Back in June 2012, as it gave the world its first official glimpse of Windows Phone 8, Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7.8. It was meant as something of an olive branch for users who had purchased WP7.5 devices, who had been told that same day that their phones would not be upgraded to the newest version of the OS.
Since it released 7.8, owners of older-generation Windows Phones have seen little in the way of further improvements to the operating system. Many of those users will, by now, have updated to newer devices, but for those still holding on to their WP7.8 handsets, Microsoft has confirmed that it will end mainstream support for the OS in two months’ time.
Alongside confirmation that mainstream support for Windows 7 ends in January 2015, Microsoft reminded its users that September 9 2014 is the cut-off date for Windows Phone 7.8. After that, there will be no further additions or enhancements to the OS – although most of those users still using 7.8 will already have become accustomed to that reality over the last couple of years.
Microsoft will still continue to issue free security updates to the OS, however, for the next five years, so any users still hanging on will at least get that peace of mind.