Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile Insider build 14322 goes a long way in showcasing how much more in line Windows 10 is becoming on both PCs and smartphones. From the minor touches in the UI around the Settings Menu to beefing up the Action Center similar to its PC counterpart, build 14322 is looking more like a miniaturized version of Windows 10 than ever before.
The Windows team appears set to replicate even more Windows 10 PC features on Windows 10 Mobile smartphones in the near future. Reddit user Denaxin discovered new evidence of a signature Windows 10 feature becoming a background option for smartphones in the latest Insider build for mobile.
Captured in a screenshot, Denaxian highlights that a Windows Spotlight icon and toggle can be found in the Background Apps settings of RS1 build 14322 for mobile, leading to the theory that Microsoft looks to be bringing Ad supported Lock Screen and possible Start Menu options to the smartphone.
Introduced last year with the July 2015 release of Windows 10, Spotlight is Microsoft’s attempt to promote apps developed for its Windows Store to users by combing a selected Bing wallpaper of the day with text advertising a “Spotlighted” app of the day. Spotlight also highlights various Windows 10 features and settings on the Lock Screen. The Spotlight feature can also be tied to a Windows 10 user’s updated Start Menu as the company will place a similarly suggested Spotlighted app in the jump list for download if the option is triggered in Settings. The suggested app in the jump list changes daily and looks no different in design than the apps already present in the list, except for the text above the icon that reads Suggested.
Windows 10 Spotlight feature has been something of contention for some Windows 10 users, as some see it as a crude form of monetization, they would prefer Windows not engage with. Other Windows 10 users, like and appreciate the Windows teams efforts to bolster its developer community by putting apps in the faces of users who may have otherwise not have found them.
Despite the controversial nature of Windows Spotlight, it looks as though the Windows team is ready to bring the option to smartphones in the future. Similar to Windows 10 Messaging Everywhere feature, it seems as though some more backend magic needs to occur for both PCs and smartphones to present users with a fluid cross-platform experience for the option.
Perhaps, Windows 10 Mobile users can look forward to seeing a fully-functional version of the Spotlight feature later this year as the Windows 10 Anniversary Update hits devices.
