the Lumia 930 won’t make it to the developer conference.
The same goes for the Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Previewm which was expected to be released on April 2, along with the announcement of the new platform and new devices. However, it appears that Microsoft isn’t ready and the developer preview has been delayed for about one week.
On a more positive note, developers attending the conference will be in for a nice surprise and won’t go home empty handed, as Microsoft has some gifts to share. This hasn’t been confirmed yet, but there’s a high chance that attendees will be offered new Windows Phone 8.1 devices.
Judging by the new features and capabilities that Windows Phone 8.1 will be stuffed with, it shouldn’t be tagged as an update, but as a new version of the operating system.
Obviously, Windows Phone 8.1 will arrive on current devices as an update, but the exact release date is still unknown. I'm pretty sure that Microsoft will announce a timeframe for the release of Windows Phone 8.1 for compatible devices, later today at BUILD 2014.
Windows Phone 8.1 development is expected to finalize sometime in June, though this is just a tentative timeframe that may or may not be accurate in the end. But if this proves to be accurate, then Windows Phone fans who own compatible devices might be offered the Windows Phone 8.1 update in late summer.
It will be interesting to see how many devices Microsoft and Nokia will announce at BUILD 2014, especially due to the latest rumors claiming that Lumia 930 has been delayed.
I'm almost certain that Nokia Lumia 630 will make an appearance at Microsoft’s conference, as the smartphone has already been spotted in China, but no live pictures of the Lumia 930 have leaked until now, so there’s a high chance that this particular device will not be announced later today.
Samsung is also expected to launch a high-tier Windows Phone device later this month, the ATIV SE. The smartphone is based on Galaxy S5’s chassis and packs similar specs aside from the operating system.
The bad news is that Samsung ATIV SE might arrive with Windows Phone 8 onboard at launch, which means that it will receive the Windows Phone 8.1 update in late summer.
Nevertheless, the future is bright for the Windows Phone ecosystem, so if you’re a fan of Microsoft’s mobile platform, good thing will happen to you in the coming months.
For more details on where you can watch the BUILD 2014 developer conference and Windows Phone 8.1 launch times across the world, check out our dedicated article.