14 DAY TRIAL // Photos of an alleged Samsung Galaxy S8 running Windows 10 Mobile are now making the rounds online, showing what they claim to be a special version of the recently-launched smartphone powered not by Android, but by Microsoft’s dying mobile operating system.
And although these photos could get everyone super-excited because a phone manufacturer the size of Samsung would be close to launching a Windows phone, you shouldn’t get your hopes too high simply because they’re all fake.
First of all, a closer look at these photos shows that it’s all just bad Photoshop, with some UI parts barely visible because whoever created this attempted to give the impression that Windows 10 Mobile makes use of the Galaxy S8 curved edges in a similar way to Android.
Then, it’s the Samsung edge menu that shows up in every screenshot, which on Android is supposed to help users make the most of the curved screen and quickly access some features, like contacts, the weather forecast, or certain apps, by just swiping in from the edge of the display.
Windows 10 Mobile on Snapdragon 835? Yeah, sure
And last but not least, it’s the technical side, as Windows 10 Mobile cannot run on Snapdragon 835, according to Microsoft’s very own documentation. Even though the Snapdragon 835 was supposed to be on the supported CPU list for Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft pulled it most likely as plans for its mobile platform changed over time.
At this point, Snapdragon processors are still part of Microsoft’s plans, but for a different project, as the company has signed a partnership with Qualcomm to bring the full version of Windows 10 on ARM chips.
This means that even though the Snapdragon 835 is not part of Microsoft’s mobile vision, it surely has a place on the PC, where it’s expected to power devices running Windows 10 on ARM. The first computers with this emulation system are projected to launch later this year and the Snapdragon 835 will be the chip powering them.