Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 14283 Treks Onto Fast Ring
Microsoft's grand vision for the future is a single ecosystem spread across multiple device categories. That ecosystem is based on Windows 10, which is now installed on more than 200 million active devices around the world. Suffice to say, Windows 10 is off to a fast start, but what about Windows 10 Mobile? Microsoft continues to work on the mobile version of Windows 10, having just released a new preview build (14283) available to Insiders subscribed to the Fast Ring.
Unfortunately for owners of older Lumia handsets, this latest build is not for you, at least not yet. Microsoft is restricting access to new mobile builds from its Development Branch to handsets that shipped with Windows 10 Mobile. At present, the list of those devices is rather small. Specifically, just half a dozen handsets can access the new build, including the Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 650, Lumia 550, Xiaomi Mi4, and Alcatel Onetouch Fierce XL.
What about Windows Insiders who don't own one of the aforementioned devices? Microsoft says "you can stay in the Fast Ring and sit tight until we expand to other devices or back to build 10586 and switch to the Release Preview Ring to continue helping us test cumulative updates."
For those of you who are able to test drive the new build, you can expect some improvements to the Phone app. Microsoft added missed call and voicemail waiting indicators to the tabs inside the Phone app, and once you've navigated to one of those tabs, the indicator disappears. In a future version of Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft will tweak the indicators so that they remain in place until you navigate away from the tab.
You'll also find some updates to Outlook Mail & Calendar. With the latest build, you can turn off the message preview text in the message list and quickly nuke junk mail in your inbox by pressing down on an email and select "Move to Junk" from the context menu. Perhaps most useful (for some) is a new "I'll be late" option in Outlook Calendar that's now sandwiched between Snooze and Dismiss.
Finally, no new build of Windows 10 Mobile would be complete with a healthy dose of bug fixes, and this one delivers. Microsoft lists a dozen fixes that build 14283 addresses, including one that sometimes caused devices to hang while typing and reboot.
Unfortunately for owners of older Lumia handsets, this latest build is not for you, at least not yet. Microsoft is restricting access to new mobile builds from its Development Branch to handsets that shipped with Windows 10 Mobile. At present, the list of those devices is rather small. Specifically, just half a dozen handsets can access the new build, including the Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 650, Lumia 550, Xiaomi Mi4, and Alcatel Onetouch Fierce XL.
What about Windows Insiders who don't own one of the aforementioned devices? Microsoft says "you can stay in the Fast Ring and sit tight until we expand to other devices or back to build 10586 and switch to the Release Preview Ring to continue helping us test cumulative updates."
For those of you who are able to test drive the new build, you can expect some improvements to the Phone app. Microsoft added missed call and voicemail waiting indicators to the tabs inside the Phone app, and once you've navigated to one of those tabs, the indicator disappears. In a future version of Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft will tweak the indicators so that they remain in place until you navigate away from the tab.
You'll also find some updates to Outlook Mail & Calendar. With the latest build, you can turn off the message preview text in the message list and quickly nuke junk mail in your inbox by pressing down on an email and select "Move to Junk" from the context menu. Perhaps most useful (for some) is a new "I'll be late" option in Outlook Calendar that's now sandwiched between Snooze and Dismiss.
Finally, no new build of Windows 10 Mobile would be complete with a healthy dose of bug fixes, and this one delivers. Microsoft lists a dozen fixes that build 14283 addresses, including one that sometimes caused devices to hang while typing and reboot.
