Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system will join Android in the Full HD smartphone revolution before the end of this year, it has been revealed.
Sources have informed The Verge that Microsoft has plans to update Windows Phone 8 later this year to add support for phones with larger, sharper displays; namely 5-inch screens sporting the Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution.
Right now Android is the only smartphone platform to provide Full HD devices, with the likes of the HTC One, Sony Xperia Z and Samsung Galaxy S4 all featuring this new tech trend.
The current crop of Windows Phones is one step behind, with high end models such as the Nokia Lumia 920 featuring 720p HD screens. Microsoft will effectively unlock the next step for Windows Phone in terms of screen quality with an update known as General Distribution Release (GDR3), although it will probably launch with a more customer friendly name – perhaps Windows Phone 8.1, to mirror the forthcoming Windows 8.1 update for PC.
Microsoft’s new update will also open up the opportunity for manufacturers to use new quad-core processors from Qualcomm. This step-up will again put Windows Phone in line with Android in terms of specifications, although Samsung has just started the push for 8-core processors with its new Galaxy S4, so Google’s system may pull ahead once again in the coming months.
It’s thought that the update will bring Microsoft’s phone and PC platforms closer together; adding PC-type features to the phone and vice versa. This of course is Microsoft’s plan to get people using Windows Phones and Windows PCs or tablets in unison to get the benefit of seamless switching and syncing between the two.
Windows Phone Blue, as the update is currently known, is thought to be pencilled in for an early 2014 launch and will accompany the next crop of Windows Phones.