Windows Phone Design team on 2015 OS redesign rumor: LOL

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Earlier this week, a rumor was started by a certain “journalist” who shall remain unnamed stating that the Windows Phone team was looking to “start over” in 2015, including a re-write of the OS and that they were even considering toying with the Modern look of the UI.

A few of you tipped us on it, asking us to cover the news but it’s a safe bet that if we don’t re-report something, it’s because we think it’s garbage. Indeed, this “journalist” has been more wrong than right in his ambitious predictions about Microsoft, Nokia and Windows Phone in the past, but other tech sites are addicted to his bold headlines.

Now, the Windows Phone Design team, responsible for the UI and "theory" behind Windows Phone, has evidently had enough, as they have publicly rebuked the rumor via their Twitter account.

In a posting, just over an hour ago, the team humorously wrote the following:

 "Scrapping everything and starting over"? Hahaha.

In a later Tweet, in response to someone jokingly accusing the team of being drunk, they retorted with “nah. The guy who started that rumor is though” and “don't believe everything you read”.

Indeed, that is very sage advice. Just because something appears on the internet folks, doesn’t mean there’s any truth to it.  And if Windows Phone Central is seemingly ignoring a story, it’s probably because we don’t think it’s worth its salt and we have good reason to not run it. That means it doesn’t even register on our “rumor meter”.  Such is the case here but it is worth reporting when the team behind our Windows Phone design squashes such a fabrication.

The fact is, we have no idea what Windows Phone will be like in 2015 and it seems premature to be talking about any overhauls or system-wide changes. We do know that the Windows team is working more closely with the Windows Phone one (for better and worse, friction can happen) but what this results in as a final product, is way too early to say.

Source: @WPDesign Team; Thanks, willysocks2222, for the tip!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, 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 for some reason, watches. 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.

108 Comments
  • No redesign needed, just a few things here and there.
  • Custom notifications and Windows Phone is Perfect for me. I don't need a notification center personally and one small thing is different lock password for Kids Corner. That's it for me.
  • Not for you for Windows phone to succeed we need notification center and another swipe gesture in the OS
  • Custom notifications and some tweaking of IE. And chess.com ... Sigh.
  • This has always bothered me with my Lumia 822. I don't understand the concept of a lock password on Kids Corner at all. Isn't the point of KC to be a "safe corner" for kids/others, so you don't have to give them your lock password?  
  • the lock password is there because you are supposed to unlock the KC for your kids so that it's you who decides when the kids can have access to KC. I guess there could be a different option though for people who don't mind their kids playing with their phone anytime they want (now do you see the point?)
  • It would be better if you could a) set two different passwords b) they still can access your pictures via the customise tile so that needs working on.
  • The only thin I can think of is the "other storage" problem, and maybe not all video formats supported. Just a bit of fine tuning, and it would be perfect.
  • "No redesign needed" - except for the case of Xbox Music. Where an entire strategy/platform rethink and U-turn is required.
  • You got that one right!
  • It could use some tweaking to make downloading songs that are in your library easier and to improve the podcast service, but I think that the UI is absolutely great compared to Google Play Music or to Spotify.
  • I agree with jdawg, the UI is basically the same as Zune. It just needs to work, not be overhauled.
  • Almost, but not quite. The double wide tile annoys me when it could be a square tile like in Zune to display history. And history is bugged out after you play any youtube video or back out from whatsapp: you can't resume.
    They could work on it by making the background black again, respecting your accent colour, having a good syncing platform, and adding playlist creation support.
  • Right❕.. In not very fond of XBM.. Especially on W8❕
  • Their response is gold. 
  • +xbox live Gold
  • +$34 12 Month Subscription from Amazon
  • Diamond.
  • Diamond Pickaxe.
  • Fortune III Unbreaking III Diamond Pickaxe.
  • Unobtainium
  • Lol
  • +822
  • Yes, go ahead and believe everything on the Internet, like I'm a French model!
  • Bonjour...
  • Or more correctly, "Uh, bonjour ..."
  • Laissez les bon temps rouler :)
  • Je voudrais une limonade?
    Madamoiselle, vous voudrais le moi?
  • 看不懂法语…
  • omellete du fromage
  • +1 for childhood reference!
  • (Dexter? lol)
  • Dexter's Laboratory is the correct answer, but we would have accepted Steve Martin as well.
  • je sui womme mon fonnet?
  • For those who haven't seen it, my comment was referring to this commercial:
    Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOzAgpxg5wE
  • I bet they're talking about the guy from Pocketnow.
  • I don't think so, Taylor in his editorial does not talk about any rumor or anything. He's just saying that WP could use a little facelift. Maybe were you mentionning an article I missed ?
  • The 'guy' in question is Eldar Murtazin from Mobile Review... he's known for being a complete crackpot. Here's his original claim from earlier this week -
     
