So here we are. Build 10581, this is my fourth Build and it is at the point where I can finally recommend it to moderate Windows Phone fans as a daily driver.
In the last four Builds I would always say that it is "usable" but still hesitant to recommend it as a daily driver.
On my Nokia Lumia 822 the OS flies and I'd dare say it matches the speed we enjoyed in 8.1
I always thought the old hardware of the 822 is to be blamed but it is apparent to me now that it is not.
Loading.... Resuming screens? Begone!!!
Overlong splashscreens? solved, it's more like the 8.1 Calendar app now in terms of speed.
Crashing apps? Almost all solved. Happened to one or two apps. Nothing too glaring that would hamper your experience.
Blank Tiles? No more
Crashing when switching from the Camera app to the Photos app? All clear
Microsoft EDGE slow and crashing? I like it better now than IE11 on WP8.1, it was hella fast the other day when I did a bank transfer on 3G.
Delay when swiping the Action Center? Very smooth now.
Battery Life? I think it's similar now to what it was back in 8.1
Definitely the best Build so far and one that I can wholly recommend.
All is not perfect though and here are my personal quibbles.
People App - An essential app in keeping your contacts and I think it sucks compared to the 8.1 People App.
- It might actually be the slowest launching app of the bunch.
- I still hate the color background when viewing a contact.
- Contact picture takes a second to load when launching the app.
- Bland experience when swiping to groups.
- I can still feel some underlying bugs in the app.
The Store
- It actually performs really well and has an acceptable speed but still not up there with the 8.1 Store
- Most of my complaints for this app really is pure aesthetics. The old 8.1 Store is IMO designed to really make one enjoy browsing for apps and it does trigger my spending habits because I have purchased quite a handful of apps.
- I really wish they would bring back Panoramic swiping when looking between app categories.
- Checking for Updates takes about a minute, in 8.1 it was almost instant.
Finally, I find it baffling that the Messaging, Settings, Mail and Calendar app uses a grey background color instead of true black like before.
Still, Highly Recommended.