The Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview launched in April and I loaded it up on my Nokia Lumia 1020. My awesome Nokia Lumia 1520 just received the official Windows Phone 8.1 and Nokia Cyan updates yesterday morning and it looks like the Lumia 1520 is my daily driver again.Windows Phone 8.1 improvements
The major new feature of Windows Phone 8.1 is Cortana and I have come to find it much better than Siri or Google Now over the past couple of months. I especially love the location-based reminders that let me make shopping lists appear when I arrive at the specific store applicable to that shopping list.
In addition to Cortana, Windows Phone 8.1 brings:
There are many more improvements in Windows Phone 8.1; check out the Microsoft announcement with all the details. After using the Developer Preview, I just couldn't even use my Lumia 1520 again when I took it back to 8.0 as I waited for the 8.1 update to hit my device. Check out my screenshot gallery to see how some of these improvements look on a Nokia Lumia 1520.
- Quiet hours and Inner Circle in Cortana
- Action Center
- Word Flow keyboard
- Start screen backgrounds
- Backup and sync options
- Internet Explorer 11
- Updated Calendar application
- Wi-Fi Sense, Data Sense, Storage Sense, and Battery Saver
- Installed and updated apps show New in app list
- Speed Dial under Phone utility
- Live lock screen beta
Read more at: Hands-on with the full release of Windows Phone 8.1 and Lumia Cyan | ZDNet