Microsoft has recently released the SDK of the upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 to developers and one of them is generous enough to share what’s new in a hands-on video. Mind you that this is an early build which means a couple of new features including the new Action Centre is missing in the demo video.
Among some of the new features shown is the ability to kill running apps by swiping upwards instead of pressing the X button and there’s a “Project My Screen” option which appears to be a wireless display mirroring feature. A couple of customisation options are thrown in as well including the navigation bar where you can select transparent, pre-selected colour or let it automatically match the current active background colour.
For Windows Phone devices with very little on-board storage, the new Windows Phone 8.1 is said to support App installation on microSD card. This makes it possible to install more apps especially for entry level Nokia Lumias. Native apps such as Calendar and Camera have been enhanced as well with fresher interface and added functionality. When playing Youtube videos on Internet Explorer, the video can now play as an embedded video instead of being forced to run at full screen.
Overall, the new update is a nice touch and there are more features on the final release which isn’t covered in the video. The new Windows Phone 8.1 could be released as early as April during Microsoft’s Build Conference.
You can watch the full walk through video after the break.
