14 DAY TRIAL // Just like with any other major release, it’s only natural to expect Windows Phone 10 to bring a plethora of new things for its users, and even though Microsoft is struggling to keep details away from the press, more information arrives through unofficial channels regularly.
Windows Phone 10 is already in the works and it turns out that Microsoft is at least considering a series of changes for the home screen live tiles.
It appears that these live tiles could be tweaked in a way that would make them easier to use without the need to actually open the apps themselves, according to a new report.
The concept that would be at the core of everything is called interactive live tiles and was presented by Microsoft Research earlier this year. Our sources initially said that interactive live tiles could debut in Windows 10 on tablets and devices with touchscreen, but since Microsoft is working to bring together all SKUs, it really makes sense to get them on smartphones as well.
How interactive live tiles work
Basically, interactive live tiles allow you to perform a number of tasks without actually opening the apps, so for example playing and pausing music would be possible straight from the Start screen.
This new concept is very likely to be released on both tablets and smartphones, while on the desktop Microsoft will stick to the modern Start menu in order to help users improve their work with a mouse and keyboard.
Developers will be allowed to implement such functionality in these apps, so at first not all Metro programs will work with interactive live tiles.
Advanced notification center also in the works
In addition to these improvements, NPU writes that an advanced notification center is also prepared by Microsoft, again with options that would be available on all SKUs of Windows 10.
Windows 10 Technical Preview builds already come with a new notification center for the desktop, but it turns out that the upcoming release will also bring actionable notifications, a feature that’s already requested by many of those who installed these early versions of the OS.
For example, users might be allowed to answer Skype messages and chat with contacts without opening the app itself, with a “reply” button to be placed near the notification.
This feature is already in the works right now and is very likely to be part of the consumer preview build of Windows 10 for the desktop as well.
