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Microsoft to skirt carriers with direct Windows 10 phone updates

One of the most frustrating aspects of updating smartphone software is being forced to wait for carrier approval.

Fortunately, Microsoft wants to bin that entire process, instead promising to handle future updates in-house.

According to a report by Zdnet, the company confirmed it hoped to take over Windows 10 updates for mobile devices.

This means that instead of passing new software builds onto mobile network providers, Microsoft will cut out the middleman and ship the software directly to your smartphone.

It’s in an effort to reduce time between software being finalised, and actually going live on your handset, a process often hampered significantly by carriers – especially on Android devices.

On a Microsoft blog post, the company writes: “Here at Microsoft, we take our responsibility to keep Windows secure seriously. We…proactively update supported devices with necessary updates to address issues.”

It continues: “And today, we’re announcing this continuous update process applies to all Windows 10 devices, including phones.”

Related: Best Windows 10 Laptops and Tablets

Apple already takes this approach to updates, snubbing carriers for its own software shipping process.

Google, meanwhile, offloads responsibility to carriers for Android, which can mean updates suffer significant delays, potentially creating security risks when bugs and exploits are uncovered in outdated builds.

Microsoft says it will be launching Windows 10 for mobile devices later this year, although no exact release date has been confirmed.

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