14 DAY TRIAL // The latest beta version of Slack for Windows Phone comes with a handful of new features, but also with lots of bug fixes and improvements.
Although a few bugs remain to be addressed in future updates, the new update promises to correct major issues that have been reported by beta testers in the last couple of weeks.
But let's start with the new features developers have included in the latest version of Slack beta for Windows Phone. First of all, developers have added in-app downloads and improved handling of Slackbot messages.
Also, the new version of Slack beta comes with support for animated GIFs, although just at the experimental level. This feature can be enabled in Settings, but it may impact scrolling performance depending on device and number of animated images.
As mentioned earlier, lots of bug fixes have been addressed, such as the connectivity issues some devices were dealing with, as well as the problems with selecting users and inviting them to group messages.
The update improves performance on loading large direct message user lists and also fixes various other crashes that have been previously reported by Slack beta users.
Known issues and upcoming features
There are still some known issues that will be addressed in future updates, such as the problem with messages that can't be sent while disconnected.
According to developers, they plan to have a better handling for queuing messages sent, but for now, the send button should be disabled when there isn't a connection available.
Slack developers also announced a list of new features they plan to introduce in future updates including multi-team and offline support, search feature, Channel Info pane, more integration with Windows Phone specific features, commenting on files, as well as the ability to star and view starred items.
You can now download Slack Beta for Windows Phone for free via Windows Store. The application should be fully compatible with all devices running Windows Phone 8.1 and up.
