Term of the Moment
application stack
Definition: Windows Phone 8
A major update to Windows Phone introduced in late 2012. Windows Phone 8 replaced the Windows CE operating system with a version of the Windows 8 OS. Although Windows Phones were very innovative, they were too late in the game and eventually abandoned. See Windows Phone.
Windows Phone/Tablet Compatibility
Windows Phone apps did not run in Windows RT, 8 or 10 tablets. Windows tablets were designed to run Windows desktop apps but not Windows Phone apps. Microsoft took the opposite approach from Apple, whereby iPhone apps run on iPad tablets, but Mac desktop apps do not run on iPhones or iPads. See mobile compatibility.
Windows Phone 8 Start Screen
Platform Compatibility
Windows Phone/Tablet Compatibility
Windows Phone apps did not run in Windows RT, 8 or 10 tablets. Windows tablets were designed to run Windows desktop apps but not Windows Phone apps. Microsoft took the opposite approach from Apple, whereby iPhone apps run on iPad tablets, but Mac desktop apps do not run on iPhones or iPads. See mobile compatibility.
The most visible difference between WinPhone 7 and 8 was the expanded start screen. WinPhone 8 used all the screen real estate and let the user adjust the tile size. (Image courtesy of Microsoft Corporation).
Although a lot of programming code across Windows devices was shared by developers, the executable apps that ran on Windows phones did not run on Windows 8 or RT tablets.