It should be unveiled this week with brand new features, capabilities, and services

Mar 30, 2014 23:26 GMT  ·  By

Windows Phone, Microsoft’s mobile operating system, hasn’t seen a very high adoption rate until now, but this might change when Windows Phone 8.1 arrives on the market, starting with the second quarter of the year.

The OS upgrade has been long rumored to be in Microsoft’s books, and the company has already confirmed plans to release it in spring, though it did not announce a specific name for it.

The latest changes made to many of the company’s websites, including the Windows Phone Store and its developer portal, have unveiled that its name will indeed be Windows Phone 8.1, something that should be officially confirmed as soon as the next month, during the BUILD conference.

The name under which this OS version arrives, however, is not as important as the features and enhancements that it is set to deliver to all users.

Courtesy of these, we might finally see Microsoft’s mobile platform turning into the mature operating system that enthusiasts have been waiting for for years but didn’t come out of the company’s labs until now.

The stage for Windows Phone 8.1’s release has been set right, with the purchase of Nokia and with the release of Windows 8.1 a few months ago. Microsoft’s current approach to the market is “mobile-first and cloud-first,” and the new mobile platform release should be the embodiment of this.

All the necessary apps and services are there

First and foremost, Windows Phone 8.1 will finally have all the right applications and services available for its users, something that Microsoft has been long working on achieving.

All major social networks out there now have dedicated mobile clients on Windows Phone and the world’s most popular messaging apps are there as well, save for BBM, which will arrive there very soon (I wouldn’t be surprised to see it launching alongside WP8.1, in fact).

Microsoft might even decide to end its feud with Google in order to ensure that Windows Phone 8.1 offers seamless, unrestricted access to this company’s services, such as YouTube, which has been an issue on the platform for a long time.

Microsoft has been long teasing the fact that all the apps that users need are available on its mobile OS, and it seems that they are indeed there. Of course, the Windows Phone Store is still behind Google Play and Apple Store, but it is (slowly) catching up.

The upcoming OS version will also bring along some changes for developers, such as the option to respond to user feedback in the Windows Phone Store.

A complete features set

The second thing to be looking at when it comes to Windows Phone 8.1 is its features set, which will finally be expanded to the right levels with the introduction of Cortana, the long-rumored personal assistant.

Windows Phone 8.1’s Cortana will work in a matter similar with Apple’s Siri, though it is expected to be able to offer a more contextual-aware experience, as it is based on Microsoft’s Bing services.

Cortana might prove to be the most important feature in Windows Phone 8.1 when the OS is made official next week at BUILD, as it will allow users to interact with their devices at a more personal level, offering a brand new experience to all of them.

The voice assistant will be accompanied by a so-called Action Center, offering fast access to notifications and settings, and by a new browser version, Internet Explorer 11. Additionally, the OS should allow users to put apps and games on the SD card and will offer new and rebranded applications.

Windows Phone 8.1 will also include a great deal of new personalization capabilities, such as screen backgrounds, new Live Tile settings, a navigation bar (physical keys will no longer be required on phones), and will offer better details on battery, data usage, and apps.

These are only some of the improvements included in the OS. It will arrive as the major platform release that Microsoft has been preparing since Windows Phone 8 was released back in 2012 (though it did receive three updates in the meantime).

The Windows Phone Store will be changed too and is expected to include features such as automatic app updates, personalized recommendations, and redesigned sections. It is also said to be able to push to the front more relevant content than before.

More devices, more manufacturers

Apps, features, and services will not cut it if the right devices are not available for purchase, and it seems that Microsoft will have that covered too with the release of Windows Phone 8.1.

I say “the right devices” since Windows Phone 8.1 won’t arrive only on high-end phones, but on a wide range of entry-level and mid-range handsets as well, being thus capable of better competing with rival platforms out there.

Back in February, Microsoft unveiled partnership agreements with phone makers such as Karbonn, Lava Mobiles, XOLO, Gionee, and Lenovo, all of which should start bringing Windows Phone devices to the market this year.

With these companies targeting mainly users on a budget in emerging markets, Windows Phone is expected to see more traction in the coming months, increasing both its market share and awareness on its capabilities.

In fact, some reports on the matter suggested that Microsoft might be offering its platform for free to these companies, which will result in cheaper, more appealing devices. The best part of the deal, however, is that Windows Phone will finally be loaded on a larger number of handsets, something that it certainly needs.

Of course, there will also be new phones coming from Nokia (or Microsoft, should the acquisition be completed in April), which might be accompanied by LG, HTC, Huawei, and Samsung devices, though most of these could be focused mainly on the high-end segment.

Overall, Windows Phone 8.1, since this is the OS version that should be loaded on new smartphones, regardless of their maker, will assault the market at all levels at the same time, a move that should prove beneficial for both Microsoft and its partners.

Next, Windows Phone 8.2 or Windows Phone 9 Windows Phone 8.1 is set to become official on April 2, when all of the features and capabilities it will pack inside are unveiled to the world, and it remains to be seen whether rumors on it will pan out or not.

By the looks of it, it will finally mark the maturity of Windows Phone, despite the fact that some manufacturers out there are still keeping their distance, suggesting that the OS hasn’t managed to prove itself as of now.

At the moment, Windows Phone 8.1 appears to be including the features and capabilities that would make it a powerful rival for Android and iOS, something that Microsoft has been aiming at ever since it killed Windows Mobile.

As mentioned above, with the right hardware available for users, the new platform version could indeed start grabbing more market share on the smartphone OS segment, just as analysts suggested that Windows Phone would do a few years back.

Moving past the release of Windows Phone 8.1, we should see Microsoft bringing its mobile platform closer and closer to the desktop counterpart. It might not be long before it starts teasing the same OS as being loaded on both the PC and smartphone, that’s for sure.

However, the only thing that is known on this at the moment is that the next release, be it Windows Phone 8.2 or Windows Phone 9, is currently part of Microsoft’s project “Threshold” and that it will arrive in spring next year.

For the time being, however, we should wait to see whether Windows Phone 8.1 will indeed mark the maturity of Windows Phone, as I believe it will. Drop a comment below to let me know if you agree or not.