What can Windows 10 Mobile phones do better than Androids or iPhones?

[dov1978]

Having just switched to Galaxy S8+ from a 950xl the thing I realize W10M does sooo much better is show a lot of information on the start screen in an elegant and efficient way. I also miss the glance screen and its night mode, the dark UI option, Outlook, and Cortana, especially the reading and responding of text messages while driving. All in all the UI on Windows is a lot better and having been on Android for a few days it only makes even more sad to see Windows Mobile go.

You can change the UI to have systemwide dark mode on the Galaxy by changing it in the Samsung Themes app. I change mine to 'Material Black'. That's the first thing I do on my Samsung phones

You now have Always On Display though so shouldn't really miss Glance? The only thing I miss from Glance that Always On Display doesn't do is show detailed information for one of your apps.

Sorry just read your post again properly and yeah I totally agree that night mode is another big miss. I loved the orange Glance Screen when it was on my bedside table.

 

[Grant Taylor3]

I like the UWP's I use them across phone, tablet and desktop. Groove Music, Grover Pro are my most used along with Office Mobile, MS To-Do even simple stuff like the Alarms & Calculator are great looking. Also Readit, MyTube! Etc.



All great apps that run across the different device types.

 

[nate0]

I like the UWP's I use them across phone, tablet and desktop. Groove Music, Grover Pro are my most used along with Office Mobile, MS To-Do even simple stuff like the Alarms & Calculator are great looking. Also Readit, MyTube! Etc.



All great apps that run across the different device types.

The developer for MyTube is stellar.

 

[Mich2017]

The benefits of Win 10 mobile is mostly negated by its shortcomings--shortcomings which are mostly MS' lack of commitment and poor marketing/distribution.

Nonetheless, I only need a few apps (i.e., texting and photo effects, plus a few games thankfully still on Win10M, so I'm still using my Lumia 640 (sadly another man left behind by Satan). Here are my favorite Pros/Cons:

- Security. BEST amongst all others as hackers don't have the time to hack it and as MS issues steady updates. Forget Android on security. iOS is good, but Apple is a worthy target for hackers.

- Live tiles. Better than iOS, but not as functional as Android widgets. Plus, many live tiles are often blank, and MS' own live tiles, such as the clock, show pitifully incomplete info (i.e., no Dates for other time zones, just how many hours are ahead or behind).

- Built-in swipe to type function on the keyboard.

- Cursor on the keyboard using an eraserhead-like joystick like a Lenovo laptop keyboard. However, some Android keyboard can show cursor keys, which I find even easier to use than the W10M joystick.

- File management. Plug into your computer's USB and good to go as MTP. I absolutely hate moving files back and forth from my iOS devices.

- Spell checking on the keyboard is better than iOS, but not as good as Android. Plus, the custom dictionary is not browsable, but Android can (on W10M, you have to type each word that you want to remove and then tap the word shown with a minus sign in front of it). Btw, as I'm typing this, I just noticed that my W10M keyboard will NOT allow "iOS" at the beginning of a sentence. I have to type "IOS," and then type an "i" between the "I" and "O," and then erase the "I." But every OS has its idiosyncrasies....

Aside from the Pro/Cons above, there are lots of little cons, but that's not what you were asking for, hence....

 

[nate0]

The Windows 10 Mobile support life cycle is crazy good compared to Android. It always has been. Maybe because it is not fragmented. iOS is pretty darn good though too. The x50 series devices were released in the end of 2015, and as it stands they are slotted to be continually supported into 2019. This despite all the news about the platform is dead, and Microsoft abandoned it... Name one android phone manufactured in 2015 that will see sraight OS support from its maker in this manner. The Nexus device might come close, but even if they want the latest and greatest they may end up porting the updates manually and such.

The Idol 4s, Elite X3 and other newer devices are the same way, and could likey be supported into the end of 2020. But we will have to wait and see To me that is piece of mind knowing major bugs and security issues will get handled for that long.

 

[nate0]

Minus the streaming service dissapearing from it. The Groove music app is one of the best Audio music apps I have ever used on a mobile device. To me it simply rocks on Windows 10 mobile. It is the little things...during playback you can see where to play pause skip go back on each screen of the app, playback resumes were you left off even after a reboot, the UI is elegant and lively with the fluent design changes. Plus it is fast and fluid. It has yet to crash on me or have issues. As a straight muic player this app is a keeper and I hope they continue to develop it...

 

[Williaml99]

Onedrive WM10 supports SD card. Can sync all folders to the local folders on SD Card. Not on Android.

Groove Music does not support local files let alone SD card on Android.

For Outlook to be default you have to use a disabler app to disable some samsung and or some google services.

You have to install a third party app to snooze reminders.

I love my S8+ but these are just facts.

