NeoWin is reporting - seemingly reliably - that Microsoft is only putting new features into the iOS and Android version of Office Mobile, and that the Windows 10 UWP versions are 'legacy'. Which directly impacts Windows 10 Mobile, of course, though I should emphasise that the Office applications will continue to get maintenance/security updates and bug fixes - we're just talking about the feature sets now being frozen. So there's no need to panic.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are a way to extend Windows 10 Mobile (and other platforms) by running in the web browser. Edge, in the case of W10M. They can be packaged (i.e. in the native device Store) or, more usually, simply accessed via URL, e.g. from a browser favourite or pinned Start tile. But for the latter, how do you find out about new PWAs? Enter Appscope, a new and super-polished PWA discovery 'store'.
Twitter's push to take more and more control of its own service culminated a few weeks ago with the unwelcome closure of several APIs, partly reported on here. The changes have yet to be fully addressed by third party clients, but the news isn't good. Tweetium is the first client to respond, with an update that references the changes, but which also explicitly gets rid of push notifications, even for Direct Messages. Given that the official Twitter client on Windows 10 Mobile is a PWA which also can't deliver notifications, AAWP readers are somewhat screwed by Twitter here.
AAWP's very own Universal Windows Platform app, 'AAWP Universal', has been updated again, with attention paid to formatting and reliability. In fairness to Joe, the developer, much of this has been driven by past downtime and link errors on AAWP itself, i.e. it wan't the application's fault. So, to go along with the app update, we've done a few improvements to AAWP itself. Hooray!
The story so far. Microsoft's Maps product, built into all Windows 10 devices (including phones), had been using out of date (2016) maps from HERE, pending a major platform update in terms of how Microsoft massage and process the raw map data. Prompting complaints from users and a response from the Bing Maps team. Happily, I can reveal that the new data went live overnight for much of the world, with my 'canary roads' in the UK now present and correct. Phew!
After my story a fortnight ago on why it didn't need updating to match the iOS and Android versions because they were just playing catch-up, effectively, it turns out there was an update coming to the News UWP app for Windows 10 Mobile, but it's out now and it's fairly minor. But worth screenshotting.
This is news from Microsoft itself, though it's a bit of stuff and nonsense in terms of branding and partnerships at the end of the day. Still, with all the 'iOS & Android' prose in the original story, I wanted to emphasise that the 'new' Microsoft News is also just as much part of Windows 10 Mobile, even if it's not called out explicitly. Because... of course. It's Windows 10.
This won't be news to most AAWP readers, since we've been tracking the beta versions of the UWP implementation of Podcast Lounge for a while, with numerous Flow updates. But today the commercial app Podcast Lounge 2 is formally launched for all Windows 10 users, on phone, tablet, desktop, etc. I've never seen a beta testing period as extended and as in depth, but the winners are its users, as it arrives fully rounded, with depth in terms of functions and podcast discovery.
Last featured here back in November 2017, Whatsapp is a stalwart Windows Phone 8.1 application that has been continually updated month after month, year after year. And, on the whole, keeping parity with the versions of this messaging tool on iOS and Android. Below, I attempt a changelog summary of everything added so far in 2018.
Last covered here, a month ago, Twitter's new PWA app status on many platforms has meant that the company has been able to roll out updates server-side. And a big one hit last night, with the Explore 'tab' now much expanded and with Twitter's 'Moments' now scrolling vertically, which is more intuitive and consistent. All good, though the big downside of using PWA tech for the Windows 10 UWP app is that there are no push notifications (anymore).
