There’s been a wild debate going on about whether or not the new start screen is the only new feature in Windows Phone 7.8 update. It’s certainly the only thing Microsoft has announced, but they’re being suspiciously non-specific about this.
Windows Phone team member and Senior Product Manager, Larry Lieberman recently talked about Windows Phone development at TechEd2012. He gave an interesting statement to an audience question about 7.8 features:
“Will Windows Phone 7.8 get new features as well that you can access as a developer? Maybe. We haven’t announced it yet.
All we’ve announced is the new Start screen at this point. Sorry, nothing new to announce. You’re asking me stuff I can’t answer.”
It feels like Microsoft is still considering its options at this point. Another Senior Product Manager, Ben Lower seemed much more certain of the additional features in a tweet some time ago.
The update will be available in late 2012, after the actual Windows Phone 8 launch. There’s still a lot of time for them to decide what to actually include in there. We’ll just have to wait and see what Microsoft is cooking up. Which features would you like to see in Windows Phone 7.8?
