Welcome back to our weekly “Windows 10 Mobile news recap” series, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s mobile operating system. Let’s get started.
This week we have news about the Insider program after Redstone, firmware updates to the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, third parties considering their futures in Windows 10 Mobile, and more.
Soundcloud looks into an official Windows 10/W10M app
If you use Soundcloud for any reason, whether it be to share your favorite songs, check out your favorite podcasts, or discover new indie talents, you may be happy to hear that the company is considering an official application for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. We received a statement from Soundcloud recently that said they are “evaluating Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile platforms but has nothing to announce at this time.” Of course that doesn’t tell us anything about the application for sure, but we definitely like to know that there’s a chance.
Dona confirms that we’ll keep getting builds post-Redstone
Are you worried that the release of the Anniversary Update on August 2nd will mean the end of your weekly gifts from the big red button? Worry no longer. Dona Sarkar, the head honcho of the Insider program, confirmed that the team is going to continue pushing out Insider builds for us even after we get the final release of Redstone. You can keep your eye right on our home page to know the instant that one of those builds heads out to your Windows 10 device.
Kik putting their work on the Windows Phone app on hold for now
If you’re one of the many great people who use Kik to communicate with your friends, you may be a little bit upset to find out that the Windows Phone application isn’t going to be getting more love any time soon – at least, not until its userbase grows. In a statement from the management at Kik, we were told that they “aren’t working on an update to Windows Phone, as resources are currently allotted to Android and iOS.” While the current version of the Windows Phone application is still plenty functional, it’s a bit depressing to know that it isn’t going to be tweaked for a while.
Pokemon Go gets petitioned by Windows 10 Mobile users
Pokemon Go released recently and has become something of a phenomenon. The app is on iOS and Android and lets people walk around in real life and compete with other Pokemon trainers, catch pokemon, and claim “gyms” for their team. It’s an incredibly cool take on a beloved franchise, and a great excuse to go out and get some exercise – so many Windows 10 Mobile users are a bit upset that they can’t play around with it at all. These fans created a petition to grab the attention of Nintendo and Microsoft to encourage some sort of partnership, and the petition has actually gotten a decent amount of traction.
Lumia 950 and 950 XL get double-tap to wake support
A persistent group of Lumia fans have been trying to get double-tap to wake support on the Lumia 950 and 950 XL for a while, and they’ve finally gotten what they wanted. The latest bit of firmware to come to the two Windows 10 Mobile devices brought the long-awaited feature, accompanied by some stability fixes. The update is being sent out in waves, so if you’re one of the lucky people to have gotten access to it, you should definitely download the update and see what you think.
Leaked images show us a prettier Action Center
If you thought that Windows 10 Mobile’s Action Center didn’t look great, then you may want to get a look at the revised version of it. We have leaked images that supposedly show us the updated action center, and while most of the fundamentals remain unchanged, there are a few key differences that are definitely worth admiring. The brightness slider, for instance, is positioned quite fashionably either above or below core buttons like your camera and settings. Assuming the leaks are accurate, the action center looks like it’s quite nicely using up the real estate available to it in order to give us a clean, sleek looking interface.
Finally, here is the build that was released for Windows 10 Mobile this week:
That’s it for Windows 10 Mobile news this week! If you want to go to keep up to date with the very latest in the Windows 10 Mobile scene, you can keep a close eye on our Windows 10 Mobile tag.
Further reading: Kik, Microsoft, Pokemon Go, SoundCloud, Windows 10 Mobile
