Windows 10 Mobile - Build 10512 - It's not 300+ builds better

Back on August 12 - MS released Windows 10 Mobile build 10512 to Fast Ring folks..   I installed it on a Nokia 735 over build 10166.

First off a comment on the build number.   For many years you used to be able to determine the overall age of Windows NT based OS by the build number.   MS had a great video called a day in the life of Windows - when it showed how the build was assembled and tested every day...

But now that seems to have changed.  A little over a month ago MS released Windows 10 Mobile build 10166 - and now all of a sudden here is 10512.  So that means that MS was performing some 10 builds per day and while that is certainly possible utilizing modern development techniques - there is probably some other driver now...

So let's cover the basics.   First 10512 showed up on Windows Update with no problem and also installed error free.  Versus previous builds it did retain start screen settings, etc., so you didn't end up with a swiss cheese effect and have to re-pin apps, etc...

There were also less post OS app upgrades versus previous builds.   

Overall 10512 boots quickly and seems smooth.  Start screen scrolling and touch are improved over 10166.   Native apps for most part work okay.   but there are a few exceptions...

First is location.   Just as with Windows 10 for PCs - the new Maps app is just not consistently accurate.  When I first started experiencing this problem - I wondered if it was A) a driver issue, B) a MS account setting issue or C) a Maps app issue.   I am now convinced it is C.  The good news is that if you leave the Maps app running long enough it will eventually find your location.  But when compared to my Galaxy S5 its horrifically slow in finding that location.   I have not tried using turn-by-turn with this build - but I really don't have a lot of confidence in the app and again when compared to Google Maps app on Android, the MS app is a distant second.

Next is Edge.  Is it an improvement over the absolutely horrible IE mobile in WP8 and 8.1 - yes but not by much.   I hate it..   Again when I compare it to Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android - MS is dead last - it's embarrassing...

The MSN/Bing/Whatever apps have a consistency with their PC counterparts which is nice and the live tiles do seem to update better than they do on a PC.

So far all of my 3rd party apps like Hilton, Wells Fargo, Amex, Box, Linkedin all seem to work okay.   Skype launches but lost it's logo on the tile - so it's just a blue box..    Most apps do get a "loading" screen but 10512 is much better than 10166 was.   

The camera app seems okay and no longer has that horrible delay from shutter touch to picture capture and OneDrive uploads work fine.

Groove Music continues to improve - and it should after 3 years of development and at least 3 name changes...

The phone app works fine - the dial pad is easy to work with.    

The one area where Windows Phone shines in my opinion is how it handles Messages..   When compared to Android or iOS - nothing compares to the ease at which Windows Phone will accept a message, notify you in your ear piece and then allow you to reply via voice or call the user.   When driving it is both a huge convenience and also a huge safety factor.   I love it...   Siri and Android's lame attempts at voice recognition are nowhere close..   With that said - I do think that sticking Cortana in the middle of the process however is a mistake - MS has a great voice recognition system - it doesn't need to wrapped in a me too Siri wrapper...

Overall 10512 is an improvement, but will it matter.   Unless I get surprised MS is still some 45 - 60 days away from releasing both it's new phones and Windows 10 Mobile.

By then both the new iPhone and Galaxy devices will be out and with new contenders like LG in the mix I seriously doubt that MS phone is going to grab any additional market share. 

As much as there are many features of Windows phone I like and I think are superior what iOS and Android provide - I don't think it will be enough...  

And even with MS providing tools for migration for iOS apps - I am not confident that a lot of those 3rd party developers are going to go there.  And the lack of apps is what will eventually kill Windows phone.   






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