TL; DR
- A developer has succeeded in porting Windows 11 to a six-year-old Windows Phone.
- This is a native version of Windows 11 that runs on the Lumia 950 XL, which has a Snapdragon 810 SoC.
Windows 11 was announced last week and Microsoft is already allowing users to download a preview version of the operating system in versions x64 and Arm. Now it looks like an enterprising tinkerer managed to get Windows 11 Arm working on Microsoft’s latest flagship Windows Phone.
Gustave Monce posted a YouTube video as well Screenshots on Twitter (h / t: Liliputing), shows Windows 11 on the Lumia 950 XL. Monce posted a screenshot earlier this month that appeared to show Windows 11 on the device, but later clarified that this was simply Windows 11 running on the phone from the remote desktop.
This time, however, the tinkerer did Approved that it is actually a native port of Windows 11 Arm that runs on the Lumia 950 XL. Check out the video below for a better idea of how it all works.
The Lumia 950 XL’s Snapdragon 810 chipset is definitely chugging on Windows 11, and you’ll see lags when you double-tap the screen, launch File Explorer, go to the Start menu, and do other tasks. It also looks like the screen rotation is now very buggy. Even so, we get a good idea of what the user interface looks like on a smartphone and how features like snap layouts would work on a small screen.
Windows 11 previews don’t currently support Android apps, but we wonder how the Lumia 950 XL handles this feature in the preview. It wouldn’t be the first time a Windows Phone has previewed Android app support either.
We’ve already seen the Windows 10 Arm ported to the six-year-old phone as well, so there’s definitely a precedent here. Still, the fact that Windows 11 runs on such an old phone (and phones in general) is a cool feat. It’s especially noteworthy when you consider Microsoft’s confusing system requirements for the update.
Would you run Windows 11 on a smartphone if it included Android app support? Let us know via the poll below.