Microsoft is launching an assault on iOS and Android by
making its mobile operating system as powerful as it has ever been. This week at the Redmond company’s BUILD
developer conference, the future of Windows 10 for phones just got a little
clearer.
The company had a couple of good news for Windows Phone
owners who are complaining that their devices aren’t as versatile as those
running on competing platforms.
For starters, the company announced Visual Studio 2015 RC, a
tool for developers that enables cross platform app development. The software
is available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows and features code completion, Git
integration, linting and debugging capability.
This means that it is now easier for developers to compile
their Objective C or C++ code right from Visual Studio and turn their iOS or
Android app into a Windows 10 app.
Another new feature that’s coming to Windows 10 for Phones
is Continuum, which will allow mobile phones to become a tiny computer by
allowing a small device to project content on a big screen. When a tablet or a
smartphone is plugged into a monitor, the display is adjusted to fit into
monitor. Furthermore, if a user plugs in a keyboard and mouse, the device goes
into a desktop mode complete with a start menu and a taskbar.
So far, Microsoft indicated that Windows 10 for phones along
with its new features will debut before the end of the year though no specific
date was mentioned.
