Dissecting the Windows Phone 8.1 leaks
I like to think I'm a realist. And I have been down this road before. I don't think the leaks are fakes or lies. But I think people are overlooking a number of elements based on history. Here is the article I'm reading through. So far, it is the most extensive I've seen on the topic, but there may be more/better out there. I also think people are getting over excited about features that may not function as expected or may not even be what people are expecting.
The first item on the list speaks of new theme colors. Funny thing is, there is only 1 extra color there compared to my phone. And, my phone doesn't implement the option that allowed OEM's to supply 1 color of their own. I don't think there are actually ANY new theme colors (at least not based on the picture). I think the extra one shown is simply to represent the vendor option.
Navigation bar is cool. But I would barely call it a feature myself. Reasoning is that Microsoft isn't doing it to add functionality. But to remove some hardware limitations making the platform a more painful barrier to OEM's. I believe the hope is, without the need for dedicated buttons that Android handset makers can simply use the exact same hardware for both platforms if they choose so. It could also potentially lower hardware manufacturing costs, which should also in theory help OEM platform adoption. So, while it truly IS a feature. It honestly wasn't added (in my opinion) as a consumer feature. It was added as an OEM feature. I'm happy to see it nonetheless.
More display resolutions is in the same camp I think as the navigation bar. End user doesn't typically really care about screen resolution. Wider array of supported resolutions also makes it more plausible for 1:1 port of future Android devices. Side note here: This may end up being a bad move. WP handsets will likely still cost more than Android handsets as the license fees for the OS are more expensive (but MS could opt to drop or lower those). As long as they stay higher, consumers aren't going to like seeing that literally the exact same phone costs MORE if you want it on the less popular OS with fewer apps. Separate hardware lines for the 2 OS's made such comparisons harder to make.
Battery Sense, Storage Sense, etc.... I have one thing to say; Data Sense. I loved the notion of this feature. But guess what? OEM's were allowed to block it. And many did. Here in Canada, on Telus with my Ativ S, I don't have access to this app. Granted, the objective is that I'll blow through my data plan and owe more money, and that doesn't apply to these new apps. So, no guarantee that they'll be similarly afflicted. This is more of a global caveat. Until the final product is delivered, and running on your phone choice, you won't be 100% that a given feature will actually be enabled for you.
Camera improvements. Loving this. Sounds like Microsoft is moving more in the direction it should be. The ability to change the "default" camera app is the biggest in my opinion. Not to say that a Nokia Camera like app upgrade is anything to scoff at. Lenses were a cool idea. But, generally, most camera filters/apps were better with their own dedicated UI's. This will allow that.
Multi-Tasking changes aren't really anything special. Swipe down in addition to existing "X" button? I'll be honest, I find there are very few gestures that are actually intuitive. Swiping may be easier one-handed than hitting the tiny x button, but the tiny x button needs no explanation.
USB warnings are just a nice to have. I don't think I read of anyone actually complaining that this wasn't there. Doesn't mean no one did. Just not thinking it was a big requirement.
Separate volume toggles for notifications/music. This one is pretty big. I've read it several times from users. Minor to me. But does some times annoy. I often turn down the volume when listening to music with ear buds, then forget to crank it back up and miss a ton of texts/emails/whatever. For me the nuisance was relatively minor, but this is definitely nice to have, and should make a lot of others even happier than me.
Ability to change the default messaging app? Does this mean a whole new set of API calls/features in the SDK? I don't remember WP8 having ANY capability of writing a new SMS app. The feature in and of itself is meaningless. The potential it unlocks if it means what I think it means is huge. I like the default keyboard/messaging app. But many don't. This might enable some of those 3rd party keyboards indirectly (at least for texting).
Cortana is lame to me. And I say that because Siri is lame to me. We still haven't reached the point where any self-respecting person can actually use voice commands, let alone voice assistants in public. I think the true value of Siri lies in making fun of it. Again... are people actually asking for these things? I haven't seen a mainstream Siri reference in months.
VPN support is great for a certain subset of users. Probably isn't going to boost phone sales. At the moment, the market is driven by consumer demand more than by corporate demand. Otherwise BlackBerry would still be #1. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about it. Just doubting the value to the platform.
Last 2 items are universal app templates and the potential name.
I'm interested to see how these universal app templates pan out. From a developer perspective, it is often a pain to make an app for both tablets and phones. In my opinion, the best orientation for a phone is portrait and landscape for a tablet. There are a few tasks on each that make sense in different orientations (typing for the bigger keyboard on phones for example). But this means that your app will need to serve its purpose not only in vastly different resolutions and physical screen sizes, but also different orientations. And that is one element of that I'm interested to see their solution too, or if they just drop it on the laps of the developers.
In with that point is App Stores and developer licenses. Today, Windows Phone and Windows Store are 2 separate dev licenses with 2 separate costs. If you provide me a universal app template, I expect to be able to submit once, to one store and have it available on both. Will that be a reality?