 

[nate0]

The backup and restore on Windows 10 mobile is pretty slick too. It is similar to iPhone except it is cloud based only (as far as I know). It does not provide a restore of every single setting (which is for good reason), but the apps that are UWP based are very good at restoring everything you had set from the last time they were backed up. Saves a ton of time, and combined with sms sync it is really over looked in my opinion. Android has backup and sync options but you have to dig through store apps to find a good one or sometimes even root your phone to get a complete backup of its current state. The last retore I did on my Elite X3 it even restored the same page I was on and version I was using of a bible app. That is pretty convenient.

 

[fat8893]

I cannot compare Windows 10 Mobile (W10M) to iOS since I never properly use one, but I can easily compare it with Android since I had left it from July last year. For your information, I'm currently using a Nokia Lumia 830 running on W10M FCU. WARNING: This is gonna be one heck of a writeup.

Speed
- I am totally amaze on how W10M performs despite only have 1GB of RAM. It's a fricking nightmare with Android with such RAM!

Live Tile
- No need for me to open news app just to see the headline since I can read that straight from the tile. Android may have widget, but even that is completely unanimated. What's more, you can resize it according to your personal taste. No identical Windows Phone devices would share the same tile layout.

Social messaging app notification.
- Both WhatsApp and Telegram can show two lines of maximum 20 meesages per app, whereas Android would only show little snippets of it.

Mobile notification via Cortana
- All notifications from your W10M device can be seen in your Windows 10 PC real-time, providing that both phone and PC are connected to the Internet together.

OneDrive for W10M
- All documents created in Office W10M would be saved automatically inside your OneDrive account. You can then work on it later on any devices. As for Android, you have to manually upload it yourself.
- All WhatsApp media files would be stored inside OneDrive alongside all the backup chats. That means, you can see all the pics, vids and the documents inside your OneDrive. Media file backups for Android are only accessible if you restore the message into another device.

Facebook Event and Outlook Calendar integration.
- Wanna see all the events that you are either Interested or Going? Not possible for Android in any sort of way since... well, there is no such thing as that in the first place.

 

[fat8893]

(continued from my previous reply)
Facebook Contacts and People integration.
- You can view your Facebook friends from People app, but all you can see is their birthday date, contact number if there's any and... that's about it. I do miss the proper People Hub integration from the days of Windows Phone 8.1 (WP8.1) and pre-W10M AU, where you can easily see your Facebook friend's post and reply to it instantaneously without having to open the Facebook app in the first place.

Official Disqus app.
- Disqus always have been loyal to Windows Phone, hence no surprise to see their official app exist since the days of Windows Phone 7. iOS version only made available starting April 2016, but there's never been an official Android version of it. Really have no idea why. Perhaps it might got to do with security concern, perhaps?

Privacy.
- Undoubtedly one main reason on why I had left Android. You can easily control the privacy to your liking. But best of all, you can turn off some the apps or all of it to work on background. That is one thing that Android can never possibly do, even if you had fully root it.

Bonus:
Lumia imaging apps for ALL Lumia devices.
- My absolute favourite have to be the Lumia Storyteller and Cinemagraph. Still can be downloadable on MS Store to this point, a built-in story telling and .gif making app that works so great that all of my friends are actually jealous of me, and that's real! It does happen to me!

Glance screen
- Not all Lumia devices have this, so it really depends on which Lumia variant you are using. Basically what it does is showing information such as Time, Date and detailed status of your preferred app (WhatsApp in my case) without using a lot of energy.

Double tap to wake
- Really not sure if all Lumia have this, but you don't need to press the key to open your phone. Just double tap, and voila - your screen's wake up.

Integrated camera button
- A PureView royalty. Just press and hold the camera button, and voila - the camera is on! Something you really don't see on lots of Android (and dare I say, iOS) devices.

 

[SUCKITUPBUTTERCUP]

What I have discovered is the seamless integration with Family. Creating Administrative account or Two (Dad , Mom). Then adding your kids to those accounts as limited group users which you can set up how, what, when where they can access, purchase apps, and restrict when the device can even be used on all devices. You can set up for each Limited user account to have their history sent to all administrative accounts(mom and dad) to view exactly what websites, apps, and virtually when and where they use the phone. My daughter had a band concert and she set her phone down covered it up with shirt in the band room. Her mom took her I had to work. It was stolen (Lumia 1520), My wife calls saying they couldn't find it. I pulled over. Logged into my daughters account, located her device, then while on phone with wife directed her to which street where phone was showing. I then told wife to step out of vehicle. I forced phone to ring. IT WAS A LOUD PINGING NOISE ! I could here it from her phone. It was coming from the car parked in front of a house. She knocked on window daughters father rolled down window (phone still pinging loudly. Long story short. We got phone back. Microsoft security, integration is what they do best.

 

[fatclue_98]

(continued from my previous reply)
Facebook Contacts and People integration.
- You can view your Facebook friends from People app, but all you can see is their birthday date, contact number if there's any and... that's about it. I do miss the proper People Hub integration from the days of Windows Phone 8.1 (WP8.1) and pre-W10M AU, where you can easily see your Facebook friend's post and reply to it instantaneously without having to open the Facebook app in the first place.

