14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 Mobile is not here yet for Windows Phone devices, but Microsoft is already working on the very first major update for the platform that’s expected to launch later this year as Redstone.
Although it probably worked on this for quite some time, the company today released the first preview build of the Redstone update for members of the Windows Insider program, allowing users who own a Lumia 950, 950 XL, 550, or Xiaomi Mi4 to testdrive it on their devices before more people in the fast ring get it.
Windows 10 Mobile Redstone in the summer too?
Windows 10 Mobile build 14267 thus marks an important milestone in the history of the new operating system and hints that the release of the upgrade version for Windows Phone devices is just around the corner. With this build, Microsoft also brings Windows 10 Mobile back in sync with the PC version, and most likely, the company will try to keep both of them at the same version as well in the coming months.
“While we have been releasing preview builds for PC from our development branch for a while now, this is our first new preview build for Windows 10 Mobile from our Development Branch this year,” Gabe Aul, head of the Windows Insider program, explained today.
“As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, initially we’ll make new builds from our Development Branch available only to devices that shipped with Windows 10 Mobile.”
Little is known about Redstone plans on mobile, but if the same release schedule for PCs is maintained here too, the update could land in the summer with significant improvements. But while PC users are very likely to get browser extensions with the Redstone update, this feature might not be ready for smartphones when the rollout of this version begins. Microsoft has already stated that it first wants to bring extensions on PCs, and only then start working on their smartphone siblings.
But either way, the Redstone update is now becoming a priority for Windows 10 Mobile as well and it’s just another confirmation that Microsoft’s platform isn’t actually dead. In fact, it feels like it has never been more alive.