We've previously looked at how bad Xbox Music is on Windows Phone 8.1 (in the Preview for Developers, anyway), but the experience has never been flawless on Windows Phone. Microsoft evidently knows this as the company is looking to roll out an update next week (April 22nd), which will kick off bi-weekly releases for the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview client.
This is superb news for Xbox Music Pass holders who wish to have a decent experience on the phone.
Joe Belfiore even tweeted that a new app will be released for those who are using the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview, but it's good to see an actual change log be present over on Microsoft Answers. If you're interested to know what's on the way, here's what Microsoft is looking to include in the April 22nd update:
- Numerous stability fixes, including many of the reported black screens
- Cortana integration is complete and now supports playing playlists by name
- UI polish to improve animations and transitions between UI views
- Improved messaging for encountered errors, such as unplayable content in collections
- Background initial sync of local and cloud content
That's all well and dandy, but what about some of the things you're all desperately asking from the team? As noted above, there will be bi-weekly releases after the first update has rolled out, which are set to include the following:
- Continued focus on Stability and Performance
- Live Tile integration
- Quickplay improvements, including "recent" lists
- Kids Corner Support
- UX improvements (Search result grouping, creating new Radio Stations, improved Network status messages, Blue UI language alignment, now playing improvements and more)
Have some suggestions for the Xbox Music app on Windows Phone? Sound them off over on the User Voice website.
Source: Microsoft Answer; Thanks, Al_2, for the tip!
