Unless you own an iPhone or a Google Nexus device, getting timely OS updates on a smartphone is usually a process mired in red tape by carriers and manufacturers alike—if updates arrive at all. Microsoft didn't even offer Windows Phone 7 users an upgrade path to Windows Phone 8, but the company appears to be changing course with the impending release of Windows 10. ZDNet's Ed Bott caught an interesting line in this Microsoft blog post introducing the new Windows Update for Business service. In that post, VP Terry Myerson said "today, we're announcing this continuous update process applies to all Windows 10 devices, including phones."
Microsoft told Bott that it'll provide updates to both business and personal devices running Windows 10 Mobile, and that the update process will resemble the Windows Update desktop experience we know and (maybe) love. Devices running Windows 10 Mobile will apparently get all updates at Microsoft's discretion. Updates will reportedly address security and reliability problems, and they may include new OS features, as well. Carriers could still have input on when an update is ready for release, but it appears that they'll no longer be the final gatekeepers.
It's not all sunshine from here, though. Bott notes that carriers will still control the release of the free Windows 10 Mobile update that Windows Mobile 8.1 devices are supposed to receive, which could hamper efforts to get all compatible Windows smartphones on the same page. Still, this could be a good step forward for future buyers of Windows 10 Mobile handsets—whoever those people might be.
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