    http://technology.xin.msn.com/mobile-and-gadgets/microsoft-starts-from-scratch-for-windows-phone-9-report-1
  • "according to the usually very well informed Russian journalist Eldar Murtazin"
    LOL. Thanks for the info btw, I'll remember his name =P
     
  • He used to be well informed, until he burned his contacts and they deserted him. Now he just makes wild accusations and has lost all his credibility. He just spews out sensationalist crap in the hope that occasionally he'll turn out to be correct.
  • I had forgotten about this putz! He's definitely full of ..it.
  • Ok, thanks for that. I should however, stop going to Pocketnow because they do have someone bashing WP8 on a daily basis.
  • WPC is not reporting on it by reporting how they are not reporting on it.
  • Well, we did it because it's not worth running the original story, but it is worth running the rejection of that story, because it was crap. And the fact is, that fabrication went out to a lot of tech sites, so we'd rather be on the record with a story negating it.
  • That's a perfect rebuttal right there.
  • So of course they wont start completely over but, Daniel what do you think the chances are for a start screen redesign to get WP up to par with w8 in terms of customization and what not ?
  • That's not a redesign, more of a tweak.
  • This is one of those "signature" articles for Daniel.
  • Agreed no need to redesign, just need tweaks. Would like to see things move to more parity of win8, which we are seeing the other way with 8.1 start screen changes.
  • I rather have them redesign Windows RT or eliminating RT for a tablet version of Windows Phone.
  • I think RT would be just fine on smaller 7" or 8" tablets as it would be used mainly for consumption.   I don't think I'd really use the desktop very much on a tablet that small.  However, I think Modern office apps like OneNote would be awesome on it though.
  • RT + WP = Modern Windows 2013
  • The design is a major positive of Windows Phone. It's beautiful. IMO, the design is the one thing they don't need to work on. They need to work on adding and integrating functionality and features into the beautiful design.
  • ^this
  • ^ THIS.
  • I love it when something gets up Daniel's nose! And I thought I had a mean streak :-)
  • A re-design wouldn't be all that bad. I'd actually like to see some option to revert to classic icon mode, a la Desktop mode in Windows 8. Not everyone is on Team Live Tile, and icons seem to sit well with the Android and iOS crowd (disclaimer: I like all three, so don't flame kthxbye).
  • Unpin all of your apps on the Start screen, and the app list is your home screen.
  • LOLz. :D
  • This is true, the Start screen is disabled when there are no tiles on it.
  • I did that - cleaned the whole start screen - AND IT'S NOT DISABLED !!!
    Nik Rolls - you're so much going to pay for your joke !!
     
  • Hmm, I have to admit I haven't tried it on WP8 but it used to work on WP7 ...
  • Yea they dont need to overhaul it just yet, but do go the way of Apple or Blackberry and let it get too long in the tooth.
  • I've been sayiing this for a while, people are really blindly doubting MS and their mobile venture. This company hasn't been around for 30 years generating billions upon billions of dollars by accident. They know how to succeed.
     
    And with that, those that obviously hate MS, well whatever your opinion (and sometimes  your wishes) are just that... YOUR'S. Nobody can take that from you. But for the love of everything Holy, just STFU and keep it to yourself. Don't splash it on the walls hoping to incite enough emotion to bring your wishes to fruition.
    Some of these tech sites, and "writers" are all about that. They can't hide their prejudices, and disdain for WP and MS in general. I can't believe how many WP "reviews" I have seen or read by folks who do it with a snide smirk of sorts... or a constant doubt about WP, all while showing that they really didn't even use the device much more than turning it on and going to their own website.
    I mean, how can something be called a "test" of any WP device when it's main features go unmentioned?
     
