Why are so many of you talking badly against WP8.1?

[squire777]

People like to complain, especially in this community for whatever reason. I have not seen such behavior from other mobile communities and wonder if a lot of WP fans here have some kind of insecurity relative to their iOS or Android friends.

Just because they don't get a particular feature they think WP is going to die and keep ranting on about how the sky is falling.

I'm not saying WP is without faults as there is a lot that needs to be fixed. However, some posters need to keep their **** together and stop whining at every chance they get.

 

[Ebuka Allison]

Everyone cries about the missing hubs feature. I created a thread asking us to vote on the user voice forums for custom h8ubs. No one could be bothered. All any one ever wants to do is complain. If you have an issue, post it on Uservoice. You saw it within the Xbox one, Windows 8 and now WP8. Microsoft listens.
Custom hubs option to replace the removed native ones – Feature Suggestions for Windows Phone

Here's how I pitched it in Uservoice "Windows phone 8.1 provided is with many new features but took one much loved one away. The hubs. Now many people are complaining about the degraded Music+Videos and photos hub. The reasoning behind this was soundish, needing to update system apps from the store.However, the hubs design was a pretty good feature to show off to many people. Especially the photos hub.
Many people would love the hubs to return, perhaps they can in the form,of,custom hubs. Creating an option in settings (Hubs+Groups) or something. Apps in Windows Phone which perform a certain task,identify themselves as for example; photo editing apps, media apps or business apps. You could have this feature break down all the app categories on the phone and generate a panoramic hub for the user. Allowing them to choose the overall design and apps which can feed into or connect into that hub.
For example, I create a custom hub called Work. I add Adobe Reader, Pdf reader and pocket file manager. The hub surfaces app content and displays it in a section. The possibilities are endless.
As a bonus, the individual can create their own Media hubs and leave you guys to get on with your app development."

but think about it this way. Imagine Microsoft provided a framework where you could go into settings and create a hub. For example, Music. It suggests apps which could go into that category on your phone and then creates the hub. You now get all updates in that hub in the traditional panorama form, with Spotify feeding band suggestions into the hub and Xbox Music notifying you of new album releases by bands you follow.
Or another example, I create a Media hub and link both Music and Video apps together.
The choice is in the hands of the consumer.

 

[anony_mouse]

Just google wp8.1 RTM. Man, this isn't opinion, it's a widely known fact. Stop acting like I'm claiming the world is ending or something

Great news! Windows Phone 8.1 has RTM’ed after all! | WMPoweruser

With new devices inbound, Windows Phone 8.1 hits RTM status - TechSpot

I have never claimed that you claim the world is ending. What a bizarre comment.

Those stories claim that Microsoft have released a version to manufacturers. They do not say that it's the same version as the developers' preview. This new version may or may not be the final version. Given some of the bugs reported (e.g. the speakerphone issue), I would be astonished if it wasn't updated from the preview.

 

[daredevildan]

I don't discredit those with concerns but what I would ask you to do is voice your issues on the MS forums and through their developer submissions process. By installing this preview for developers that's what you agreed to do. Coming here and complaining won't get your issue resolved, go to MS and let them know what you want to see. Also, the way things are separated MS should be able to fix individual issues much more quickly now rather than an entire OS update and we haven't even see what Nokia, HTC and Samsung will add to the 8.1 update so there's still plenty more to come.

 

[EchoOne30]

I have never claimed that you claim the world is ending. What a bizarre comment.

Those stories claim that Microsoft have released a version to manufacturers. They do not say that it's the same version as the developers' preview. This new version may or may not be the final version. Given some of the bugs reported (e.g. the speakerphone issue), I would be astonished if it wasn't updated from the preview.

....right. Ok at any rate, wp8.1 is the build. They may update it, but this is what they released to the world as their finished product.

 

[forked]

The whole debate over whether it's final or not is irrelevant. The items people are complaining about are DESIGN changes and whether there is another build that is released upon final rollout or not (which I don't think there is), it's not going to include OS design changes. At best, it will include final bug fixes.

That being said, the main design change people seem to be complaining about is the deep intergration to third party apps like Facebook and Twitter. They have come up with a design that still allows integration but breaks the dependency between the OS and those third party apps and I'll take that all day over having them tightly integrated because I care more about the OS getting updated rapidly than I do about being able to post to Facebook and Twitter simultaneously

So in short, the people complaining don't need to wait until the 'final' code is relased because, from a design perspective, it is final. I don't think most of the complaints I've seen are valid (and the few that I do, I have greater confidence they will be dealt with quickly because they have broken those dependencies.)

