Windows Phone 8.1 Screenshot Gallery and Information

Martin Brinkmann
Apr 16, 2014
Updated • Apr 17, 2014
Mobile Computing
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Ghacks reader Swapnil was nice enough to send over a truckload of Windows Phone 8.1 screenshots and information, and I decided to post them as a gallery here on the site.

This is not your typical Ghacks post though so keep that in mind. I merely linked all the information that he provided me with and uploaded all photos that he took to the site.

I still think that this is pretty useful, especially if you consider getting a Windows Phone 8.1 device or update your existing device to the new operating system.

His phone is a Nokia Lumia 620 with 512 MB of RAM. He upgraded from Windows Phone 8.0 and noticed a massive boost in terms of speed.

nokia-lumia-620

Anyway, here we go. Everything from this point on forward is provided by Swapnil

Internet Explorer 11

The address bar button (button to left of address bar) , previously used for refresh/stop is now for tabs/favourites (configure via Settings). The next photo shows IE settings, which reveal Data Sense saving feature, similar to various browsers that have data compression feature (like Opera Mini). The intensity of data saving can be configured from standard to high, and you can have it turn on automatically when required, or off at all times.

We can now go back or forward using swipe features. Swiping to the left goes to previously browsed page, and swiping to the right does forward. Previously there was no way to go forward in IE Mobile.

InPrivate tabs are now available and can be opened from the three-dots ( ... ) menu in Tabs.

WebGL support is also available and I have attached screenshots of two Khronos WebGL tests.

The 6 tabs at a time limit has been removed as well, and I tested by opening 25 tabs on my phone.

IE 11 Mobile also allows us to use the  hover menus, for use on the websites that do not have a Mobile version and serve desktop version to both clients.

File upload / download

File uploading allows files to be uploaded from Photos or from various pre-created folders in Phone. Clicking on Phone option yields the list of folders.

Action and Notification Center

The Action/Notification center can be accessed in a way similar to Android, by swiping down from top and can be closed in a similar way. The interface again resembles Android. The quick action buttons are customizable via settings.

Keyboard options and more

Windows Phone 8.1 has new keyboard options as well. For instance the word Flow keyboard is available now, allowing users to type by moving their finger from one letter to another without lifting between letters.

Also when we now type words such as letter, phone, action or email, the autocomplete now offers icons as well. Tapping on the icon and doing a backspace gives more icons relevant to the typed word.

The Phone app now includes Speed Dial functionality as well, and it is now possible to view call duration for the call log.

The Xbox Music+Videos app has been split into Music and Video apps, and there is also a Podcasts app. The picture for Music app is attached.

The Calendar app now has a week view, and also combines weather info with the days.

There is the much-awaited separate volume controls for notifications/ringer and media/apps.

The Games' hub UI has been updated, and there is now the option to check Xbox Live profile messages.

I don't have access to Cortana as its US-only for now. I will cover the rest of the update shortly.

Other Misc findings

The Store has got a new UI. We can allow apps to update automatically ( its the default setting) and can also now manually check for updates.

The app review section has been improved and greatly resembles that of Windows 8.1's Store, adding voting for helpful reviews and sorting reviews by most helpful, most recent, lowest rated and highest rated.

Universal apps (apps that are cross-platform between Windows PCs, tablets and Windows Phone and can be paid for once and used across Windows PCs, tablets and Windows Phone) are shown in the Store with an icon next to their pricing. Here Hexic is a universal app.

It is easy to reinstall apps as the store now offers 'my apps' list, where apps already paid for but not installed can be installed. There is also the option to view download history, which shows when an app was installed/updated.

Camera app:  The Camera has a new UI along with burst mode for photos. The settings on the top are customizable.

The Sense apps: The Data Sense app has been updated with new options to restrict background data usage. Two new apps have been added: WiFi Sense and Storage Sense. The Storage Sense app is just an updated phone storage view now with option to view the space occupied by each app (previously absent from non-Nokia phones).

The WiFi sense feature (accessed from WiFi under Settings) photo shows its function.

WP 8.1 also includes many enterprise features like S/MIME for email, VPN and others (the list should be available on the Internet from BUILD announcement).

I also got updates for the Calendar, Games and Podcasts system apps via Store, which may suggest that system apps can now be updated via Store, instead of being updated only in new version updates of WP.

There is also the option to project phone screen wireless or via USB. On my 512 MB RAM device, the settings tell me that I can only project my screen via USB. Also Lumia 1520, 930 and Icon are going to support Miracast, according to Nokia.

