Long awaited Lock screen app for Windows Phone 8.1 almost ready for public beta

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By Daniel Rubino
last updated

During the Microsoft Build 2014 conference in May, one of the hidden features of Windows Phone 8.1 announced is the Lock screen app, made in partnership with developer Rudy Huyn. The secret project was kept at the highest levels as many on the Windows Phone team were even unaware of its existence. The question though for many is When can we have it?

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore took to Twitter today to alleviate concerns. The Lock screen app (yes, it is a separate download, not built into the OS) is evidently nearing completion, at least far enough along to earn beta status.

From Belfiore's Tweet:

"Lockscreen app- sorry for being quiet. The beta (English, 1gb+) is ALMOST here, perhaps a week. We hit a few snags & added a feature."

A few things to note in that Tweet is that evidently the app is only for English devices with 1 GB or more RAM. Support for 512 MB device is on the roadmap though Belfiore commented back in June that making app fast and staying in memory, was their top priority.

The good news though is the app is almost ready for those with Windows Phone 8.1 to try out. We will, of course, keep you posted on any further developments.

Source: @JoeBelfiore

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.