Hackers have got Windows 10 on ARM running on a Lumia 950 smartphone

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Full-fat Windows 10 on a mobile

With promises of multi-day battery life and always-connected laptops, Windows 10 on ARM has already got us pretty excited, and now hackers have shown off the versatility of the new version of Windows by successfully running it on an old Lumia 950 smartphone.

As the name suggests, Windows 10 on ARM has been designed to bring Windows 10 to laptops and tablets running on an ARM processor. These processors are often found in smartphones, and due to their power-efficient design, it will allow laptops to enjoy many of the benefits smartphones do, such as long (compared to standard laptops) battery lives, ‘instant on’ startup speeds and the ability to use mobile internet, so you’re rarely without a data connection.

It has also meant that some enterprising hackers have managed to install and run Windows 10 on ARM on an ARM-equipped smartphone.

New life for the Lumia?

Running a full version of Windows 10 on a smartphone is pretty impressive, and with a few tweaks to the interface, it wouldn’t be too difficult to use, either. As you can see from the tweet below, Windows 10 does indeed appear to be running on the handset.

This feat was managed with the help of WPInternals, software that allows people to install other operating systems on a Windows Phone. In the past, this software has allowed people to run Windows 8 on their phones.

Now that a more powerful operating system seems to be running on the Lumia 950, a relatively recent Windows Phone, it could provide a new lease of life for some Windows Phone handsets that have been feeling slightly unloved.

We’ve been getting the feeling that Microsoft has been a bit lukewarm with its support of Windows 10 Mobile, and the handsets that run the mobile operating system, lately, and running Windows 10 on ARM could be a good way to make use of those handsets.

It’s also a great showcase for how flexible Windows 10 on ARM is. We’re not quite sure how well the handset handles the operating system, but it’s a good sign that the software is able to run on low-powered devices.

Via MSPoweruser

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Matt Hanson
Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he's reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.