And lastly, the name. Windows Phone RT. Please don't! Either dump WinRT on it, or leave the naming alone. We don't need any more confusion. And as many people point out, we also don't need the taint associated with that name. I'm not a WinRT hater. But I can acknowledge from a branding perspective, the RT moniker is dead.
The first item on the list speaks of new theme colors. Funny thing is, there is only 1 extra color there compared to my phone. And, my phone doesn't implement the option that allowed OEM's to supply 1 color of their own. I don't think there are actually ANY new theme colors (at least not based on the picture). I think the extra one shown is simply to represent the vendor option.
Navigation bar is cool. But I would barely call it a feature myself. Reasoning is that Microsoft isn't doing it to add functionality. But to remove some hardware limitations making the platform a more painful barrier to OEM's. I believe the hope is, without the need for dedicated buttons that Android handset makers can simply use the exact same hardware for both platforms if they choose so. It could also potentially lower hardware manufacturing costs, which should also in theory help OEM platform adoption. So, while it truly IS a feature. It honestly wasn't added (in my opinion) as a consumer feature. It was added as an OEM feature. I'm happy to see it nonetheless.
More display resolutions is in the same camp I think as the navigation bar. End user doesn't typically really care about screen resolution. Wider array of supported resolutions also makes it more plausible for 1:1 port of future Android devices. Side note here: This may end up being a bad move. WP handsets will likely still cost more than Android handsets as the license fees for the OS are more expensive (but MS could opt to drop or lower those). As long as they stay higher, consumers aren't going to like seeing that literally the exact same phone costs MORE if you want it on the less popular OS with fewer apps. Separate hardware lines for the 2 OS's made such comparisons harder to make.
Battery Sense, Storage Sense, etc.... I have one thing to say; Data Sense. I loved the notion of this feature. But guess what? OEM's were allowed to block it. And many did. Here in Canada, on Telus with my Ativ S, I don't have access to this app. Granted, the objective is that I'll blow through my data plan and owe more money, and that doesn't apply to these new apps. So, no guarantee that they'll be similarly afflicted. This is more of a global caveat. Until the final product is delivered, and running on your phone choice, you won't be 100% that a given feature will actually be enabled for you.
Camera improvements. Loving this. Sounds like Microsoft is moving more in the direction it should be. The ability to change the "default" camera app is the biggest in my opinion. Not to say that a Nokia Camera like app upgrade is anything to scoff at. Lenses were a cool idea. But, generally, most camera filters/apps were better with their own dedicated UI's. This will allow that.
Multi-Tasking changes aren't really anything special. Swipe down in addition to existing "X" button? I'll be honest, I find there are very few gestures that are actually intuitive. Swiping may be easier one-handed than hitting the tiny x button, but the tiny x button needs no explanation.
USB warnings are just a nice to have. I don't think I read of anyone actually complaining that this wasn't there. Doesn't mean no one did. Just not thinking it was a big requirement.
Separate volume toggles for notifications/music. This one is pretty big. I've read it several times from users. Minor to me. But does some times annoy. I often turn down the volume when listening to music with ear buds, then forget to crank it back up and miss a ton of texts/emails/whatever. For me the nuisance was relatively minor, but this is definitely nice to have, and should make a lot of others even happier than me.
Ability to change the default messaging app? Does this mean a whole new set of API calls/features in the SDK? I don't remember WP8 having ANY capability of writing a new SMS app. The feature in and of itself is meaningless. The potential it unlocks if it means what I think it means is huge. I like the default keyboard/messaging app. But many don't. This might enable some of those 3rd party keyboards indirectly (at least for texting).
Cortana is lame to me. And I say that because Siri is lame to me. We still haven't reached the point where any self-respecting person can actually use voice commands, let alone voice assistants in public. I think the true value of Siri lies in making fun of it. Again... are people actually asking for these things? I haven't seen a mainstream Siri reference in months.
VPN support is great for a certain subset of users. Probably isn't going to boost phone sales. At the moment, the market is driven by consumer demand more than by corporate demand. Otherwise BlackBerry would still be #1. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about it. Just doubting the value to the platform.
Last 2 items are universal app templates and the potential name.
I'm interested to see how these universal app templates pan out. From a developer perspective, it is often a pain to make an app for both tablets and phones. In my opinion, the best orientation for a phone is portrait and landscape for a tablet. There are a few tasks on each that make sense in different orientations (typing for the bigger keyboard on phones for example). But this means that your app will need to serve its purpose not only in vastly different resolutions and physical screen sizes, but also different orientations. And that is one element of that I'm interested to see their solution too, or if they just drop it on the laps of the developers.
In with that point is App Stores and developer licenses. Today, Windows Phone and Windows Store are 2 separate dev licenses with 2 separate costs. If you provide me a universal app template, I expect to be able to submit once, to one store and have it available on both. Will that be a reality?
And lastly, the name. Windows Phone RT. Please don't! Either dump WinRT on it, or leave the naming alone. We don't need any more confusion. And as many people point out, we also don't need the taint associated with that name. I'm not a WinRT hater. But I can acknowledge from a branding perspective, the RT moniker is dead.
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