Following the quiet debut of a “Phone Insider” app in the Windows Phone Store, more of Microsoft’s plans for the app have allegedly leaked.
A new report from The Verge say that the Phone Insider app will indeed offer a phone experience of the Windows Insider app on desktops, giving users access to early Windows 10 builds on their smartphones. It’s expected that Microsoft will open the app to anyone with a “modern Windows Phone”. The early Windows 10 builds are expected to be light on features, allowing Microsoft to gather feedback and continually roll out updates with new features to try. It’s said that Microsoft may release the Windows 10 for phones preview by the end of January.
It’s also said that Microsoft will show off several features of Windows 10 for phones at its January 21 event. That includes some user interface tweaks that are purportedly meant to make the mobile version of Windows look more like the desktop and Xbox One flavors.
Because the app name “Phone Insider” closely resembles Microsoft’s Windows Insider program, it’s no surprise to see this report back up the theories that Microsoft will let users try out early Windows 10 builds on their smartphones. And since Microsoft appears to be all about unifying user experiences on its desktops, phones, and game consoles, a reworking of the Windows Phone UI to bring it in line with Microsoft’s other hardware also makes sense. Now we just have to wait for January 21 to roll around to see exactly what Microsoft has planned for the next major update to its mobile OS.