Microsoft doesn’t officially make a smartphone operating system anymore and Windows 10 Mobile will stop receiving security updates next year. While Windows 10 Mobile is going away, a group of dedicated developers has ported Windows on ARM (full version of Windows 10) for ARM platforms to the Lumia 950 family and Acer Jade Primo.
If you install Windows 10 ARM on your Windows Phone, you’re still stuck running a desktop operating system on a small device and you will have to use an interface that wasn’t designed for a smartphone.
Nevertheless, the ability to run full Windows 10 OS on a smartphone sounds good and it would be a better option than Windows 10 Mobile in 2020. To complement this project, independent developer ADeltaX has been working on a Mobile Shell for Windows 10 on ARM.
Mobile Shell would allow you to run Windows 10 on ARM with Windows 10 Mobile-like interface. Mobile Shell modifies the UI elements of Windows 10 on ARM to make the OS more finger-friendly when running on a smartphone like Lumia 950, which has a 5.2-inch (130 mm) AMOLED display.
Mobile Shell project was originally unveiled in June and it has made significant progress in the past few months. According to the developer, Mobile Shall has been rewritten in C++ and XAML Islands.
XAML Islands is a new technology that allows developers to use UWP UI elements on existing Win32 apps. It can also modernize and enhance the experience of existing Win32 apps and components.
Windows 10 ARM’s Mobile Shell has been tested on Lumia 950 and the performance is unbelievably smooth. It’s not known when and how Mobile Shell would be installable, but it should be ready by the time Windows 10 Mobile support ends.
Earlier this year, the Redmond firm stated that Windows 10 Mobile users won’t receive updates, including security patches or monthly patches, from December 10, 2019. After December 10, some features and apps on Windows 10 Mobile may stop functioning, including WhatsApp.
Microsoft will also disable automatic and manual device backups to cloud on March 10, 2020.
After the support for the mobile platforms ends, you should probably try installing the Windows 10 ARM before things stop working — remember Microsoft won’t be there to support you with hardware and software problems in 2020.
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