Microsoft updates Insider app in advance of Windows 10 phone preview, hints at hardware requirements

Windows 10 phone preview,

The final release of Windows 10 is still months and months away, but Microsoft is happy to give users eager for a preview an early look at the operating system. The PC preview has been out for a while now, and for the past few weeks we’ve been anticipating the start of a similar preview for phones. Earlier this month Microsoft started prepping for it release by publishing its Phone Insider app, and at the Windows 10 event last week, the company confirmed its intention to make that preview available in February. As we approach that release, Microsoft is updating the Insider app, giving it a new name and preparing us for some of the first limitations of Windows 10.

Instead of Phone Insider, the app is now Windows Insider, a fitting change considering how Microsoft’s dropping the Windows Phone brand with the release of Windows 10. We also see the arrival of an option to sign in with your Microsoft account, though until the preview goes live for the public, that won’t do you much good.

We also see mention of minimum system requirements for installation of the preview, but we don’t yet know exactly what those will entail. That restriction shouldn’t be too surprising, consideringMicrosoft’s recent clarification that not all Windows Phone 8.1 models will see the arrival of complete Windows 10 updates. Really, we’re most interested right now in hearing the specifics of which kinds of devices won’t be able to run the preview, to give us a heads-up for what to expect in regards to compatibility when formal Windows 10 updates roll around.