Update for Windows Phone 8.1: improved folders, new features and more
While the Lumia Cyan update is going through the final stages of local testing and now rolls out on user devices, the official Windows Phone blog has announced details of the latest update for Windows Phone 8.1.
Among the most notable improvements are the emergence of native folders for applications, updates in a number of pre-installed applications and proprietary services, as well as an enhanced voice assistant Cortana. We will try to tell you a little more about all the pleasant changes in our today's post.
We have already somehow reported that for Lumia smartphones the opportunity has appeared to organize applications into folders. However, then this function was implemented as a standalone application (developed by Nokia and available only on our smartphones), and users had to enter the utility menu to place application tiles in a folder.
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In the new interpretation of folders for Windows Phone 8.1, everything is completely different. Now this function is integrated into the OS interface initially: it is enough to move one tile to another on the start screen, and the folder will be automatically created. It only remains to give her a name.
Now the dilemma, when you have to choose between the perfectionist nightmare and quick access to frequently used applications, will be solved. In the expanded state, the folder resembles a section on the start screen of the older Windows 8.1. And when collapsing, the entire contents of the folder is folded into a large, standard, or small size tile at the user's choice.
Thanks to the VKontakte client, where, unlike the iOS application, they didn’t cut out music, and the MixRadio service many in Russia may have forgotten that there is a standard Xbox Music player in Windows Phone.
In the update, he also underwent significant improvements. For example, performance has been improved in areas such as downloading an application and scrolling through playlists. In addition, the functions that were missing in the early updates of Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers were returned.
As for the new additions to Xbox Music, every two weeks during the last something new came out, starting from synchronizing music collections in the background, and ending with switching tracks using swipes. In the near future, the Quickplay function will also be added, which will allow you to view recent actions of the player, as well as your own “Children's Room”, which will limit access to certain types of content.
Interesting features appeared in other native applications. For example, the App Store received a live tile. When installed on the start screen, it will show the latest news and updates of the store.
It has become more convenient to work with the "Messages". In each individual conversation, you can now select several SMS or messages from social networks at once for subsequent forwarding or deletion.
The update for Windows Phone 8.1 has improved security settings for working with public networks. For example, the ability to transfer data via VPN when connecting to Wi-Fi was added, which will make it possible to secure the connection to public hotspots.
With the Apps Corner feature, users will be able to place applications on a special closed start screen (sandbox) that will be available when this mode is enabled (other applications will not be available in this mode). This feature can be useful, for example, for the corporate segment to create a pool of business applications for work in cases where full-fledged MDM solutions (solutions for managing mobile devices) are not required.
This feature can also come in handy for retail and cultural centers as an ideal solution for demonstration applications and guides. However, ordinary users will certainly be able to find many applications for it: for example, to adapt the phone for an elderly person, protecting it from accidental falling into the settings and other “difficult” places. To those who have loved the Kid's Corner function, we hasten to inform you that it has not gone anywhere and is still available.
The Apps Corner profile can be exported from one device and imported to another. Developers can also access application usage data from within Apps Corner.
Deploying Cortana around the world continues at a steady pace. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the exact timing of the appearance of the intellectual assistant, but with the Cortana update it will be available for China, Great Britain, Canada, India and Australia. For the last three in the status of alpha version.
In China, Cortana, in addition to the local working title "Xiao Na", received support for the Mandarin dialect both in oral speech and in the text, as well as, for the sake of cultural characteristics, animations and sounds different from the main version. The Chinese guise Cortana is a pretty, animated, big-eyed creature of oval appearance. Master Chief wouldn't know.
Xiao Na, despite the change of nationality, everything will also share relevant information with users: for China, for example, information about air pollution, the traffic situation, and (suddenly) the latest news about pop culture, Chinese celebrities and TV programs . Another difference: Cortana in the Chinese version can help users improve their English by spying words in the Bing English Dictionary.
In the United Kingdom, Cortana will differ, of course, with an English accent (although it is not yet clear whether it will sound more like Mary Poppins, or Margaret Thatcher), and will also support British pronunciation and grammar. She will also show information designed exclusively for residents of the UK, including: news from the London Stock Exchange, information about highways (in the UK, many people go to work from the suburbs to major cities every day), Bing search engine news about the teams in the English Premier League and other sports.
The American version of Cortana will also receive a number of updates: new language scripts have appeared, the possibility of postponing reminders, and the ability to call an assistant via car systems that support Bluetooth.
The update for Windows Phone 8.1 is already available for installation for those who participate in the program for the developers of Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers (and it’s not difficult to take part in this program, but it’s worth remembering that you do it at your own peril and risk) . For the rest of the owners of Lumia based on WP 8.1, the update will begin to spread in a few months, after receiving Lumia Cyan.
