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Full Windows 10 (ARM) Finally Up and Running on Windows Phone

Experiment brings Windows 10 ARM on Lumia prototype

Feb 26, 2018 06:08 GMT  ·  By
Lumia 950 prototype runs Windows 10 ARM
   Lumia 950 prototype runs Windows 10 ARM

Installing Windows RT and Windows 10 ARM on Lumia phones has become a priority for several skilled developers, and after weeks of trying to get this up and running, here’s evidence that at least one such experiment has succeeded.

While I recommend taking this with a pinch of salt, Twitter user @Hikari_Calyx, who has a good track on Microsoft leaks so far, claims Windows 10 (the ARM version supposed to run on Snapdragon chips) has been installed on a Lumia prototype.

Videos that he posted on the social network indeed show the full version of Windows 10 running on the device. As WL notes, this appears to be Nokia Hapanero, an unreleased version of Lumia 950 that was shown by Microsoft at Build 2015.

Windows phone prototype

Judging from the clips, Windows 10 ARM indeed appears to be running just fine on the Windows phone, though it’s hard to tell at this point if all the features are supported. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that no instructions have been provided on how the developer managed to do the whole thing.

“It's neither remote desktop nor playing video on this phone, I promise,” @Hikari_Calyx explains. “RX-130 MSM8994 with Windows 10 ARM64. Unfortunately, that member isn't willing to release the UEFI. At least someone can't construct the road to Surface Phone any longer.”

As far as Microsoft is concerned, Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile have no future, so the company pushed the mobile operating system to maintenance mode to only continue releasing security fixes and patches until mid-2019. At that point, Windows phones will be dead for good, with no other updates to be published after that.

In the meantime, all hopes are that Microsoft is working on a dream Surface Phone that could hit the market as soon as this year. There’s a big chance it’ll run the full version of Windows 10, though rumor has it that the device could be powered by a new Microsoft Store-restricted version called Windows Polaris.