Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview brings forth many new features and improvements for those of us who own a Windows Phone device. Two new features (or improvements?) that come with Windows Phone 8.1 is the ability to set a Start Screen background, as well as the option to show more tiles.
With Windows Phone 8.1, your Start Screen no longer has to seem boring. Now you can set a background image, which will be seen via transparent tiles. All you have to do is go into Settings > Start+Theme, or simply slide from the top of the Start Screen to open up the Action Center and then select All Settings. Scroll down to where you can choose a photo as your background – allowing you to pick from your Camera Roll, Saved Pictures, or even from default wallpapers that come with Windows Phone 8.1.
Now, you wont see the entire background on your home screen. Rather, you will see bits and pieces of the background via transparent tiles. Some apps don’t have support for transparent tiles, so you will see the tile’s accent color instead. The background image also features a parallax effect – when you swipe down on the home page, the background image will move slightly.
You can also show more tiles on your Start Screen, giving you an added column of tiles! This is an excellent feature that allows you to show more information on your home screen. Thankfully, this feature was available to my non-1080p Lumia 928. Take a look at my home screen below.
Everything looks a lot more colorful now, doesn’t it? Showcase your new Windows Phone 8.1 Start Screen in the comments below!
You can take a screenshot by holding down the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time.
