Earlier today, Microsoft finally sent out another release of Windows 10 Mobile for those on the Insider Preview program. Build 10549 is now available with various fixes and improvements. However, users need to downgrade to Windows Phone 8.1 first meaning you need to wipe your phone. That's a rather hefty sacrifice to make to get the latest build, but we took the plunge for obvious reasons.
We've been running 10549 for just a few hours, and so far, it does feel more stable and a little quicker for the core apps. Of course, we have been saying that for some time now, so hopefully we are nearing the end of this process.
Perhaps the oddest feature is the ability to adjust the text display size on Lumia 1520. Just like a PC, you can move a slider to make fonts bigger or smaller. Our default – and recommended – is 250%. However, we can slide it down to 175% and the soft-reset the phone. Doing so results in basically making the Lumia 1520 a desktop PC. The Edge browser literally switches to desktop mode with the address bar at the top, Outlook can now show the full spilt-menu view, the Store looks like the PC version and more. It is useable even if many of the touch elements are tiny. Consider it more novelty than anything, though we imagine some of you may give it a spin.
Other than that we are looking at some emoji changes with skin tone options, the ability to have more lines of text in a text message box and many bug fixes and general improvements.
Our phone still runs warm, and the battery seems to be taking a toll, so our early recommendation is still that this is not really for your daily driver or main phone. However, your experience may vary, and we'll be curious over the next 48 hours what many of you report back.
For now, check out our short video above (sorry, we're on assignment in New York City) and let us know what you think so far in comments.
Need more help or want to chat more about Windows 10 Mobile? Check out our busy Windows 10 Mobile forums to get assistance or share your tips!
