• Diyan
• On June 26, 2015

The most stable build for Phones so far

Yesterday, Windows 10 Mobile Preview build 10149 hit the Insiders on the Fast Ring and brought a number of huge improvements over the previous build (10136). Overall, it is safe to note that version 10149 is the fastest, most stable and polished build so far, much better than 10136.

Is it good enough for running on a primary device? Maybe, but it depends on your personal tolerance to bugs and flaws, which you will most probably encounter after upgrading from 8.1 Denim to Windows 10 Preview Builds.

Here are my impressions so far (on a Lumia 920):

Installation Process: I had difficulties downloading the update package. I got my progress bar stuck at 0% for around 30 min, so you should be patient and wait. Keep in mind that there is a bug at the end of the installation process, which may show an unresponsive lock screen for around 10 minutes, while update still working in the background. Just relax and do nothing.

App Updates: This was painful. I had chosen to download a backup (after the Hard Reset), so there were around 100+ apps in the queue. More than half of the tiles on the Start Screen remained grey and unresponsive even after the installations, so I had to unpin and pin them again to the Start Screen. The new Store is very buggy and slow. Again, be patient and leave your device for a couple of hours (2-3) to install everything and calm down.

Performance / Speed: I am seriously impressed by the progress in this build. It is way faster than the previous one (10136) and sometimes even close to the official Windows Phone 8.1 Denim. There is a new opening animation, which is quite nice, but still need some polishing.

New things:

• Microsoft Edge browser – replaces Spartan. The address bar is at the bottom. There is a switch between mobile and desktop view.
• Action Center – an extra row of Quick Actions. New toggles for Cellular Data and Flashlight.
  
• The Action Center can be expanded with a second swipe.
• Quiet Hours is now found in Cortana
• Weather, Outlook and other Tiles are now ‘Live’ and show updates
• Apps start faster than ever
• Many small cosmetic changes and refinements
  
• OneDrive: auto camera upload in back
• Private Notifications: do not display messaging details in the Notification Center when the phone is PIN protected and locked.

Bugs: Microsoft gives information about some common bugs in this build, so you’d better read this post first.

I experienced a bug with the Quick Actions, which started to blink together and became unresponsive. The workaround was to restart the device, but after an hour or two, the problem returned. After a Hard reset it seems that the problem has disappeared. Another problem was related to the background, which I couldn’t change with a new photo.

What was your experience with 10149? Do you think it is good enough for a daily driver?