Writing on the Windows Blog, Gabe Aul introduced the new build after announcing it a few days ago. Unlike the first build of Windows 10 for phones, this one — build 10051 — is available on nearly all Nokia Lumia Windows Phones, including flagship devices like the Lumia 1520. A notable omission is the 930, which is having some UI scaling issues.
The new app switcher in Windows 10 for Phones
Windows Mania
App switcher
A new app switcher is now available for multitasking. Accessible by holding the back button as in Windows Phone 8, you can now view up to 15 recent apps. Up to 4 thumbnails can be seen at a time in a grid view if the screen resolution of the phone is large enough and the app switcher can also now be used in landscape mode.
Project Spartan
Project Spartan is available to use on phones for the first time. Introduced recently to Windows 10 on desktops, the new browser is designed to replace Internet Explorer for consumer usage. Currently, both apps are co-existing with each other and Spartan is not set to be the default in this build of Windows 10 for phones. In time, Spartan will be the only browser included with Windows Phone. Unlike Windows 10 on the desktop, Internet Explorer will not be available to use.
The browser includes the new reading view and reading list features which will sync automatically between your phone and Windows 10 tablet or computer. Writing in a separate blog post, Project Spartan program manager Kyle Pflug explains how Spartan uses the same rendering engine on both mobile and the desktop and supports all the modern standards.
A small controversy in its design on mobile at the moment is the positioning of the address bar. Currently located at the top of the display, some users — including myself — have been upset by this change. It is much harder to use on large devices like the Lumia 1520 than the bottom address bar of Internet Explorer. Pflug writes that the company is hearing this feedback and looking closely at the design of Spartan and the positioning of the address bar.
Outlook
The redesigned Outlook Mail for Windows 10 works across desktops and phones
Microsoft
The build also includes the new design for the Outlook Mail and Outlook Calendar apps. Gone is the carousel of old and in comes a brand-new, brighter design based around swipe gestures. Familiar to users of iOS and Android, you can quickly swipe messages to delete or flag them. Several actions are available to choose from.
There is also much more customization when writing mail. Outlook now uses the new version of Office included on Windows 10 for phones to allow you to format text, add pictures and use tables in emails.
New apps
A leaked screenshot of the redesigned people app for Windows 10 for phones
Windows Mania
Additional changes include new phone, messaging and people apps that use the new Windows 10 visual design. It features more concentrated information with smaller font sizes and rounded profile pictures. A new maps app consists of Bing Maps and HERE Maps integrated together into one app.
A change requested by many users of the previous build, the keyboard has been updated so that period, comma and emoji keys are on the first page. You can now replace the emoji key with a language switch key too.
Known issues
It isn’t all rosy though. Issues with this build include some major problems that may put users off installing it. For example, it is impossible to disable mobile data connections and impossible to enable flight mode.
Phones with 512MB of RAM may experience random unhandled app crashes and “about 1 percent of the time” incoming calls won’t play the ringtone. Office has also been removed and the new version of Office not included yet. You cannot view OneNote notebooks, Word documents, Excel spread-sheets or PowerPoint presentations in this build. There are many other known issues too that are detailed in the blog post but as this is pre-release preview software there are likely to be many other unknown issues that are waiting to be encountered.
Conclusion
The new build is an exciting glimpse into the future of Windows 10 on phones. It is a massive improvement on Windows Phone 8 and I for one am a big fan of the new visual styles being used in apps.
If you want to install the build on your compatible phone, install the Windows Insiders app and follow the instructions. Personally, I won’t be installing it on my Lumia 1520 due to the large list of potential issues but am excited to see the latest developments in Windows 10 for phones.
