The first version of Windows 10 for phones has arrived.
Microsoft launched the first preview version of the Windows 10 for phones Thursday. The company says it is the earliest it has ever rolled out an early version of a Windows Phone update.
The first build includes many of the features Microsoft showed off at its last Windows 10 event, including interactive notifications, improved speech-to-text functionality, a revamped action center, a new photos app and more options for using custom image as the background on the Start screen (similar to the #TileArt app the company rolled out for Windows Phone 8.1 last week).
The universal Microsoft Office apps, Outlook and Skype will be coming in future builds, according to Microsoft. As with all early pre-release software, the preview version of Windows 10 isn’t for everyone.
Microsoft cautions this extremely early version of the software will have issues.
“This preview is still very much under development and you’re going to see some rough edges,”
“This preview is still very much under development and you’re going to see some rough edges,” the company notes in a blog post.
“You will encounter bugs. You will see experiences that are clearly just not done yet, and UX that lacks polish at this point. DON’T WORRY! It will improve as we go and new features, stability and performance improvements, and more polished UX will come at each step.
The company also notes that certain features, including Cortana, will see like a “step back” from their Windows Phone 8.1 counterparts as certain features have not yet been “turned on” in the Windows 10 version of the software.
Those who are members of Microsoft’s Windows Insider program can download the technical preview now, though right now the preview is limited to just six Lumia devices: the 630, 638, 635, 730, 636 and 830.
If your device isn’t supported, or you’re not brave enough to try the preview version yet, you can watch Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore demo some of the features of the preview in the video, below.
Credit: Mashable.com