Windows Phone 8.2 (or possibly Windows Phone 9) is currently under the alias ‘Threshold’ from Microsoft. The name, originating from the Halo gaming series, refers to a wave of updates for Windows Phone, Windows and the Xbox One OS in spring 2015 that will work on bringing those platforms closer together.
As of February 2014, there is no known feature set specified for ‘Threshold’ on Windows Phone. Development has not yet begun due to the impending release of Windows Phone 8.1. ‘Threshold’ is similar to ‘Blue’ in that it is not just a Windows Phone update, but will span across numerous Microsoft offerings, including Windows OS, Xbox One, Office and others.
Broadly speaking, the goal of ‘Threshold’ is to bring closer together Microsoft’s various operating systems on desktop, mobile and gaming. While this OS alignment won’t merge RT and Windows Phone, something that is expected later on, it will lay the foundation for that and other OS mergers.
Threshold will also mark the beginning of a 12 month, or yearly, upgrade path for Microsoft as opposed to the longer 18 month cycles we’ve seen in the past.
