 "Microsoft elaborates details on upcoming changes to Windows 10 for smartphones")
Redmond-based tech giant Microsoft has shared a handful of new design features for the upcoming Windows 10 running on smartphones. According to
company blog post
, Albert Schum, lead of the Design Team of Microsoft’s Operating Systems Group elaborates on the new build 10051 and the upcoming interface design to look out for. Talking a bit about the design, Schum states that, “Our design approach is evolving from our rich history in transportation graphics and the International Typographic Style. Today we’re moving toward an approach that is somewhat like designing a city. We’re creating a foundation, or a common grid, that maintains the order and standards that make a city work, yet also has flexibility that enables expression and a distinct sense of place.” The areas which he has concentrated on includes areas such as Menu icon (Hamburger), Outlook Mail and Calendar, Project Spartan, Task switching, People and Photos. 1. Menu icon (Hamburger) The Menu icon, pet-named Hamburger, is seen on the top left or top right corner as the main navigation element. With Microsoft’s universal apps and adaptive UX, the company allows developers build one app, but still tailor the UX to each device. Schum explains, “We can use a hamburger icon without pivots on a PC version of the app for better keyboard and mouse navigation and then customize the same app to have pivots with swipe control for better one-hand-use on mobile.” Microsoft is working on making it possible for an app to have both hamburger and pivot controls. You can check out the history of the Hamburger Icon
here
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Image: Windows Blog[/caption] 2. Outlook Mail Schum discloses that, the highest volume of dissatisfaction they have heard about Outlook Mail and Calendar for phones has been that, most people really like and really miss the Windows Phone 8 pattern of having most commands at the bottom of the screen, with an appbar that shows titles with the icons. Outlook Mail will now get back features like Unified Inbox and Multi-Select in future updates for Windows 10. The upcoming Outlook will include buttons and the hamburger icon at the bottom to switch between three panes of folders, list of messages, and messages familiar from the desktop. [caption id=“attachment_265769” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]
Image: Windows Blog[/caption] 3. Outlook Calender According to Schum, many people asked Microsoft to bring back the week and month views in the Calendar. The new Build 10051 will make it easier to access the mini-month view and specially for phones with a larger display, increase the number of weeks shown in the mini-month. The company is also working on a week view in landscape which will come soon.
4. Microsoft Edge Micorsoft unveiled the new name of its latest browser that will be seen from Windows 10 OS onwards. So far known as Project Spartan, the new browser will be called Microsoft Edge. The idea behind naming it as Edge is the fact that the new rendering engine that Microsoft is using for the Windows 10 browser is called EdgeHTML. Schum explains that the new engine is built on the Universal App Platform. The company has, “focused on creating an experience that’s consistent and familiar from device-to-device.” Based on feedback, Schum said that, then new browser will include “both, a common visual style for the app across Windows 10 devices and consistent top edge placement of the address bar as the most prominent element of the browser.” [caption id=“attachment_265775” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]
Image: Windows Blog[/caption] 5. People app The new Photos app will continue to use circles to represent people instead of squares. Schum added, “.We did a lot of thinking about this during our planning stages for Windows 10, and what we tried to accomplish was to help the people in your life really stand out visually.” He believes that this move is particularly important in experiences such as Start and also while moving through different apps where there are people mixed with other content. [caption id=“attachment_265776” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]
Image: Windows Blog[/caption] 6. Photos With the new Photos app, Schum wishes to “create a collection of favorite moments and have a new, richer stage to present those photos.” While experimenting using the Menu icon (hamburger) navigation across devices, Schum discovered that, “for phones, the ability to switch between collections and albums would be easier with one hand by using a pivot and swiping.” The final design is said to have Menu icon in the PC app and also, pivots for the phone, which will in-turn allow flexibility while using either a keyboard, mouse, or touch. 7. Task Switching Under the Task Switching section, Schum seeks feedback on whether, the PC task order should be left-to-right, while historically on the phone the order is right-to-left. He adds, “Should we make these the same across devices so your muscle memory works as you go from 8” tablet to phone?” He also inquired on whether the experience should be kept same for all phone users who upgrade to Windows 10. Based on feedback, the company can make an appropriate call.