It’s been a while since the last release, but today Microsoft is finally pushing a new preview of Windows 10 for phones. Although, the company is rolling out a new build via the Fast ring, which means more bugs and fewer workarounds, build 10051 includes a number of new features and improvements.
If you’re a Windows Insider and you want to download the new build for phones, don’t forget to grab the Windows Insider app first, choose the “Insider Fast” option, then go to Settings apps / Update & recovery / Phone update, and tap “check for updates”.
Here’s what is new in build 10051
Project Spartan: An early version of the new Microsoft’s web browser is now available for phones. It uses the new rendering engine to give greater interoperability with the modern mobile web, and includes early versions of Reading View and Reading List. For now, Project Spartan is not the default browser, and exists side-by-side with IE11. You can find it in the All Apps list and pin it to your Start Screen from there.
New mail and calendar apps: Outlook Mail and Outlook Calendar are the new built-in mail and calendar universal apps for Windows 10. These new apps come with a fresh UI, with a toggle to freely move between your email and calendar without returning to the Start screen.
Windows 10: Hands-on with the new Mail and Calendar apps
Outlook Mail includes customizable Swipe Gestures, letting you swipe right or left to take actions like delete, flag, move or mark as read/unread.
Outlook Mail with the familiar features found in Word you can create a richer email experience. You can do things such as create tables, adding pictures and using bullets and text.
Outlook Mail and Outlook Calendar connects to Office 365, Exchange, Outlook.com, Gmail, Google Calendar, Yahoo!, IMAP, POP and other popular accounts.
New Phone and Messaging apps: The Messaging app has a new visual design. You can also easily upgrade from a messaging conversation to a voice call with one click of the phone icon in the new app bar.
New People app: The new People app has a new visual design, but will continue to be the same useful and easy to use app that lists of all your contacts across the services, such as Exchange, Outlook.com, Gmail, Facebook, etc.
New Maps app: This is the first preview of the Maps app on phones. Features include the best maps, aerial imagery, rich local search data, and voice guided navigation experiences from both Bing Maps and HERE maps, integrated together for the first time into a single app for Windows.
Updated App Switcher: You can try the updated app switcher by pressing and holding the back button on your phone to see your recently used apps. Microsoft has included support for landscape when invoked from an app being viewed in landscape. For large phones like the Lumia 1520, the company also added a new grid layout so you can be more efficient at switching between apps.
There is a lot going on in this newly released build of Windows 10 for phones, Microsoft has also fixed a number of big bugs found in build 9941, and the company also warns a number of known issues that Windows Insiders should know before installing and voiding the phone’s warranty.
Source Microsoft
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].