I am designing a new Windows Phone app and I can’t decide if I should target Windows Phone 7.x (which would also run on 8) or Windows Phone 8 only. I can see pros and cons to both:
Windows Phone 8 Only
Pros:
- I can take advantage of some of the new features in WP8 (although I am not sure which ones, specifically, I would take advantage of at this time)
- I can develop in Visual Studio 2012
- I can use my Lumia 920 to test on
- It’s the “latest and greatest”
Cons:
- I exclude the Windows Phone 7.x community (I have no idea what percentage is currently on WP7.x vs. WP8)
Windows Phone 7.x (pretty much the opposite of the above)
Pros:
- I can target all Windows Phone users
Cons:
- I can’t take advantage of some of the new features in WP8 (although I am not sure which ones, specifically, I would take advantage of at this time)
- I have to develop in Visual Studio 2010 since Visual Studio 2012 does not support WP7.x development
- I can’t (easily) test on my Lumia 920
- It’s not the latest and greatest
What thoughts does everyone have regarding this? Are you targeting WP7.x to take advantage of the numbers or are you targeting WP8 to take advantage of the “latest and greatest” hardware, APIs, and development tools?