14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Phone is dead, but Windows phones are not, and living proof is this project whose purpose is to bring the full version of Windows RT on a Lumia 640 XL.
As uncanny as it might sound, Windows RT running on a Windows phone makes a lot of sense after watching the video embedded below, especially when taking into account how smoothly everything seems to be.
The project was started by developer found on Twitter with handle @imbushuo and it constantly evolved up to the point where it now features sound over Bluetooth and GPU support. This means performance is pretty good and the Lumia 640 XL can basically play videos without any hiccup, as you can see in the video below.
“This video demonstrates a light weight GPU usage for Windows RT 8.1 desktop experience and hardware-accelerated web browsing and video decoding on a Lumia 640XL with Qualcomm Adreno 305. Audio is routed via a Bluetooth sound device as built-in DAC is not fully brought up yet,” the developer says in the description of the video on YouTube.
Project advancing at fast pace
In case you’re wondering why such projects are important for the future of Windows phones, it’s because Windows RT on a Lumia can provide users with enhanced functionality over the smartphone operating system.
Of course, Windows RT comes with several limitations of its own, as it can only install and run apps from the Microsoft Store, and there are lots of challenges to be addressed before you can consider this a full replacement to Windows 10 Mobile.
Battery life is without a doubt a main concern, albeit having full Windows with you everywhere you go really sounds too good to be true.
At this point, a tutorial on how to install Windows RT on your Windows phone is not available just yet, but the developer previously promised to offer more information on this should the project succeed.