Official Disqus app.
- Disqus always have been loyal to Windows Phone, hence no surprise to see their official app exist since the days of Windows Phone 7. iOS version only made available starting April 2016, but there's never been an official Android version of it. Really have no idea why. Perhaps it might got to do with security concern, perhaps?

Privacy.
- Undoubtedly one main reason on why I had left Android. You can easily control the privacy to your liking. But best of all, you can turn off some the apps or all of it to work on background. That is one thing that Android can never possibly do, even if you had fully root it.

Bonus:
Lumia imaging apps for ALL Lumia devices.
- My absolute favourite have to be the Lumia Storyteller and Cinemagraph. Still can be downloadable on MS Store to this point, a built-in story telling and .gif making app that works so great that all of my friends are actually jealous of me, and that's real! It does happen to me!

Glance screen
- Not all Lumia devices have this, so it really depends on which Lumia variant you are using. Basically what it does is showing information such as Time, Date and detailed status of your preferred app (WhatsApp in my case) without using a lot of energy.

Double tap to wake
- Really not sure if all Lumia have this, but you don't need to press the key to open your phone. Just double tap, and voila - your screen's wake up.

Integrated camera button
- A PureView royalty. Just press and hold the camera button, and voila - the camera is on! Something you really don't see on lots of Android (and dare I say, iOS) devices.

They should change the title to say what can Windows do that Samsung can't. Sony Xperias have always had physical camera buttons as well as double tap to wake and sleep. I'm with you on the People Hub being the best and it goes all the way back to Windows 7. They got it right the first time.

 

[beman39]

Btw, as I'm typing this, I just noticed that my W10M keyboard will NOT allow "iOS" at the beginning of a sentence. I have to type "IOS," and then type an "i" between the "I" and "O," and then erase the "I." But every OS has its idiosyncrasies....

that's weird cuzz I can type "IOS" on my w10m Keyboard just fine... also I find spell checker and typing to be more fluid and better on my WM10 keyboard than Android... me thinks somethings up with your phone... maybe you have another language set up on your keyboard?

 

[beman39]

My daughter had a band concert and she set her phone down covered it up with shirt in the band room. Her mom took her I had to work. It was stolen (Lumia 1520), My wife calls saying they couldn't find it. I pulled over. Logged into my daughters account, located her device, then while on phone with wife directed her to which street where phone was showing. I then told wife to step out of vehicle. I forced phone to ring. IT WAS A LOUD PINGING NOISE ! I could here it from her phone. It was coming from the car parked in front of a house. She knocked on window daughters father rolled down window (phone still pinging loudly. Long story short. We got phone back. Microsoft security, integration is what they do best.

ha! genius!! would luv to have seen their faces! they should have recorded their reactions when they got busted! LOL

 

[SUCKITUPBUTTERCUP]

ha! genius!! would luv to have seen their faces! they should have recorded their reactions when they got busted! LOL

Small home town ...If in major City wouldn't have sent her looking for it let alone walking up to a car. Daughter recognized them a fellow band member. So, wife felt some what comfortable.. This is why I refuse to switch platforms. I have 10 Microsoft phones in my family set up on 365, OneDrive (1tb) , (6) in my immediate family , (4) kids, wife and I. There is nothing android or iOS can offer me to change. Pc, tablets and phones work seamlessly. Kids love that they login on phone pc tablet and it is all right there.(of course Dad had to set everything up)

Personally...pretty straight forward Just wish Microsoft would advertise these family friendly features. Talk to a lot of EU's daily. They just don't realize how it works but more importantly that it even exists.

 

[EspHack]

best thing they do is not being android or iOS, if you can't stand neither of those like me because they are just as compromised and you're tired of making compromises, staying on w10m would be the least resistance path

EDIT: I just noticed, people seem interested in my "weird" phone now, like it used to be back when wp8 launched, lol just shows how dead they are, no more budget lumias showing up randomly to make it less rare

 

[Grant Taylor3]

I can read Twitter on my 950 without getting crappy ads like you get on Android and IOS.

 

[Grant Taylor3]

Samsung have something like glance screen although it does not work like glance where you can wave you hand in front of the phone to get the time and notifications to show up.

 

[pureview_lvr]

Even Microsoft doesn't need their mobile os and they continuously improving Microsoft apps quality and usability on Android and ios
And also I don't need to tell about other app developers.
Obviously its the one out many factor but it still have more priority.

 

[raycpl]

Continuum

Black theme

OneDrive Integration

Camera UI (yeah, like DTTWU been widely copied)

File management - connect it to any PC with USB-cable.. its so simple, it's ridiculous

Contact management. Log in any device with my MSFT email account and I get to all my contacts. Never fails.

Never bother about installing anti-virus. Laugh when friend msg me about the new virus that will decimate your phone's HD.

Photo editing. Is there any equivalent to Fantasia Painter on iOS/Android?? Serious question, this...





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