And for the record, I LOVE 8.1. There is very little about 8 that I could do that I miss and there's a ton I couldn't do that I can. The whining is getting on my nerves too.

 

[dorelse]

....right. Ok at any rate, wp8.1 is the build. They may update it, but this is what they released to the world as their finished product.

Again, I feel the need to correct you. They did not release it to the world as their finished product. They released a Preview...a Preview, to developers & early adopters so that developers could get their code updated & Microsoft could find & fix bugs that weren't found during UAT testing in their labs.

General Availability = Released to the World for ALL users, which it is not at this time.
Developer Preview = Developer & Early Adopters ie...not GA code...anything not listed as official 'GA' can and will change.

(And actually we can (and do) also spin up new 'GA' images too, after GA. Not as big of a deal as you'd like to believe.)

You can use or not use any term you'd like...RC, RTM, Beta, not Beta, Final, Finished, etc, etc...

The only thing you can't call it right now is 'Done' or 'GA'...its neither 'Done' nor is it 'GA'...and it will absolutely be updated before its made GA.

 

[Nataku4ca]

complaining about is the deep intergration to third party apps like Facebook and Twitter. They have come up with a design that still allows integration but breaks the dependency between the OS and those third party apps and I'll take that all day over having them tightly integrated because I care more about the OS getting updated rapidly than I do about being able to post to Facebook and Twitter simultaneously

but with the hubs being pulled out of the OS itself, wouldn't it still be possible to update it to a point to keep those integration? i mean that is the whole point they decided to separate it from the OS isn't it? (i mean it "could" be updated much more rapidly to reintroduce those features if they deem it important enough)

 

[EwingMCSE]

Once I got my battery drain issue resolved I loved this update.

Obvious wins are the notification center, cortana and swipe feature on the keyboard. There are many features I'm sure I haven't even stumbled onto yet, but one of the nicest ones I found so far was the improvement to the Sync software that talks to my Ford Mustang. The phone/car integration is much better and the car's language is more "human". Complete bonus feature that.

 

[neonspark]

why? because MSFT isn't a 6 year old little girl and needs to know what is wrong so they can fix it. developers have a thick skin. the problem is the fanboys don't like anything that challenges their view MSFT can do no wrong.

as a developer, I appreciate some level of good feedback but I'm more interested in negative reports because in the 1 of 10 that are actually useful, it helps the product improve in ways that positive feedback doesn't. Everybody can say "nice work". yeah whatever, flattery is the food of fools.

 

[AndrewL920]

I've read a lot of the threads in this forum, and I don't see why everyone is ******** about Windows Phone 8.1.
It's improved in almost every aspect imo, the only thing I don't like is the lag on the start screen, but since as how this is not an RTM release, what can you expect?

Mobile nations/wpcentral will be happy of the complaints because of the ads

 

[anony_mouse]

....right. Ok at any rate, wp8.1 is the build. They may update it, but this is what they released to the world as their finished product.

Um, they have reportedly issued a build to manufacturers. We haven't seen that build (I'm assuming your don't work for Microsoft or a WP device manufacturer).

 

[russshoe]

The only problem I have is battery life other than that it is all Good

 

[TiLoBrown]

So far I don't like how IE11 almost always reloads a page after you leave the app. And I HATE that I can't post to Facebook and Twitter at the same time now. My only complaints really

 

[Joel S79]

Also it's never been confirmed that the Dev Preview is the RTM version. Joe Belfiore said that some features of 8.1 (like the updated lock screen) aren't part of the preview build which assuming they aren't being moved out of 8.1 would necessitate another update/build exists.

From the sounds of it, the lock screen feature is going to be an app release, not an OS update. Joe Belfiore made it sound like they added APIs for a lot of lock screen customization, and this app is just making use of them.

Windows Phone 8.1 is feature locked, done, finished, ready to go. Are there still issues to resolve? Absolutely, and MS will push updates to fix them. But make no mistake, the version we're tinkering with is the one the OEMs got for their developments and testing. It would make no sense for them to not keep them in sync.

The only thing true about a 'Final' Package is that there is really no 'Final' Package...

This is so true.

