14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft rolled out the first Windows 10 Mobile Redstone build a few hours ago and in addition to the improvements that the company itself revealed in the official announcement, it appears that this version also comes with a few hidden gems.
One such improvement concerns the number of apps that are supported in multitasking view, as the new build 14267 has increased it to 16. Previously, Windows 10 Mobile allowed for a maximum of 8 items in the app switcher, so this is clearly a welcome change.
The key question right now is “do we really need support for so many apps?” We’ve heard users complaining about the previously-limited number of apps on Windows 10 Mobile in multitasking and some have even requested Microsoft to remove the restriction and allow for an infinite number of apps in the app switcher, just like on Android. But most likely, only a small number of users are actually running more than a handful of items at the same time.
How many users are running so many apps at the same time?
We can confirm that having 16 apps running simultaneously on our Lumia 950 XL could indeed come in handy when sharing photos, for instance, and you want to post the same item on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and send it to your friends on WhatsApp, Telegram, and so on. But if you are the kind of user who wants to keep things organized (and we are!), then this silent improvement might bring no change for you.
Plus, having so many apps running on the device could also have an impact on battery life, so Microsoft needs to work a little bit more time on battery management for background processes and make sure that no matter how many apps are launched, power consumption remains at the lowest possible level.
Windows 10 Mobile Redstone build 14267 is only available for new Lumia devices participating in the Insider program, so for the moment, only owners of Lumia 950, 950 XL, and 550 can install it. Microsoft plans to release it to everyone else once it gets enough feedback from users on these phones, and this could happen as soon as next week.
Thank you, MSFT4ever, for the tip!