Now that Windows 10 Mobile is dead, Microsoft doesn’t officially make a smartphone operating system anymore. But the company does have a version of Windows 10 designed for tablets and laptops with ARM-based processors… and hackers have been finding ways to make it run on smartphones for the past year or so.
But while it’s gotten easier to do that in recent weeks, you’re still stuck running a desktop operating system on a smartphone-sized device.
So developer ADeltaX has been working on a Windows Phone-like interface for Windows 10 on ARM. It’s called Mobile Shell, and you can download an alpha version and/or view the source code at Github.
It’s also available from the Microsoft Store.
Mobile Shell features an app launcher and navigation shortcuts inspired by the now-defunct Windows Phone operating system and features larger touch targets to make the OS more finger-friendly when running on small, high-resolution displays.
That said, Mobile Shell is still very much a work in progress. As of Alpha version r709, it doesn’t support screen rotation or resolution or DPI changes.
But once the app is installed, all you have to do is witch from desktop to tablet mode to experience the new user interface, glitches and all… and imagine an alternate reality where Microsoft merged its desktop and smartphone operating systems rather than leaving one to die.
I’ve been working since a while on a custom shell (called MobileShell) for WoA64.
There still some work to be done, but it’s enough to post some screenshots.Warning: may contain misaligned icons. I’m not responsible for any brain damage. 🧠
Any suggestion is appreciated 😛 pic.twitter.com/gwOEUQVxvE
— ADeltaX (@ADeltaXForce) May 18, 2019
via WinFuture and MSPowerUser