As to the question at hand, there are a lot of people who really had no business jumping on the preview. While the core is "Done", the other parts are not. The Xbox Music, Video and Games hubs need some work (but they're apps, so they can be updated on their own), the various "key" apps people use need to be updated to support the new features in 8.1, Cortana still needs some work, they're missing device specific drivers and updates, etc. A lot of people hop on the update and then when it isn't perfect, they freak out. It's a caveat of trying to get the update in the hands of enthusiasts early, some people just aren't technically savvy enough to understand what they're getting into. This isn't everyone complaining obviously, but I've seen my fair share of threads from people who would've been better off waiting.

 

[Robinsonmac]

What many here fail or refuse to realize is that a lot of the issues are device firmware specific & won't be updated by MS but from the manufacturer of your phone. All of the issues with battery drain, screens, slow waking, wifi, etc, will be addressed by the firmware updates specific to your phone. People really need to understand what they are getting into & see the big picture....

The other stuff with the hubs is not completed yet, you can't & won't know how it will actually work until the OS is released with the updated apps that plug into the hubs. Perfect example was the twitter app that was available for a day. That updated universal app showed where MS is taking the app integration. So just chill for a few more weeks.....

 

[rocking23nf]

being in the IT world for 20 years, I have learned my lesson with Betas, and early previews, people who don't like something will say "its in preview, it will change"
When in reality, 95% of the time, what you see, is exactly what you are getting.

 

[Dragone]

Actually I wanna thank you to Microsoft because release this wp8.1
wp8.1 is awesome, my phone(lumia 720) become so powerful

before update to wp8.1, my lumia had many problems like delay notification in whatsapp and others but after update to wp 8.1, no more delay notification, my internet become faster and the signal very high.
I can install apps and game in SD card so no more worry about space.
I can install offline database translator.
The notification bar is really awesome. I love it.
I can use Cortana, she is awesome!
many, many, many, many,,, I can't tell all of them

The only problem is little lag when the os do start menu animation, that's it, no big deal for me. Maybe I suggest Microsoft remove animation for low device

Yea, that's exacly how I feel.
My Ativ S works like a charm with 8.1 and I really can't get what these people are talking about. No battery issues (maybe you are just playing more with your phone cause you got new toys to play with?), I don't feel there is some functionalities I lost.
I really can't stand the "2 steps forward, 3 steps backward" sentence. I looks more like "30 steps forward and (maybe) 1 backward" ?

I completely simpathize with the op : what people are showing is not criticism, is blindness.

 

[MyNL822]

One thing I don't understand is these stand alone apps. Now that the system apps(such as music and video) are updateable apps but cannot be removed, all the live tiles suckkkk. I don't even get my notifications from game hub since it doesn't go to action center or show up on live tile. Apple seems to have been able to update their system apps fine(store, etc) but I know they don't have live tiles. That brings me to the notifications thing, I have 7 notification apps, 1 is aerize explorer from store, 1 is email, and the others are the system apps. I have apps such as kik that can't go to notification center even though it gives me toasts. This is annoying because I know the kik app is never going to be updated, and we won't get notifications. Can't they make it so all notifications go to the action center?

 

[luke_grech1]

I feel Microsoft is taking one step forward and two steps back. They neutered the peoples hub so that it no longer supports Facebook messaging. They gave us a BETA music player that is so minimalist. Where are the dynamic playlists, or rating system, or support for audiobooks and lectures, why is it so sluggish. However, Microsoft did give us Cortana, which I wont be using that much sense it requires "Locations" to be activated. This takes up a lot of battery energy. In addition, they gave us notifications. Personally, I don't feel the need to use notifications. All the notifications were on live tiles. So having a second area for the notifications seems pointless. I do like the option on notifications to turn on/off certain options, like locations, Bluetooth, and wireless. Lastly, they butchered the photo hub. Now we need to go into apps, such as Facebook or OneDrive in order to see out pictures. I recommended this phone to my sister before the preview was released. Now I feel a little guilty because the messaging integration is what she loved the most. That and the picture hub.

Instead of fixing what was broken, they broken what was fixed.

The one thing I am thrilled about though is their integration with SWYPE or WordFlow as they call it. They nailed that one!

I totally agree with you. The new photos hub is such an utter disappointment. This 8.1 update took away some of the nicest features which wp8 had!
Please make sure to vote and share this suggestion on the uservoice website! Do not change Photos Hub style in Windows Phone 8.1 – Feature Suggestions for Windows Phone