First look at MSN rebranding for Windows Phone apps suggests it is subtle

This morn, Microsoft detailed plans to push their Bing apps, like Conditions, Finance, Food, News, to the MSN branding. Microsoft started this procedure some time ago when they first ditched 'Bing' in the name of those apps, and instead kept them with merely their category-generic names.

During the Microsoft #moreLumia event terminal week, I showed y'all folks how the Microsoft Weather app and Lumia Denim play nicer together. Specifically, Glance gets what look to exist third-political party app support, letting other Lock screen apps appear on the Glance screen (encounter it higher up on a Lumia 830).

I also dug deeper into the Weather app as it is called 'Weather beta' in the app listing. This section is where I first noticed the 'MSN Conditions' name pop upwardly as seen in the Near section of the app.

Indeed, Weather is jumping to MSN Weather condition branding in the coming months. The good news is that visually the Atmospheric condition app is no different from the current form. In fact, without the Glance information you could not tell the deviation. The only reason I point this out is personally, I am on the fence about the whole 'MSN' affair, which to me looks like a dead brand, i that was never really successful. I am not convinced that bringing dorsum MSN, or giving it another push, is going to change anything.

Big app updates in the fall?

Every bit a Windows Telephone specialist, something I am interested in is whether this new MSN Conditions app is compiled as a pure 8.1 app instead of the electric current Windows Phone 8.0 version compatible with 8.1. In instance you do not know, one of the problems in performance differences between apps on Windows Phone is if they are congenital as 8.1 apps or not, including back up for 'fast resume.' Steve Litchfield over at AAWP did a prissy write-upwardly explaining the problem – and how it is solvable by devs going forwards.

My informed hunch is that Microsoft – and their big-ticket partners like Instagram and Twitter – are holding back on true Windows Phone 8.one apps until the majority of users are on Windows Phone viii.i and Lumia Cyan. The marker for that is getting close equally terminal month'southward AdDuplex numbers show that nearly one/four of users are now 8.1. By late September, when the new Lumia 730 and Lumia 830 are expected to launch, that number should be approaching 50% or more (my guesstimate).

Heck, if you look close enough in some photos, you lot can even see hints of forthcoming apps.

The problem with pulling the trigger too early is that app developers take a chance alienating the bulk of their customers. Alternatively, maintaining 2 versions of the same app (8.0 and one for 8.ane) is far from ideal either. Microsoft is having a difficult enough fourth dimension getting companies to support 1 app, asking them to practice ii is pushing it. Nevertheless, in that location is a lot of incentive for companies to expect and do everything in eight.one, as it also means Universal apps for the Windows Store is more of a reality.

Wrapping it up, my intuition tells me that once these new phones hit later on this month, and Windows Phone 8.1 becomes more of a reality for users, Windows Phone customers are going to encounter some excellent changes going frontward. Hope springs eternal.

Xbox Insiders Update

This huge Xbox 'Quick Resume' update will requite gamers more control

Microsoft is adding a new feature to Xbox consoles, allowing you to permanently store upward to 2 games in a Quick Resume country at all times. The feature is heading out offset to Xbox Insiders in the Blastoff testing ring before hitting the full general public.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/first-look-msn-rebranding-windows-phone-apps-suggests-it-subtle

Posted by: campbellsplad1984.blogspot.com

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