    Alright, I'm rambling now.
  • Keep calm and play Halo. Spartanassault.
  • Keep calm I'm using Windows 8
  • LOL
    I'm still waiting on Microsoft to fall because of Vista... remember that? Everyone acted like Macs or something were suddenly going to "take the crown" and Microsoft would never survive... Oh the haters, they love to hate.
  • Murtazin was the one who released this rumour. A man with no credibility whatsoever and still a lot of sites believed his bulls*it. You didn't, that's why WPCentral rocks! WP8 is already based on the latest Windows NT kernel also used by desktop Windows 8. Scrapping it and starting all over would be a total nonsense.
  • If Microsoft buy Nokia, What happen to Windows Phone design?
     
    I have try to answer :
     
    http://www.windowsphone.com/it-it/store/app/nokia-swipe/f6729bb8-9c5f-41...
     
    On the hardware front, Windows' button will have a small sliding structure like in the Nokia 5610.
  • CLassic!
  • Best Short Answer i ever seen :)
  • Sounds far fetched to me
    Microsoft put many many hours into this version. "metro". Nothing wrong with it. Just need to be a little quickly with the improvements from here on out. Gooday mate. . .
  • If there was a redesign in 2015 I would drop WP like a bad habit and move on to something other than Android/iOS. But yeah, awesome response. :)
  • i would love to be able to swipe from the right to reveal a WP Charm bar with the Windows Icon, Search and Back and swipe from the left to cycle between apps and swipe from the top to close apps (but only swipe to about 50% of screen to close appp thou)
     
    Those would be amazing W8 features added to WP8
  • Well, if the MS team has rebukes it, it must be true - right?
  • What would they scrap? Live tiles? Yay, lets all start using static icons like everyone else, nahh
  • Microsoft "had" to make the changes that they did with Windows Phone 8 to ensure the possibility of a longer lifespan of the operating system. Anyone with a mind can see that. Going in the direction that they did, they've made the platform stronger and opened up a lot of possibilities to it.
    There's a chance that MS may change how the Start screen looks and functions right now, but with what I'm sure would be further improvements to it and it being fully functional with the hardware right now. I suspect that some features might come in later versions of the OS that may not work on low-end hardware - who knows! the Lumia 920 might become a low-end device by 2015! But then again, who could argue with that? Android's new releases tend to leave older devices in the lurch as well as older iPhone models suffering from performance issues and missing features as iOS progresses further... so why is Windows Phone an exception there?
    If you ask me "Eldar Murtazin" (the guy who started the rumor) is simply trying to get attention by making negative statements about stuff that he supposedly has a personal vendetta against... Or more likely, he was simply drunk when he wrote that ;)
    There's a tech blog/site that I used to read regularly not long ago but left for the very same reasons. Just to make headlines, they started posting some of the most ridiculous articles. Call me a fool, but I'd prefer an article with substance and proper information over rants and raves any day of the week. Just Crazy!!
    And you can imagine why i love Mobile Nations so much then... ;)
  • Windows Phone started over with WinPho7 and it kinda started over with WinPho8 since they changed kernel and are putting more WinRT stuff on it, merging more and more Windows with Windows Phone OS.
    so yeah, i dont think Windows Phone will start over once again. why would they? if they wanted a new UI, they could just change it, just like they change UI from WinXP to Win8 and they didnt have to "start over"
    so in the end yeah I believe WinPho9 OS will be compatible with current winpho 8. and its nice to see Windows Phone team talking about rumors and telling us they are not true.
     
  • *rumour, someone must have been drunk...
  • Baseless off the wonker rumor = Eldar Murtazin. That's not a trick question!!
  • A portion of the article talked about employees being able to bring their own devices to work. This is what windows 8/phone opens the door up to with the having the same core and office integration natively built into the devices. Hybrids further backs this up by allowing consumers to purchase a single device that has dual function yet remain HIP, like the HP Envy X2; same size as the Standard iPad, yet can be docked, used seamlessly in the corporate network infrastructure without major adaptations having to take place. People need to open their eyes and see this was MS's plan all along. Everyone that I've personally trained and supplied a windows phone/windows 8 desktop to in my organization loved it and has stated they love windows phone and didn't even know about it. 89 cell phones, 200+ desktop users, using a mixture of devices including the following: NL822/920/HTC8X; Dell Optiplex 9010AIO w/24" touch screen Win7 is great, but my support tickets are non existent regarding OS related issues since making the switch. Its all about explaining the concept of why win 8 & win phone 8 were designed along with proper training. The ages in our organization is 18-64 and all have learned. Not one question or grumbling about, "I need, want, or wish the start button was back"; the only place I hear that on is sites like CNET (#1), Engadget & The Verge (tied for #2).....on a side note, very disappointed in Tom Warren since he moved there, but respect that he has to provide for his family. I believe the verge has influence on basically how he writes.........winrumors was a great site and Tom was the best. Wish he was employees by WPC, then we would see the old TW.
  • Yes yes yes I wish Tom warren was on the WP central team.
  • While I agree with the WP team's "shut up and ship" approach, I have to admit I miss hearing from them as much as we used to. Thank goodness for Joe B's tweets and this messsge because at least we know they're still there!
     
