For those of you who have been wondering when your legacy Windows Phone devices will be getting that ever-elusive update to Windows 7.8, Microsoft has just announced that it will bring Windows Phone 7.8 to existing Windows Phone 7.5 users in “early 2013” and that it will roll out to “as many devices as possible.”
Though it doesn’t include all of the improvements packed into Windows Phone 8, version 7.8 will ensure that owners of previous Windows Phone hardware (i.e. the Lumia 900) — who were essentially cut off from future milestone updates — will be able to enjoy at least some new functionality, including the ability to resize Live Tiles, in addition to some Exchange security enhancements and new theme colors.
The official announcement follows an early leaked build of Windows Phone 7.8 for the HTC HD7 and news that the latest version would arrive on handsets in China in the “coming weeks.”
An exact release date is not yet known, but rest assured we will keep our ears to the ground and update with any newly available information.