Speculation continues to churn about an upcoming Windows Phone 9 and a possible release date around summer 2014.

Microsoft announced that it will stop mainstream support for Windows Phone 8 starting July 2014 and that could around the time of a launch of the next generation smartphone, according to PC Tablet. The company posted this week on its support page that support for the Windows Phone 7.8, released in February, will stop after Sept. 9 2014. In addition, the Windows Phone 8, which was released in December 2012, will not be supported past July 2014.

"Distribution of the updates may be controlled by the mobile operator or the phone manufacturer from which you purchased your phone. Update availability will also vary by country, region, and hardware capabilities," the company update read.

The Window's Phone team then reportedly tweeted, "As we've said, one benefit of moving to the Windows core is that Windows Phone is upgradeable."

Could the next Windows Phone OS platform be on its way?

The Windows Phone 9 was reportedly mentioned for the first time publicly in a new job posting and employee posting the company created, according to Windows Phone Central. The Microsoft job posting stated, "Deployment of XAP/APPX application from Microsoft Store to Windows Phone 9." The employee also mentioned that Nokia, HTC and Qualcomm are currently testing "Windows 9 OS."

The ability to deploy both XAP and APPX files to Window Phone 9 also suggests that both Oss for mobile and tablet are likely to be synced, allowing apps to work on both smartphones and any Windows 8 device, according to the report.

A new Windows phone will face some competition from the likes of Samsung's Galaxy S4 - that will be avaible on some carriers starting May 1st - and the iPhone 5S/6, rumored to be released in summer 2013.

Tags: windows phone 9