With the launch of Microsoft’s upcoming operating system we’ll soon be waving goodbye to Windows Phone. But how do the two compare? In our preview, Chris Martin explains everything you need to know

indows 10 is launching later this year and that’s exactly what it will be called when it arrives on smartphones; not Windows Phone 10, despite it seeming like the natural progression (there is no Windows 9). In this feature, we’re going to look into every aspect of Microsoft’s upcoming mobile operating system, including its new features, apps and user interface.

When you first use Windows 10 for phones, you’ll find that it introduces a number of new options. These include full-size art for the Start screen, an improved Action Center, interactive notifications, better speechto-text and an enhanced Photos app. The operating system will be a free upgrade for smartphones, tablets and PCs. As you would expect, selected Lumia handsets currently running Windows Phone 8 will be included. Smartphones running Windows 10 out-ofthe-box will arrive later this year, and include the Lumia 640 and 640 XL.

Following its January launch event, Microsoft has made a Windows 10 Technical Preview available for a handful of devices. We’ve been using this on a Nokia Lumia 830 alongside a laptop running Windows 10. As the name suggests, the build is not final and this should be kept in mind.

WWhat happened to Windows Phone?

Windows 10 is built to run across all manner of devices and is the same core platform for computers, tablets and phones. No matter what you’re using, it’s a shared codebase. Indeed, Microsoft’s tagline for the new operating system is: “One product family, one platform, one store.”

That said, using Windows 10 on a phone is a similar experience to Windows Phone 8. As well as a common operating system core, Microsoft has switched to using the same app platform across PCs and handsets.

Don’t, however, be fooled into thinking that just because it’s the same operating system as laptops and desktops, you can run full x86 programs on your phone.

App updates

while you’re on the go. In general this is the same for any universal app.

As you’d expect, Office is a part of Windows 10 on phones just like it was in Windows Phone 8. When it arrives, Word will be integrated with Outlook, so you can format your emails nicely, even on a phone, and add things such as tables. Swiping left and right on messages deletes or prioritises them.

There’s full Gmail support, as well as other webmail service across phones, tablets and PCs. In fact, there’s much better support for all webmail services, so you don’t have to be an Outlook user with an Outlook address to benefit.

One view in the Calendar app will give you an overview of the week, indicating how busy each day is, with details of specific entries below in chronological order. The updated Photos app will also work across all your devices, and has been improved with better editing and management tools. This makes it easier to find the image you’re looking photo and give it a few tweaks before sharing it. The app automatically enhances photos and removes duplicates, too.

On the video side of things, you can easily scrub through a clip if you’re trying to find a particular bit without having to simply guess how far in it is.

Photos displays your shots in chronological order in the same tiled layout as that found in Windows Phone, 8 and you can choose whether or not to show photos and videos from your OneDrive. This means you won’t need to head to it as a separate app to access that content.

One feature that’s set to be introduced is Albums. This will enable you to group photos into themes, edit them and then share them with friends without using Facebook or photo sharing sites such as Flickr. The current situation for mapping on Windows Phone 8 is somewhat confusing,