The leap from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 on smartphones isn’t just
going to be a jump in version numbers. It’s going to drop “Phone” from the name
entirely.
This has been a huge advantage for large tablets that run full Windows instead of water–down mobile versions of the desktop software, unlike iOS 8 does with Mac OS X Yosemite.
Microsoft is breaking down the Windows Phone and Windows RT borders of its operating system thanks to a version of Windows 10 that’s tailored devices smaller than 8 inches.
On stage, it demoed the Lumia 1520 running a new Windows 10 build. Here’s what we expect from this single operating system approach on everything from mini tablets to smartphones.
This has been a huge advantage for large tablets that run full Windows instead of water–down mobile versions of the desktop software, unlike iOS 8 does with Mac OS X Yosemite.
Microsoft is breaking down the Windows Phone and Windows RT borders of its operating system thanks to a version of Windows 10 that’s tailored devices smaller than 8 inches.
On stage, it demoed the Lumia 1520 running a new Windows 10 build. Here’s what we expect from this single operating system approach on everything from mini tablets to smartphones.
Free
upgrade to Windows 10 for Phone 8.1
The
first way in which Windows 10 on phones act like a grown–up operating system is
through the upgrading process. It’s free for the first year, just like the
desktop software.
That means you won’t have to ditch your current Windows Phone 8.1 device in order to test out Windows 10. In fact, it’ll be available to Windows Insiders starting in February.
Then again, Microsoft is bound to have all–new devices running Windows 10 by the time the operating system is ready to ship. After all, that Nokia 1520 is already a year–and–a–half old.
That means you won’t have to ditch your current Windows Phone 8.1 device in order to test out Windows 10. In fact, it’ll be available to Windows Insiders starting in February.
Then again, Microsoft is bound to have all–new devices running Windows 10 by the time the operating system is ready to ship. After all, that Nokia 1520 is already a year–and–a–half old.
Design
tweaks that make sense
Lined
with Microsoft’s now–standard app tiles, Windows 10 on phones doesn’t look
completely different but the Start experience has been tweaked.
A full–bleed background photo lies beneath the tiles, greeting you with a nice personalization feature when you swipe up from the lockscreen, something users have been clamoring for.
Panning over to the right, the apps list now begins with “recently install apps” at the top. It’s been promoted to make new downloads easier to find right after you hit the Windows Store.
The settings menu has also been reorganized to reflect what’s seen on PCs and tablets, and it looks a lot easier to drill down to the system–wide preferences that you want to change.
A full–bleed background photo lies beneath the tiles, greeting you with a nice personalization feature when you swipe up from the lockscreen, something users have been clamoring for.
Panning over to the right, the apps list now begins with “recently install apps” at the top. It’s been promoted to make new downloads easier to find right after you hit the Windows Store.
The settings menu has also been reorganized to reflect what’s seen on PCs and tablets, and it looks a lot easier to drill down to the system–wide preferences that you want to change.
Actual
Office, universal apps on the phone
The
drive to make Windows 10 platform agnostic was best demonstrated by two of
Microsoft’s three flagship Office apps: Word and PowerPoint (Excel is also
going to be pre–installed).
The company made the look and feel consistent on touch devices, beginning with the familiar recent documents list that roams across all of your Windows 10 systems.
Opening up a Word file in page layout mode teased a shared document in the demo, but reflow mode optimized everything for the mobile editing environment.
The Office ribbon that I’m now finally used to is squeezed into the app bar experience so that key elements like the formatting commands tab and review tab are easy to get to.
PowerPower also has full editing tools handy, but what Microsoft was keen on demoing here was the fact that it’s easy to project a rich slideshow using a phone and wirelessly via Mircast.
Windows 10 is all about universal apps, from the all–new Outlook mail, Calendar and Internet Explorer–replacing Project Spartan apps that were also preview.
Of course, for this to be successful, more app developers need to be more willing to serve the unified base more so than they were with Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 separately.
The company made the look and feel consistent on touch devices, beginning with the familiar recent documents list that roams across all of your Windows 10 systems.
Opening up a Word file in page layout mode teased a shared document in the demo, but reflow mode optimized everything for the mobile editing environment.
The Office ribbon that I’m now finally used to is squeezed into the app bar experience so that key elements like the formatting commands tab and review tab are easy to get to.
PowerPower also has full editing tools handy, but what Microsoft was keen on demoing here was the fact that it’s easy to project a rich slideshow using a phone and wirelessly via Mircast.
Windows 10 is all about universal apps, from the all–new Outlook mail, Calendar and Internet Explorer–replacing Project Spartan apps that were also preview.
Of course, for this to be successful, more app developers need to be more willing to serve the unified base more so than they were with Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 separately.
Action
Center syncing with PC
Windows
phones and computers need to move in step with each other, so it’s about time
that checking a notification on a phone clears it from the computer and vice–versa.
That’s the idea behind the redesigned Action Center in which grouped and single item alerts can be dismissed from this pull–down notification menu. It’s reflected across your devices.
Doing it twice on a computer and phone is so Windows 8.1.
That’s the idea behind the redesigned Action Center in which grouped and single item alerts can be dismissed from this pull–down notification menu. It’s reflected across your devices.
Doing it twice on a computer and phone is so Windows 8.1.
Adjustable
keyboard, inline messaging
Microsoft’s
Wordflow keyboard makes the transition from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 on
touch devices, complete with built–in shape writing and personalized vocabulary
learning.
New in today’s demo, the ability to resize the keyboard seemed helpful. Pulling it up and to the right so that it was one–third the size made it fit for one–handed typing on a 6–inch Lumia 1520.
Inline messaging is also getting in line with what iPhone users have been able to do with iOS, and switching between SMS and Microsoft’s own Skype platform happens all in one app.
Oh, and dication? That’s here too and it delves into your contacts to properly spell out names and outputs symbols when you say “hashtag” and “exclamation point.”
All of this isn’t necessarily more advanced than what we’ve seen from iOS 8 and Android Lollipop, but Microsoft is finally catching up in a big way.
New in today’s demo, the ability to resize the keyboard seemed helpful. Pulling it up and to the right so that it was one–third the size made it fit for one–handed typing on a 6–inch Lumia 1520.
Inline messaging is also getting in line with what iPhone users have been able to do with iOS, and switching between SMS and Microsoft’s own Skype platform happens all in one app.
Oh, and dication? That’s here too and it delves into your contacts to properly spell out names and outputs symbols when you say “hashtag” and “exclamation point.”
All of this isn’t necessarily more advanced than what we’ve seen from iOS 8 and Android Lollipop, but Microsoft is finally catching up in a big way.
Photos
app uses pruning
One
of the primary uses of a smartphone? Taking photos, of course. That’s why I’m
intrigued about the way in which Microsoft plans to handle pictures on Windows
10.
The brand new universal Photos app caches images across all of your devices synced with OneDrive and it automatically weeds out duplicates and auto–enhances pictures.
Red eye and repeat photos are out. Brightened faces and automatically created albums are in. Google+ has been doing this for a while, and Windows is finally doing it right too.
The brand new universal Photos app caches images across all of your devices synced with OneDrive and it automatically weeds out duplicates and auto–enhances pictures.
Red eye and repeat photos are out. Brightened faces and automatically created albums are in. Google+ has been doing this for a while, and Windows is finally doing it right too.
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