Microsoft has announced many changes at the Build 2015 starting from the new browser, Microsoft Edge, Continuum, and HoloLens, to new features and improvements in Windows 10, especially for smartphones. The company has plans for a seamless transition between smartphones and desktops. In addition, the Redmond-based company intends to give the users of its browsers and OS an experience of using the apps that are available on other operating systems such as iOS, and Android. Microsoft has been a laggard in handheld devices primarily because it does not have as many apps in its store as its competitors.
For starters, the company has taken the feedbacks related its core code in beta stage seriously and improved them to make them reliable. Such improvement in core code will also reduce consumption of power, and thereby increase battery life. There are improvements in calls as well.
Albert Schum, the company’s designing team leader from Operating Systems group, also mentioned that new features are added to Windows 10 for smartphones, which as of now need some perfection for seamless movement between phones and personal computers.
Microsoft is trying to conform to International typographic standards, and add transportation graphics to its portfolio. The process started with Windows 7. In Windows 10, the company has incorporated many controls that can be used in all devices with Windows 10 on them, irrespective of whether they are handheld devices or desktops. In addition, these controls will also be available on other universally used platforms. Microsoft refers to it as adaptive UX. It was mentioned in Continuum feature. This adaptive UX will give smartphone with Windows 10 in it an ability to generate a desktop interface. Such interface would be on HDMI display. It would include keyboard controls as well as a mouse.
Schum also mentioned menu icon or the hamburger. This is a control that appears like three dots. It can move across any website and apps. It can also move into other operating systems such as iOS and Android. The new adaptive UX will give users access to pivot controls as well as hamburger, to improve their user experience.
Other improvements listed by Shum include those in Outlook and phone’s calendars. The company is bringing back some of the old features such as Multi-select and Unified Inbox in its Outlook. In addition, conferencing is now possible with Outlook. There would buttons for improving movement between Outlook panes. Folder pinning has been improved and so also switching between Outlook and the Calendar.
Other improvements are in People’s section, Photos app, and Task switching. The company now offers developers of apps for Android and or iOS to use an interface such that their app’s program code is translated into Windows 10 compatible code.