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Comments

  1. Pramod said on April 18, 2014 at 6:41 pm
    Reply

    Hi, could you please explain about the call log on 8.1? Does it still show multiple calls from same people in separate threads? The call log in WP8 is very very annoying. Also, is there any way to control screen brightness in a more effective way? My 720 has a very bright screen during night time even if kept in automatic brightness mode and battery saver turned on.

  2. David said on April 17, 2014 at 7:30 pm
    Reply

    I’ve been using 8.1 for a few days and I like it a lot. In addition to the stuff above:

    I can now download any file type in IE and save the file to a folder in the internal memory.
    There’s a proper call history and the dialer has a better button layout.
    The new arrangement of status icons (WiFi, cellular) is much clearer.

    I don’t like that Messenger and Facebook chat are gone from the Messaging Hub, which is now just an SMS app.
    I don’t like that Quiet Time now depends on Cortana, which I turned off for now cos I’ve not read the EULA yet.
    I’m still waiting for a way to back-up and restore app settings. I’ve not found it in 8.1 yet.

    I think the 620 is a good phone. I’m on a 1020 now, but I had a 620 for over a year. Notably the 630 is missing some features from the 620, like a flash, a camera button, and probably has Nokia Drive instead of Nokia Drive+ (like the 520 & 720). The 620 can be slow to connect to a PC, and it’s slowed down with each update since its launch, but they say 8.1 speeds it up again.

  3. swapnil said on April 17, 2014 at 6:34 pm
    Reply

    The WP 8.1 review as such can never be completed by me, because it’s a really massive update when you look at details.

    I might do a few more important aspects, if you (referring to Martin) wish to extend this article with a few more things.

  4. Wade F. said on April 17, 2014 at 2:28 pm
    Reply

    Wireless screen-casting is not a limitation of ram, you need to have Miracast compatible hardware on the phone. I have the 920 and can only use USB.

    1. swapnil said on April 17, 2014 at 4:23 pm
      Reply

      Oh, I thought it can wirelessly project a display without Miracast like Nokia Beamer. Thanks for the correction.

      I request Martin to remove the line about RAM limitation from the last paragraph. I apologize for my mistake.

      1. Martin Brinkmann said on April 17, 2014 at 4:48 pm
        Reply

        Done.

  5. Tim said on April 16, 2014 at 6:30 pm
    Reply

    Windows Phone has just started catching my eye and looking around, the Lumia 620 you pictured above seems about the right size, it’s a shame they’re making it bigger in the next version.

    Also whilst looking around, it seems Enterprise has the ability to use Bitlocker full device encryption, but ordinary users aren’t able to activate it. How do people encrypt their Windows phones to keep them secure?

    And, why can’t you sync calendar and contacts locally with a Windows Desktop / Microsoft Outlook, without going through Microsoft’s online servers? iPhone and Symbian seem to be more compatible with Windows computers than Microsoft’s own phone OS.

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on April 16, 2014 at 7:05 pm
      Reply

      I plan to get a low cost device, maybe the 630 to cover it here on Ghacks as well.

      1. swapnil said on April 17, 2014 at 2:08 pm
        Reply

        There are other limitations on multitasking with heavy apps and having 2/3 tabs open simultaneously in IE, which I mentioned above. Some features like wirelessly projecting your display are not available as well.

        I would wait a month to see if they release a new 1GB RAM low-end device. If they don’t I would get the Lumia 525 (has 1GB RAM and should be even cheaper than 630).

      2. swapnil said on April 17, 2014 at 12:27 pm
        Reply

        I would strongly recommend you not to buy a Lumia 630. Nokia says it has 512 MB RAM.
        http://www.nokia.com/global/products/phone/lumia630/specifications/#hardware

        I will, after the experience of my 620, never buy a 512 MB RAM device again. You can’t have 3 tabs open together with their contents intact. Try to open the other 2 tabs once you are done with the 3rd, and it will reload the webpage of the tab – simply because there wasn’t enough RAM to store the contents of 3 tabs. A similar case is applicable to multitasking with the heavier apps. And there are features and apps which aren’t available on these devices, and though the number of them is small, it’s steadily growing, plus many of those apps being great.
        I could go on but I think you get it.

        I would personally wait for a post Microsoft-Nokia acquisition device if I had to replace my 620.

      3. Martin Brinkmann said on April 17, 2014 at 12:44 pm
        Reply

        Would you say it is not enough even if I don’t run games on the device?

      4. Johnp said on April 16, 2014 at 11:29 pm
        Reply

        I have the 525 updated to 8.1 preview and it’s working flawlessly if not faster. Love the swype keyboard, finally! It was first appeared on Windows Mobile as I remember it.

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