Welcome back to our weekly Windows 10 Mobile news recap series, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s mobile operating system. Let’s get started.
Next Windows 10 device will be in a “brand new category”
Here’s your first gift this holiday season: A little bit more hope about the future of Windows 10 Mobile. Specifically, we’ve got some more hope about Surface Phone. In the latest episode of Windows Weekly, Microsoft’s Chris Capossela talked about the first-party Windows 10 Mobile devices that are going to be released in 2017. Capossela said that Microsoft’s goal is to “try and create a new category of device that hasn’t been done before and can expand the market for the Windows ecosystem.” If that doesn’t sound like a Surface Phone, I’m not sure what does.
Instagram adds live broadcasting in new update
Instagram recently got access to live video, adding a whole new level of depth to the service for those who would prefer to broadcast their moments instead of recording them. The feature came out to Windows 10 Mobile as well as the iOS and Android platforms, which is pretty convenient considering Windows tends to get features a bit later. The other platforms still have a few features (like video stickers) that are missing from Windows, but something like live broadcasting should definitely be higher on the priority list.
New mobile apps coming to Beam game streaming service
Beam is a really cool streaming service for several reasons. The Microsoft-owned service foregoes Twitch’s stream delay, implements audience interaction features, and makes itself available directly from the Game Bar on Windows 10. We recently received news that Beam is going to be updating its mobile presence, and it would be very surprising if it didn’t get itself a Windows 10 Mobile app. With no official Twitch app on Windows 10, this might end up making Beam a more popular streaming site.
DropBox gets a visual overhaul with new update
DropBox hit Xbox last week and brought a bunch of gamers the ability to access their cloud storage from the comfort of their couch. To accompany the love that the cloud service gave to Microsoft’s gaming console, Windows 10 Mobile users got a bit of a treat as well. An update came out to DropBox’s mobile app that gave it a huge visual overhaul on Windows 10 Mobile, improving it considerably. While not too much functionality was added in the update, DropBox’s fresh new look breathes life back into the app for some users that neglected it, if only momentarily.
Windows 10 Mobile sales tick up on Black Friday
It may not be that surprising to hear, but it turns out that people tend to buy a whole lot of stuff on Black Friday. This year, some of that stuff happened to take the shape of a shiny new Windows 10 Mobile device. According to new AdDuplex data, there was a sudden surge of people who bought some of the newer handsets – this change is indicated by newer phones becoming more popular than older ones. The Lumia 650 and 950 have outranked the two-year-old Lumia 640, the Alcatel Idol 4S moved from #16 to #13, and the slightly older and more expensive HP Elite X3 moved from #19 to #18.
