[streifenleopard]

Hi,
the button with the magnifier had loads of features in Windows Phone 8.0 which were abandoned in its successor.
I never understood why this had to happen it might still be a great feature for all apps to use.
As of now in Windows Phone 8.1 the search button is nothing but a replacement for the IE and the Bing page.
I cannot think that MS would like to keep it that way i.e. producing phones with a useless button.
So what function will be attributed to it?

[gpobernardo]

In Windows Phone 8.1, the search navigation button still has "features", including:
- launch Cortana for quick voice commands (if Cortana is available) by holding onto the button; from there Reminders, Appointments, and other Cortana-related capabilities (which are a lot) can be deployed
- launch Bing search
- search for contacts, files and media in the phone

I can not recall exactly what features it had in Windows Phone 8.0, but so far I think the feature in Windows Phone 8.1 is more exact, trimmed and focused.

As to how this would appear in the final build of Windows 10, we'll have to wait.

[streifenleopard]

Ironically it can aldo be used for scanning qr codes sth which does notvhave anything to do with searching...

[gpobernardo]

Ironically it can aldo be used for scanning qr codes sth which does notvhave anything to do with searching...

How about searching for the meaning of that QR Code, wouldn't that count as searching itself?

[streifenleopard]

How about searching for the meaning of that QR Code, wouldn't that count as searching itself?

hm... I don't really think so because you have already arrived at what you want. All you need to do is read out the code...

[Aurelink]

Well, doesn't a QR code browse the web ? And isn't that what bing or Cortana (both called from the search button) do ? :P

[gpobernardo]

hm... I don't really think so because you have already arrived at what you want. All you need to do is read out the code...

If you could read the code directly with your eyes, then great; but most of us can't read QR Codes. It would be like encountering an entirely new word, after which we would get a dictionary and then look for the meaning of that new word. We don't want the code; we want what it means and that's what we're searching for.

But we're now going into semantics - an endless cycle.

[streifenleopard]

Yeah but from a users point of view it is not searching, it's taking a snapshot of a qr code

[Aurelink]

I guess it depends from the point of view.

I was surprised not to find a QR code on Windows Mobile 10's search button. Even tho I may be only used it one/two times on 8.1