14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since Microsoft made the Windows Phone 8.1 SDK available for a select number of developers out there, info on what the next platform version should bring along has started to emerge online, and more details on the matter are now available.
According to some of the latest reports out here, Windows Phone 8.1 will arrive on devices with T9-style keyboards, in addition to the Swype-style keyboard that has already been rumored to arrive in the OS.
As WMPoweruser notes, it’s still uncertain how exactly this type of keyboard will help the platform, considering that users are more fond of QWERTY layouts right now, though chances are that the company will find products to leverage it.
Another interesting tidbit on the upcoming platform release comes from Windows Phone Lovers’ Facebook account and mentions support for fingerprint scanners being included in the upcoming OS version.
The info was found in the aforementioned SDK and shows that the platform will be able to create a private key for locking a device based on users’ fingerprint.
However, these are only two of the enhancements that Microsoft is planning on including in the upcoming platform version, as new start and theme customization settings will also be available for users, along with other improvements as well.
In fact, the guys over at WPCentral have gathered the various leaked details on the mobile operating system and put them together in what can be seen as an extensive changelog, though no official confirmation on any of these capabilities has been provided as of now.
According to them, the list of enhancements ranges from changes to the manner in which the OS handles applications to an updated calendar, a burst camera mode, Bing smart search, Internet Explorer 11, and support for encrypted and signed e-mail.
Moreover, the upcoming OS version will come with start screen backgrounds, a file picker, audio/video transcoding with hardware acceleration, support for Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Stereoscopic 3D support, and much more.
At the same time, Windows Phone 8.1 will bring a series of enhancements designed specifically for developers, such as background tasks (including chat message notifications, location, push notifications, and more), SemanticZoom, DatePicker, and TimePicker dev tools, actionable notifications for applications, and the like.
As mentioned above, these features have been extracted from the Windows Phone 8.1 SDK, which shows that Microsoft has been indeed working on them, but it does not confirm that the actual Windows Phone 8.1 update will include them.
Microsoft has yet to officially reveal the upcoming platform and its features, and users might have to wait a few more months for that to happen.