With the Windows Phone 7 platform finally beginning to gain traction thanks to the release of the first Nokia Windows Phone handsets, new reports have revealed Microsoft is already looking to the next iteration of its mobile OS with the first Windows Phone 8 details leaking via an internal video.

Going by the codename ‘Apollo’ the Windows Phone 8 platform is set to adopt a flurry of new features with reports from PocketNow claiming that a Windows Phone 8 video intended for internal use has leaked revealing the next-generation WP OS will feature NFC compatibility allowing users to use their handset’s as a digital wallet.

Microsoft Windows Phone 8 Features

“We're looking at a lot of changes and additions here, all of which seem designed to either bring Windows Phone in line with other platforms, feature-wise, or make it more closely identical to the desktop version of Windows,” the PocketNow report declared. “It's probably safe to say that the jump from Mango/Tango to Apollo will be nearly as significant as the transition from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone.”

The video, which is said to feature Microsoft’s Senior Vice President for Windows Phone, Joe Belfiore, reportedly outs a number of key Windows Phone 8 features with the smartphone system to replicate a number of the core features of the similarly title PC operating system Windows 8.

With the current breed of Windows Phone handsets all limited to a single core CPU the launch of the Windows Phone 8 OS is set to mark the introduction of dual-core processors to the Microsoft branded handsets. “Apollo will add support for multicore processors, new screen resolutions,” the reports announced.

What would Microsoft need to do to its next-gen smartphone operating system to get you to make the jump to a Windows Phone handset? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Via: PocketNow