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Windows 10 Mobile's Anniversary Update to roll out August 9

PCs, tablets and the Xbox One are already getting their updates, but Windows Mobile smartphones will apparently have to wait almost another week.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read
Windows 10 Mobile's Anniversary Update will start to reach phones like the Lumia 1502 early next week.

Windows 10 Mobile's Anniversary Update will start to reach phones like the Lumia 1502 early next week.

CNET

Windows 10 Mobile's Anniversary Update is coming, but not until next Tuesday.

On August 2, Microsoft's Lumia India Twitter account confirmed the launch date in response to a query from a curious user. "Thanks for reaching out! For mobile, it will be available on August 9, 2016. If you have any queries, we'll be here for you!"

That tweet has since been removed, which means either the Lumia India Twitter account got the timing wrong or it jumped the gun by revealing the date. An August 1 reply to another user also lists August 9 as the launch for the Anniversary Update for Mobile, so that date still seems a safe bet.

A Microsoft spokesperson said only that "the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out to Windows 10 Mobile phones in the coming weeks."

Clobbered by the likes of Apple and Android, Windows Mobile smartphones have seen their demand shrink to an almost microscopic level with a market share less than 1 percent. The Mobile Anniversary Update is designed to bring new features and enhancements to the lineup. But at this point, Windows Mobile would have to stage a massive recovery, even with the new software, to regain any real foothold in the mobile world.

In May, Microsoft announced it would sell its poor-performing Nokia Lumia unit for $350 million to a Finnish startup called HMD Global and a unit of Chinese manufacturing giant Foxconn after buying the business for $7.2 billion in 2014. However, the software giant said it would still continue to support Lumia phones as well as the Windows Mobile 10 software.

The Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update includes a host of new items that affect the Start screen, the Cortana voice assistant, the Microsoft Edge browser, assorted apps, various settings and the overall user interface. A full list of changes found in the Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update change log is available online courtesy of blog sites Windows Latest and Change Windows.

But those of you who own a Lumia phone should be aware that not every Lumia is eligible for the Anniversary Update. The devices due to receive the update are listed by Windows Latest and include such phones as the Lumia 430, the Lumia 540, the Lumia 730, the Lumia 640 and the Lumia 1520.

Update, 11:32 a.m. PT: Adds comment from Microsoft.