Among the most notable improvements are the emergence of native folders for applications, updates in a number of pre-installed applications and proprietary services, as well as an enhanced voice assistant Cortana. We will try to tell you a little more about all the pleasant changes in our today's post.
Improvements
We have already somehow reported that for Lumia smartphones the opportunity has appeared to organize applications into folders. However, then this function was implemented as a standalone application (developed by Nokia and available only on our smartphones), and users had to enter the utility menu to place application tiles in a folder.
')
In the new interpretation of folders for Windows Phone 8.1, everything is completely different. Now this function is integrated into the OS interface initially: it is enough to move one tile to another on the start screen, and the folder will be automatically created. It only remains to give her a name.
Now the dilemma, when you have to choose between the perfectionist nightmare and quick access to frequently used applications, will be solved. In the expanded state, the folder resembles a section on the start screen of the older Windows 8.1. And when collapsing, the entire contents of the folder is folded into a large, standard, or small size tile at the user's choice.
Thanks to the VKontakte client, where, unlike the iOS application, they didn’t cut out music, and the MixRadio service many in Russia may have forgotten that there is a standard Xbox Music player in Windows Phone.
In the update, he also underwent significant improvements. For example, performance has been improved in areas such as downloading an application and scrolling through playlists. In addition, the functions that were missing in the early updates of Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers were returned.
As for the new additions to Xbox Music, every two weeks during the last something new came out, starting from synchronizing music collections in the background, and ending with switching tracks using swipes. In the near future, the Quickplay function will also be added, which will allow you to view recent actions of the player, as well as your own “Children's Room”, which will limit access to certain types of content.
Interesting features appeared in other native applications. For example, the App Store received a live tile. When installed on the start screen, it will show the latest news and updates of the store.
It has become more convenient to work with the "Messages". In each individual conversation, you can now select several SMS or messages from social networks at once for subsequent forwarding or deletion.
Security
The update for Windows Phone 8.1 has improved security settings for working with public networks. For example, the ability to transfer data via VPN when connecting to Wi-Fi was added, which will make it possible to secure the connection to public hotspots.
With the Apps Corner feature, users will be able to place applications on a special closed start screen (sandbox) that will be available when this mode is enabled (other applications will not be available in this mode). This feature can be useful, for example, for the corporate segment to create a pool of business applications for work in cases where full-fledged MDM solutions (solutions for managing mobile devices) are not required.
This feature can also come in handy for retail and cultural centers as an ideal solution for demonstration applications and guides. However, ordinary users will certainly be able to find many applications for it: for example, to adapt the phone for an elderly person, protecting it from accidental falling into the settings and other “difficult” places. To those who have loved the Kid's Corner function, we hasten to inform you that it has not gone anywhere and is still available.
The Apps Corner profile can be exported from one device and imported to another. Developers can also access application usage data from within Apps Corner.
Cortana
Deploying Cortana around the world continues at a steady pace. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the exact timing of the appearance of the intellectual assistant, but with the Cortana update it will be available for China, Great Britain, Canada, India and Australia. For the last three in the status of alpha version.
In China, Cortana, in addition to the local working title "Xiao Na", received support for the Mandarin dialect both in oral speech and in the text, as well as, for the sake of cultural characteristics, animations and sounds different from the main version. The Chinese guise Cortana is a pretty, animated, big-eyed creature of oval appearance. Master Chief wouldn't know.
Xiao Na, despite the change of nationality, everything will also share relevant information with users: for China, for example, information about air pollution, the traffic situation, and (suddenly) the latest news about pop culture, Chinese celebrities and TV programs . Another difference: Cortana in the Chinese version can help users improve their English by spying words in the Bing English Dictionary.
In the United Kingdom, Cortana will differ, of course, with an English accent (although it is not yet clear whether it will sound more like Mary Poppins, or Margaret Thatcher), and will also support British pronunciation and grammar. She will also show information designed exclusively for residents of the UK, including: news from the London Stock Exchange, information about highways (in the UK, many people go to work from the suburbs to major cities every day), Bing search engine news about the teams in the English Premier League and other sports.
The American version of Cortana will also receive a number of updates: new language scripts have appeared, the possibility of postponing reminders, and the ability to call an assistant via car systems that support Bluetooth.
The update for Windows Phone 8.1 is already available for installation for those who participate in the program for the developers of Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers (and it’s not difficult to take part in this program, but it’s worth remembering that you do it at your own peril and risk) . For the rest of the owners of Lumia based on WP 8.1, the update will begin to spread in a few months, after receiving Lumia Cyan.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/232479/
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