Articles about Windows 10 Mobile

Windows 10 Mobile was officially introduced in November, launching alongside Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. But, even though it was deemed ready for prime time, Microsoft released a new build of its latest smartphone operating shortly after, to fix various issues reported by users of the two new flagships. And, now, there is a new firmware available too.

This is actually the first firmware update for the Lumia 950 family. The build number is 01078.00027.15506.020xx. Here are the changes that it brings to the table.

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Microsoft announced in early October that the Windows 10 Mobile rollout for existing Windows Phone 8.1 devices would kick off in December. But, with less than two weeks to go before the end of the year, the software giant now says that the much-awaited software upgrades will not be available until later than expected.

Microsoft expects Windows 10 Mobile software upgrades to be made available starting "early next year" for "select existing Windows 8 and 8.1 phones". That is, assuming everything goes according to plan.

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Microsoft pushed out a new Windows 10 Insider Preview PC build to the Fast ring yesterday, and today it follows that up with a new update for Windows 10 Mobile.

Build 10586.36 is, as you can guess from the name, a cumulative update and will be released to Windows Insiders in both the Fast and Slow rings.

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Microsoft added support for offline storage in OneDrive for Android in September, announcing that it plans to also bring the feature to iOS and Windows smartphones later down the road. But, knowing that a few months have passed already, when exactly will this happen?

Microsoft has provided an update, revealing that offline support in OneDrive will make its way to iOS before the end of December. As far as its own platform is concerned, offline support in OneDrive will only be offered on Windows 10 Mobile, but not anytime soon.

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A week ago Microsoft pushed out a new Windows 10 Mobile build to Lumia 950 and 950 XL users. Build 10586.29 was the first cumulative update and originally made available to Windows Insiders.

However, things didn’t go particularly smoothly with the new version, and a large number of users reported having installation problems.

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When you look at which smartphones are most-popular with the Windows Phone crowd, you will not see many mid-range or high-end offerings making the top 10. That is because low-end devices, like Lumia 520, dominate the charts, a trend that is unlikely to change with the launch of Windows 10 Mobile.

This makes Microsoft's new Lumia 550 the most important Windows 10 Mobile device for the foreseeable future. Officially available starting today, it is first being released in Europe, with other major markets across the globe to follow shortly.

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Microsoft is continuing to refine and polish its new mobile operating system, and is working to address feedback and issues reported by Windows Insiders.

The latest Windows 10 Mobile build doesn’t contain any exciting new features but rather is a cumulative update, which explains the new build number -- 10586.29. Microsoft is also planning to make this build available to additional devices early next week.

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Windows Phone's market share took a huge hit last quarter, dropping to a ridiculously low 1.7 percent. Things could improve following the introduction of Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL and other Windows 10 Mobile smartphones, but, in the long run, the platform is not expected to regain much of the ground it lost to Android and iOS.

Windows Phone's market share for 2015 is expected to be around the 2.2 percent mark, according to an IDC forecast, which would be a major decline compared to last year, when its market share was 2.7 percent. But, that's not the real bad news. By the end of 2019, Windows on smartphones is expected to only see a slight bump to 2.3 percent.

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Microsoft held its yearly shareholder meeting this week in Bellevue, Washington. According to executive vice president and chief financial officer Amy Hood, the company did well during the fiscal year of 2015 and it has already reported a strong start when it comes to the current fiscal year.

However, former CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer was displeased with the level of disclosure at the meeting concerning Microsoft’s revenue. He believes that revenue is a key metric and that it should be reported as opposed to the run rate.

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Now that Windows 10 Mobile is ready for prime time, having launched alongside Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL earlier this month, Xiaomi has released a fresh build for its Mi 4 smartphone. The device received support for Windows 10 Mobile earlier this year, with a developer preview arriving in June.

The Windows 10 Mobile build that was just released is only for the 4G LTE version of the smartphone. And, also, Xiaomi warns that there might be "some unpredicted bugs still".

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Even though it already has a smartphone line, rumors suggest that Microsoft wants to release a smartphone under the Surface brand. It may sound a bit far-fetched, but this might just be what Microsoft and Windows 10 Mobile really need to become a serious contender in the high-end smartphone market.

While Surface tablets are increasingly more appealing, following the introduction of Surface Pro 3, the Lumia line is proving to be increasingly less attractive in consumers' eyes, as proven by its tiny 1.7 percent market share. Moving an upcoming flagship product from a fading to an up and coming brand starts to make a whole lot of sense.

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Windows 10 Mobile is already running on seven percent of compatible Windows Phone devices, according to a new report from ad network AdDuplex, ahead of the official roll-out. The new smartphone operating system from Microsoft has reached this distribution level thanks to pre-release builds installed by enthusiasts who joined the Windows Insider program.

Windows 10 Mobile is currently the third most popular release of Windows on smartphones, after Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows Phone 8. But there's a long way to the top for the new kid on the block as the current leader, Windows Phone 8.1, powers 78.9 percent of all Windows smartphones.

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Hey, Satya Nadella, you are doing a pretty good job at Microsoft. Windows 10 is a darn good desktop operating system, although you need to work on those confusing privacy settings, bro. Office 2016 is great too, as always, and your cross platform apps are wonderful. Hell, even Bing continues to get better.

We need to have a heart to heart about Windows 10 Mobile, otherwise known as the continuing of Windows Phone, though. Here's the thing -- nobody wants it. Other than some Microsoft fanboys and beat-writers like Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley, it's about as wanted as diarrhea. Yes, Satya, I am comparing your mobile operating system to loose stools. While that sounds a bit extreme, it sadly actually isn't. It's time to give up on mobile. Free your fanboys from their mental prisons.

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After the slightly disappointing launch of Windows 10 -- at least in terms of reception, if not in terms of numbers (well, it was free) -- Microsoft is now switching its focus to Windows 10 Mobile. The aim now is to try to capture Android and iPhone users, convincing them that a Windows-based smartphone is a smart move.

But there's the problem of apps. It's something that crops up time and time again. Microsoft simply doesn't have the support of mobile developers in the same way that other platforms do. Not that Microsoft would admit this of course. To try to convince people that the 'app gap' no longer exists, the company has released AppComparison for Android to show off how many of the apps you use are available for Windows 10 Mobile. The problem is, there are still lots that simply don't exist.

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Desktop users have been rather spoiled when it comes to preview builds of Windows 10, but the same cannot be said for mobile users. After a quiet few weeks, Microsoft today releases Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10586 to the Fast ring.

The official launch date for Windows 10 Mobile draws ever closer, this will be the final preview build Insider get to see. How do we know? This is the RTM build that comes pre-installed on new Lumia devices and Build 10586 sees Microsoft putting the final finishing touches in place. There are no new features this time around, but bugs have been squashed -- there are just a few things to watch out for.

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