At an event in New York today, Microsoft launched some new mobile hardware and a tease of what's around the corner (and definitely coming, this time!) See below for details, but there's a genuine mobile highlight in a brand new communicator, the Surface Duo, rivalling the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, but without using fragile folding plastic screens.
Windows 10 Mobile is now into its last three months of Microsoft's official support, though of course phones aren't going to suddenly stop working when 2019 ends. Under the hood here there are kernel and security fixes, for all phones currently running the '1709' branch (potentially most of you, see the links below). Grab this September 2019 update in Settings.
Back in March, I looked at the first hands-on videos with the F(x)tec Pro1 prototype, inspired by the classic slide and tilt mechanisms from the Nokia E7 (and N97 and N950), with full QWERTY functions hidden beneath a large touchscreen. Fast forward six months and the Pro1 is now a reality, with the company putting it up for pre-order, with hands-on videos of the 'final' hardware. A review handset is coming to AAS/AAWP in the next few weeks, but I thought a quick round-up was needed in the meantime.
You'll have spotted that I've been keeping a close eye on the NexDock 2, a Continuum-compatible (hopefully) lapdock that should work with the Lumia 950, Elite x3 and IDOL 4 Pro from the Windows 10 Mobile world. Plus, of course, Samsung flagships in the Android world, which have a fully realised Desktop (DeX) mode. (Huawei too.) Anyway, I have it from the horse's mouth that all ordered NexDock 2 units will be shipped by the end of next month. I may even get a chance to review one sooner... watch this space.
Windows 10 Mobile is now into its last six month stretch in terms of Microsoft's official support, though it can be argued that its spirit will live on in terms of 'modern OS'. Under the hood there are kernel and security fixes today, for all phones currently running the '1709' branch (potentially most of you, see the links below). Grab this August 2019 update in Settings.
Back in 2012 and 2013, with the launch of the 41MP-sensored Nokia 808 and Lumia 1020, Nokia stunned the world. Computational photography in a phone - and the output of these two devices still stand up well today, in 2019. But 48MP sensors are now common and, seven years after the 808 debuted, the phone imaging world may be set to take another resolution leap...
Over in New York this evening, Samsung launched the Note 10 and the Note 10+, running One UI on top of Android, of course. Both very highly specced phones, despite some fan-annoying omissions. What's notable for AAWP is that Microsoft played a huge part in proceedings, see below, including an on-stage talk by Satya Nadella.
Back in May, I took a look at Launcher 10, an Android app launcher/front end that mimics Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile and helps keep continuity of interface for anyone switching away to an Android flagship, in the absence of current Windows hardware. Since May, the launcher has added a big new feature that even Windows phones never had - landscape mode! See below for screenshot proof.
At the end of last week, fellow Brit Zac Bowden published his take on an unreleased Windows 10 Mobile phone from HP from 2017 - the Pro x3, a cheaper consumer alternative to the enterprise-focussed Elite x3. See below for some review quotes and my thoughts, along with a more complete comparison table. Could the Pro x3 have 'moved the needle' for W10M? I doubt it. But the prototype's certainly of interest.
BBC iPlayer has been quite useable in Edge (and other browsers) under Windows 10 Mobile for the last three years, since the dropping of support to Windows Phone 8.1 in 2015. OK, so DRM-ed downloads weren't possible, but you could still stream videos seamlessly. With a change last week to its streams - and with no sign of Windows 10 Mobile or Edge in its compatibility page - the watching experience just took a step backwards. Programmes now play in a smaller, offset window. And it's clearly not intentional, since the rest of the UI uses the whole screen. Sigh.
