Windows Phone 8.1 Gets Official on the Update History Page

There's good news for those eagerly waiting for Windows Phone 8.1 to rollout to their handsets. Microsoft has now published the long list of improvements that have been developed into its latest update onto the Windows Phone 8 history page:

Windows Phone 8 update history

If you're familiar with how update pages are made available, it's generally done when Microsoft when an update is feature complete. For Windows Phone this was announced on Twitter by Joe Belfiore on June 11.

Many are waiting for a formal and official RTM announcement, but that may not happen. Due to the accelerated release cycles of its products, Microsoft has taken to being a bit quieter about major releases. Even though Windows Phone 8.1 truly is a major update to the Windows Phone platform, it is only considered a minor update. To get a clear view of what's changed and what's new in 8.1, check out these Microsoft-supplied resources:

What's changed in Windows Phone 8.1

What's new in Windows Phone 8.1

Keep in mind, even though Windows Phone 8.1 may be feature complete, that doesn’t mean you can expect to see the update hit your own handset right away. It really depends on the speed and willingness of your carrier. For some it may take months.

See here:

Worth Repeating: Windows Phone 8.1 Delivery Is Reliant on the Carrier

For those that have been running the Developer Preview of Windows Phone 8.1, you might be interested to see the OS versioning listed on the Update History page. It shows that those running with the latest update (released about a week ago) are already using the most current release.

OS version: 8.10.12359.845, 8.10.12382.878, 8.10.12393.890, or 8.10.12397.895

So, there's no need to get too antsy waiting for the update from the carrier, unless you're waiting for specific drivers. For example, Miracast may not work with devices until the carrier delivers the update for your specific phone model.

And, by the way, if you have a qualifying device still running plain old Windows Phone 8 and want to get Windows Phone 8.1 now, you can still do so by joining the Developer Preview program and running through a few steps. The program still works as of two nights ago when my wife received her new Lumia and I updated it for her.

Paul has the full details and steps on how to join the Developer program and get the update installed:

Get Windows Phone 8.1 as Soon as Possible