Microsoft’s next version of Windows for phones will be based on some of the same code as Windows for desktop, notebook, and tablet computers.

The company is starting to show what Windows 10 will look like on phones. In a lot of ways, it looks like Windows Phone 8.1, but many of the new features in Windows 10 for phones are tied to improvements in Windows for PCs.

win10 phone_01

For example, there’s a new Settings app which is a universal Windows app. That means the Settings app for phones is pretty much the same app that runs on Windows 10 tablets or desktops. It’s just resized for smaller screens.

Actions and notifications are also now synchronized between phones, tablets, notebooks, or other PCs logged into your Microsoft account.

There are some features that are specific to phones. Windows 10 for mobile phones includes a home screen that looks a lot like the the Windows Phone 8.1 screen with resizeable live tiles. But users can now change the wallpaper or background image.

The apps list has also been updated to show recently installed apps at the top of the list. And the keyboard has been updated with a mic button that lets you enter text by talking… and voice recognition will use your contacts to figure out the spelling for proper names or other words it may not normally know how to spell.

Microsoft says the smartphone version of Windows 10 that it’s demonstrating isn’t just for phones… it’s also for tablets with screens smaller than 8 inches, so the new versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint which the company is showing off are universal apps available for all sorts of touchscreen devices, although they’ll be included with smartphone builds of Windows 10 (it’s not clear if you’ll have to pay extra to use Office on PCs).

Outlook has also been updated for both smartphones and PCs to let you do things like quickly saving or deleting messages by swiping left or right. The Outlook client will be included for free on both phones and PCs.

 

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10 replies on “Microsoft shows Windows 10 for smartphones”

  1. “Windows 10… isn’t just for phones… it’s also for tablets with screens smaller than 8 inches”

    So this is essentially the next version of Windows RT?

  2. Enter text by voice, nice feature but android had it for a while now. I wonder if window is still can innovate instead of just following android features. Though the new Microsoft HoloLens look promising

  3. I stopped reading once I saw the PICTURE of the interface. Lipstick on a pig. It was the fucking interface which sucked balls in the first place Microsoft! What an abortion…

  4. yes, I really miss some info on architecture: which version is x86/ARM compatible?

    1. This article is discussing the version of Windows 10 meant for mobile devices… Thus covers phones, phablets, and smaller than 8″ tablet… which will all be ARM based devices…

      There’s just overlap of features, sync-able data, settings, preferences, etc that links it easily with the higher range Windows 10 for x86 PC devices…

      1. So it would bring much needed life and longevity to the original Surface RT, yes?

        1. Basically, though it looks like they’ll be concentrating on smaller than 8″ devices going forward, with x86 dominating the 8″ and larger devices…

      2. Or this could be the next version of Windows RT with the “phone bits” of Windows Phone. And then they’re discontinuing Windows Phone OS.

        So it looks like Windows 10 for smartphones is the next Windows RT.

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