Windows Phone 10 release date, news and features

Windows Phone 8 is well over a year old now, yet until recently we knew very little about Windows Phone 10. Originally it was expected to be with us by the end of 2013 as it was thought that Microsoft may adopt the annual software cycle made popular by Apple in an attempt to keep its mobile OS fresh and, more importantly, relevant.
That didn't happen, but from the information that we've been able to gather so far it looks like Windows Phone 10 could be a massive overhaul, in fact it might not be Windows Phone 10 at all, but instead just Windows 10, as Microsoft is seemingly looking to unify its operating systems, so it's not surprising that it's taken over a year.
However we did recently get Windows Phone 8.1 to tide us over, while leaks highlight that Windows Phone 8.5 may also be on the cards.
Updates: It's rumored that Microsoft has sent an early build of Windows Phone 10 out into the wild, while we might have heard about one of the first phones which will arrive running the new OS- the Microsoft Lumia 940.
Before we get our teeth in Windows Phone 10 we need to visit the rumors surrounding version 8.5. It's been confused with the ninth iteration of the platform before, and it's important to make a distinction between the two.