Microsoft has demoed what Windows 10 will look like on Windows Phones and tablets under 8in. Joe Belfiore demoed the operating system on a Lumia 1520 live on stage at its Windows 10 press conference today, showing how Windows 10 will work across multiple devices.
The Start screen is very similar to current Windows Phone, but swipe from the right and you'll find your recently installed apps at the top of the screen rather than completely hidden away. Likewise, the Action Centre that debuted in Windows Phone 8.1 is now synced to your PC, so you'll be able to dismiss notifications across all your devices in one action. Belfiore also said that Settings is now a universal app, so it looks exactly the same on phones as it does on your PC, ensuring that you'll be instantly familiar with where everything is.
Moving over to the Messaging app, Belfiore showed how you can now pull the keyboard over to the right side of the screen on large-screen devices so you can type out messages or "shape write" them using a continuous swipe single-handedly.
Windows 10 for phones will also have voice support, so you can speak your message aloud instead of typing it out by hand. Microsoft's enhanced its voice recognition software this time, though, as it can recognise contacts, hashtag as keywords and automatically puts punctuation at the end of a sentence. Belfiore also confirmed that Skype will be built into the Messaging app. The software wasn't ready for a live demo just yet, but it should allow you to communicate with the widest range of people as possible.
Windows 10 will also come with a range of built-in apps that you can use seamlessly across phones and your PC. The most important of these is Microsoft's Office suite, which includes Word, Excel and Powerpoint. When you open Word, for instance, you'll be presented with a Recent Documents list, but you'll need to enter "Reflow Mode" (which has been optimised for touch devices) to edit documents. This gives you the full Office ribbon in the form of an app bar, which fills the lower half of the screen in the shape of various tabs.
PowerPoint functions in a similar way. As well as the Recent Documents list (which roams across all your Windows devices so it's always up to date), the ribbon bar appears as an app bar. You'll also be able to project your Office content to other displays straight from your phone, and Windows 10 phones and tablets will support wireless printing as well, making it even easier to share your slides and documents than ever before.