Windows 10 Mobile: Microsoft's mobile operating system (discontinued 2020)

Overview of Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft's mobile OS that adapted Windows 10 features for phones and small tablets, supported ARM and x86 devices and UWP apps, and reached end of support on January 14, 2020.

Windows 10 Mobile was a mobile edition of Microsoft's operating system line that evolved from the Windows Phone platform. It was designed to bring elements of the Windows 10 experience to smaller devices, while remaining distinct from the desktop edition.

Supported hardware

The system ran on handheld hardware such as phones and small tablet computers (generally those with screens of about 8 inches or smaller). These mobile devices used processors based on either the ARM architecture or IA-32 (x86) designs.

Software and compatibility

Windows 10 Mobile supported apps written for the Universal Windows Platform and shared a number of interface and service elements with desktop Windows 10. That approach allowed many developers to target both mobile and PC form factors with a single app package, though the overall app selection and ecosystem differed from Windows on PCs.

Lifecycle

Microsoft declared the platform discontinued and stopped providing security updates on January 14, 2020. That end-of-support date coincided with the retirement of Windows 7 (and related server products), after which no further security patches were issued for Windows 10 Mobile devices.