14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is often accused of ignoring its very own mobile platform and focusing too much on Android and iOS, but there is hope that Redstone 2 would be the moment when the software giant finally starts reinvesting in mobile devices and improving the operating system.
And the latest Windows 10 Redstone 2 build is living proof that Microsoft doesn’t want (or at least it doesn’t seem it wants) to leave Windows 10 Mobile behind, as it brings several improvements aimed at smartphones.
For example, Windows 10 build 14946 comes with options that allow users to configure separate screen time-out settings when running Continuum for Phones. This means that, when using PCs, you can configure the phone to automatically enter stand by, thus saving battery and preventing screen burn-in.
“If you make a call, hang-up, or press the phone power button, you can keep right on working in Word with Continuum. And, if you prefer longer or shorter timeout values, you can change them independently for the phone and connected screen,” Microsoft explains.
The Wi-Fi Settings page has been updated on both PC and mobile devices to make it possible to re-enable wireless connections at a specific time after previously disabling them, with Microsoft saying that it’s still working on moving functionality from the Wi-Fi legacy screen to the new one on Mobile. Starting with this version, when you disable Wi-Fi, the default setting is no longer “in 1 hour,” but “manually.”
Typing improvements
There’s also a new option to prevent autocorrection on mobile devices starting with this build, with Microsoft saying that it has implemented new settings to make sure that the right suggestion is always offered.
“On your phone, if you see that an autocorrection is going to happen (i.e. the first candidate is bolded) and it’s not what you intended, you will now see what you originally typed as the second candidate. Tapping on that candidate will prevent the autocorrection, and the system will learn your vocabulary and get smarter over time,” the company says.
Furthermore, if you see a word with a minus sign before it, tapping it completely removes it from your user dictionary and it is no longer suggested when you type it.
And last but not least, Microsoft is also changing the way backups work on mobile devices, as scheduled backups are now taking place once a week.
Without a doubt, everyone wants the fast pace of improving Windows 10 Mobile to continue in the coming months, making Redstone 2 a truly significant release of Microsoft’s mobile platform. It remains to be seen, however, if the company is willing to do that, though.