On its blog, Microsoft has finally released an official list of features coming to Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1. The update will be available to those running the Developers Preview of Windows Phone 8.1 starting early next week. Those waiting for the official release will have to wait for a couple of months.
Cortana will finally be coming to UK and China and will be tailored more to those cultures. In China, Cortana has a completely different name (Xiao Na) and a brand new appearance to better relate to the
Chinese culture. Xiao Na will display information about air quality within the weather card and will share information about driving restrictions. Cortana for the UK will support the local accent and variations of spelling, as opposed to US version. She can provide data on the local sports teams, the London Stock Exchange, traffic information and more.
Chinese culture. Xiao Na will display information about air quality within the weather card and will share information about driving restrictions. Cortana for the UK will support the local accent and variations of spelling, as opposed to US version. She can provide data on the local sports teams, the London Stock Exchange, traffic information and more.
Cortana in the US is also receiving an update that will provide more realistic pronunciation of words to the system (voiced by Jen Taylor) and will sport a brand new Bluetooth feature. When connected to Bluetooth, saying "Call Cortana" brings up Cortana allowing the user to interact with their voice the way they normally would. Cortana in the UK, China and US will be in beta form. Microsoft also announced a brand new alpha version coming to India, Canada and Australia, which will support US and UK English accents.
More features include, an update to Xbox Music that will bring alone live tiles and support for Kids Corner. Live folders are also new and allow users to create folders by long pressing and moving an app over another. Once created, users can click on the folder allowing them to change the name and get a view of the live tile of each app in the folder. The Store now has a live tile feature that updates every six hours with information about the latest apps. Users can now quickly delete or forward text messages by adding a check mark off to the lift side of the message.
Apps Corner is similar to Kids Corner allowing access to certain apps when certain people use your phone. Apps Corner can also boot straight into an app if need be. Apps corner is more geared towards business users and store demo devices, or those simply wanting to lock out the rest of your phone from others.
All of these features will be coming early next week to those running the Developer Preview of Windows Phone 8.1 and in a couple of months for those who are not. Not sure what the Developer Preview is and how to become apart of it? Don't worry, I will be writing a how-to article in a couple of days leading up to the release for those interested. Not interested but still want to see Update 1 in action? Don't sweat, I will be doing a long hands-on video after its release.
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