Microsoft generated much buzz online on Thursday when it mistakenly released
a build of the much-awaited Windows 8.1 Update 1, ahead of its scheduled launch
in April.
What appears to be the final build of Windows 8.1 Update 1 was leaked out
online via Microsoft's Windows Update service, as the Verge
reports. Users at this point have to install a series of
patches before being able to install the full update, for which they need to
make a few registry changes, or download the updates via direct links.
At this point however, we recommend users wait the month or so it will take
for Microsoft to release the
Windows Phone 8.1
Update 1 in April, via official channels.
Most of the changes found in the Windows 8.1 Update 1 are said to be focussed
on keyboard and mouse users, as we see a desktop taskbar placed above the Metro
UI-style apps, and options that enable the user to minimise, close or snap Metro
UI-style apps. The Redmond-based firm is also said to add a 'shut down' button
on the Start screen for non-touch user machines. A new search button is also
seen on the top-right corner.
Microsoft might also make its
Windows 8.1 Update 1
thin-client friendly, as the updated OS is said to support configurations as low
as 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
Besides the Windows 8.1 Update 1 leak by Microsoft, other reports indicate
some major changes to the Windows Phone 8 platform.
On Thursday, reports of Windows Phone 8.5 already being in the works were
circulating the Internet. Mention of the new version of the mobile OS was
spotted in a tooltip message (see image below) in the updated Windows Phone 8.1
SDK files. Not many details accompanied the Windows Phone 8.5 tooltip message,
apart from hints that secondary live tile might be removed, and that the API
might be altered or re-designed for some other new features. The firm is also
said to be planning to change the start screen in Windows Phone 8.5.
The
Windows Phone 8.5 leak, coming from Arnold Vink forum,
additionally mentions "Since a WP8.1 application is now almost the same as a
WinRT application we can also (at least in the current dev preview) use the
background tasks used in WinRT apps which will allow us to run a background task
every 15 minutes."
Further, some freshly leaked
Windows Phone 8.1 SDK images by
Roman L. via Wmpoweruser suggest that the proposed 'Action Centre' or
the notification centre in WP8.1 can support a maximum of 20 notifications for
each app, messages that will be deleted after seven days. The users can tap on
the notification navigating right to the particular application. The users can
also clear the notifications one by one or altogether according to their
needs.
If the leaked images are to be believed, developers will be able to manage
notifications by tagging, grouping or replacing them as the new one comes in.
The developers can also set a 'ghost toast' and an expiration time that will
make the notification appear only in the Action Centre and not as a toast
notification on top of the screen.
Microsoft is yet to give an official word on both
Windows Phone 8.1 and
Windows 8.1 Update 1, so we will recommend users wait for company to officially
release the updates before trying to download and experience the new UIs.
