The new features will be added in future builds of the operating system

Aug 27, 2014 06:47 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft’s next version of Windows Phone is expected to be released sometime in early 2015. It’s not clear if this will be a limited launch, in the form of a preview for developers, or it will be a full-staged release for the masses.

Until then though, it looks like the Redmond-based company plans to add a few more new features to Windows Phone, which will be delivered through software updates.

Windows Phone 8.1 has already received a major update (GDR1), but it’s expected to get another one (GDR2) in a few months or maybe even earlier.

Given the fact that Microsoft is rumored to unveil Windows 9 on September 30, along with lots of info on the future of Windows Phone, there’s a high chance for the second major update for the mobile platform to be launched around the same timeframe.

A new version of Windows Phone 8.1 has already been spotted at WPBench, and given the fact that it’s a major increment in version, it might be the GDR2 update that we are waiting for, but the information has yet to be confirmed.

The good news is that we already know what some of the future Windows Phone updates will contain, courtesy of insiders. According to one of NokiaPowerUser’s sources, Microsoft plans to introduce at least two new features to Windows Phone.

“Actionable notifications” is one of the major features that will be added to Windows Phone in future builds. Basically, Microsoft wants users to be able to do a lot more with notifications in the Action Center, which is why it will introduce new actions that they can perform.

This means that you might be able to reply to messages, apps notifications and reminders directly from the action center, without having to leave the work you were doing. Everything will be done by swiping down from the lock-screen as well.

The next new feature Windows Phone users should expect is called “split-screen multitasking.” According to the cited source, this feature will be available “for devices having a certain minimum display size.”

Given the fact that split-screen multitasking is already available on Windows 8.1, it makes sense that Microsoft would want to bring it to Windows Phone devices as well.

As mentioned earlier, these new features will be introduced in future Windows Phone builds, so there’s no telling when exactly they will go official. Keep in mind that this info is provided via anonymous sources, so take it with a grain of salt until it is confirmed by Microsoft.