Over the past few weeks, the internet has blessed us with a steady stream of screenshots of newer, unreleased Windows 10 for phones builds, giving us a peek at features that will potentially make the cut in the upcoming Technical Preview release.
Today’s leak reveals a new task switcher, so now, when users press and hold the back button, they’ll have up to 4 apps show up on a single screen. If you have more than 4 apps running in the background, those apps will populate in more groups of four a little off-screen and just a swipe away. You still have the option to close apps directly from the task switcher by hitting the small close button next to each app. It is yet to be seen whether the number of cards displayed per screen is dependent on the screen size, but it is a possibility.
This build of Windows 10 for phones also features new selection bars that no longer take up the entire screen as they do on Windows Phone 8.1. So when doing things like changing the date or setting an alarm, users will be greeted by a small pop-up window instead.
The latest leak also reveals more of what the text editing tools in apps like email look like, and as we’ve seen before, it brings in a lot of elements from Word 2013 on the desktop, which is much appreciated over what is currently available on Windows Phone 8.1 (i.e. nothing). Heading styles, formatting tools, and the table selections are instantly recognizable to anyone that has used Word, which is great as it gives users a sense of continuity across platforms.
Another small hint at a possible new feature lies in the OS’s source selection list. It seems Windows 10 for phones assigns a drive letter to external storage devices (including the MicroSD card), which could be confirmation of USB On-The-Go (OTG) support. You may finally be able to connect flash and external hard drives to your phones and access all the content within. Microsoft has already revealed at WinHec that Windows 10 for phones will enable users to connect USB peripherals to their devices, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
Check out some of the other screenshots from today’s leak and let us know what you think of the progress being made on Windows 10 for phones in the comments below. Remember, a new build is expected to be officially released this Friday, and will be available on a lot more Lumia devices, so stay tuned to WinBeta for that!
