For corporate IT managers, the new OS will include encryption and secure boot-up, the ability to roll out applications to phones without having to go through Microsoft, device management applications and support for Microsoft Office applications.

Windows Phone 8 will also mean the adoption of Nokia Maps as the default mapping client. In some countries this will include turn-by-turn navigation. Microsoft and Nokia reached a broad phone development deal in 2011 that would put Windows Phone on Nokia devices and make Nokia's mapping software a key part of the OS.

Other features announced Wednesday include two new screen resolutions: 1280 by 720 and 1280 by 768 pixels.

A major cosmetic change to the OS will be a refresh of the home screen. The current screen includes a number of customizable tiles that can be one or two columns wide. The new home screen will feature up to four columns of tiles, giving users a chance to put more applications and information on the home screen.

Wednesday's announcement was targeted at the developers Microsoft needs to get on board to make the new OS a success. As such, the company didn't announce end-user hardware devices.