14 DAY TRIAL // Only a few days after the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system started to arrive on devices in the form of a Developer Preview, info on some of the updates that the company is planning for the OS has already started to emerge online.
The Xbox Music in Windows Phone 8.1 is the first to receive a major update, something that will happen as soon as the next week.
Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore has already confirmed plans to release an updated version of the application in the not too distant future, and it seems that April 22 will be the lucky day for enthusiasts.
However, this is not the entire story, as Microsoft is also said to be aiming at releasing additional updates for the application after the initial rollout. Apparently, they will arrive twice a month and should improve the application even more.
“And for those Xbox Music users running the WP8.1 Developer Preview, starting next week you will start to see the first update in the Windows Phone Store for the 8.1 Xbox Music application, followed by ongoing updates every two weeks,” a post on Microsoft Answers notes.
The current application cannot offer the best possible experience to Windows Phone 8.1 users out there, but things should get much better in the next release, as WPCentral notes.
According to the available changelog for the mobile app, users will receive a variety of stability fixes as part of it, including patches for some of the black screens that customers have been complaining about.
At the same time, the update is said to bring along complete Cortana integration, which will also offer support for playing playlists by name.
Xbox Music for Windows Phone 8.1 will also receive a series of user interface polishes, which will result in improved animations and transitions between UI views.
Moreover, it appears that Microsoft also took care of the app’s messaging for encountered errors, such as unplayable content in collections, which should be much better when the new release arrives. The update will also bring along background initial sync of local and cloud content, it appears.
The stability and performance of the software will get through major changes moving forth, and there will also be Live Tile integration coming to it.
Moreover, a series of improvements to Quickplay are also planned, including “recent” lists, along with support for Kids Corner.
Various other UI modifications are on the roadmap as well, such as the grouping of search results, the option to create new Radio Stations, better Network status messages, Blue UI language alignment, enhancements to now playing, and the like.