In December 2014, we reported that Microsoft was working to bring an 'exploding tile' paradigm to the Windows 10 operating system. The user interface feature would make a Live Tile explode into small tiles with information provided from the app.
The feature was later to be called Mix View, and it just picked up a patent approval from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Interestingly, the application was filed just a few months before our report in August 2014, and the filing was just published today.
Mix View was supposed to go hand-in-hand with Nokia's McLaren smartphone. That phone had a 3D Touch interface letting users hover their finger over the display. The virtual push gesture would cause certain tiles to then 'explode' into smaller tiles with more user information. Some of the design influence came from the Zune era of design but combined with some very advanced gesture detecting hardware.
Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...