14 DAY TRIAL // Since Microsoft launched Windows Phone 8.1, HTC users weren’t able to take advantage of the new features and improvements included in this version of the OS unless they owned an HTC One M8 for Windows.
After HTC announced that it canceled the Windows Phone 8.1 update for the 8S, at least for the moment, only 8X owners were expecting the upgrade on their devices.
Well, due to some issues, the Windows Phone 8.1 update was not available for HTC 8X until recently. The first news on the possible resolution of the problems and the release of Windows Phone 8.1 for HTC 8X emerged less than 2 weeks ago.
HTC informed 8X owners through a tweet that the Verizon version of the smartphone would be getting Windows Phone 8.1 sometime in late October.
Given the fact that carrier-branded smartphones usually receive major updates after the unlocked versions, we assumed users with unlocked HTC 8X devices might get Windows Phone 8.1 much earlier than late October.
It appears that our assumption was correct, as Microsoft has just announced that HTC 8X devices are now eligible for the Windows Phone 8.1 update.
Moreover, HTC 8X owners can also install Windows Phone Developer Preview builds on their smartphones as well. Build 8.10.14176 should pop up on HTC 8X devices beginning today, but the complete rollout will probably take a few weeks.
Sprint's HTC 8X smartphone is also eligible for this update
The new update announced today by Microsoft is also bringing a bunch of performance improvements and general fixes, aside from addressing major issues like error 80188308, which resulted in running out of storage space in the system partition during the upgrade.
HTC 8X owners in China and the UK will also get a beta version of Cortana through the Windows Phone 8.1 update, while users living in Canada, India and Australia will get the personal digital assistant in an alpha version.
Live folders, App Corner and better privacy and security are also among the new features included in the Windows Phone 8.1 update, along with a few more.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Windows Phone 8.1 update is available for unlocked HTC 8X devices, but also for HTC 8XT, which is Sprint’s variant of the 8X.
Unfortunately, once again, it appears that Verizon customers will be the last to receive a major software update for their smartphone. This shouldn’t have anything to do with Microsoft or HTC, as Verizon is one of the carriers that are a bit lazy when it comes to delivering new updates fast.