  • Best definition of Eldar Murtazin. This "journalist" had a serious fight with Nokia (which both parties admitted but I don't think I can find a source for that, it was
    about leaking information I guess) since then, he's just trying to say the most idiotic thing he can say about Nokia whenever he gets the chance.
  • But I thought everything on the internet is true. Lol
  • Quite right. Thought the original post was ridiculous. Love the design team's response.
  • Eldar us a fool. Shame folks still give him any air time.
  • Another reason why WMPoweruser is pure garbage. Blindly throwing darts at a dartboard hoping to hit the bullseye.
  • Eldar always tries to have something negative to say about WP. Best not to pay attention to him
  • Friction is good.  Good Looking Kids come from lots of friction.  Windows 8 Team + Windows Phone 8 Team = Great Looking progeny
  • Awesome...
  • Totally off topic..
    what calendar app is that? Opinion versus the first party app?
  • Simple Calendar with the (I think) Frodo live tile. There's a review around here somewhere...  I use it, and it's fine. Can't edit appointments without going in to the default calendar app,
  • The crazy part of the rumor is it conflates something Microsoft has talked openly about with an insane streak of hyperbole.
     
     
    Microsoft has stated that WP8's UI and Windows 8's Modern UI would eventually merge, with the two UIs acting more like each other and behaving appropriately based on whether it is running on the phone or a tablet/desktop.
     
    So the 'mergining' of the frameworks and the 'mergining' of the UIs WILL happen in the next couple of years and is known and expected.
     
    However, the rumor took this to mean that the existing work would be broken without a path forward for Apps and that the ENTIRE OS from the NT kernel up would be redesigned. 
     
    Which is flipping crazy and shows a complete lack of understanding of the technologies.  Microsoft has no reason to change from NT, as they have demonstrated it is highly portable and highly extensible, and is still doing things that no other OS technology can (i.e. kernel level GPU scheduler).  With NT the same code base is powering phones that is powering desktops and servers. It is also doing it faster than other techologies, as nobody can argue that WP8 is slow or laggy even on lower end hardware, and the same argument cannot be said aobut iOS or even quad core Android phones. 
      WP8 is fast and fluid if nothing else, and this is because of NT, as it is even more responsive than WP7 which was already impressive.  
  • Notification center and support for apps like kik to update their 1 year old app and some tweaks to certain things. Oh and the other storage problem solved and bam a perfect OS
  • What calendar app is that in the picture?
  • Simple Calendar. 
  • Is it WMPoweruser he tends to report on alot of false news.
  • Let's be honest. The majority of tech reporters are in love with Apple. Microsoft coming up with such a revolutionary UI is eating them alive. They wish Microsoft new phone OS dies. Look at Android and the up coming iOS 7. Pure rip of Metro. Give them hell MS,Nokia. ...WPCentral.
  • Interesting that a so "silent" team felt compelled to deny these rumors.....
  • Dan is hilarious as always love his articles
  • Go home Eldar, you're drunk.
  • Design change is not needed, eventually people will get sick of the icons and be enticed by something different.  I have people always looking at my phone and wondering what it is and what the OS is.
     
    Definitely some more functionality would be nice though.  If they took gestures from Win8 and added into WP, it would be awesome (swipe from left for fast multitasking, swipe from right for charms, swipe from up for notification center)
     
    I would also like to see actual manipulation of live tiles.  Like for instance, have Soundhound completely work without even opening the app, just touch a smaller button on the tile to have it start listening and then display the info on the tile.  That's just one example, I'm sure developers could do so much with functionality like that.
     
    And Voice Assistance definitely could use a little help.  Something conversational like this research video from a couple years ago.... still waiting!   (won't let me post link, search Microsoft Tellme on youtube)
     
    I'd also like to see a unified store between Windows and Windows Phone(and maybe even Xbox) with apps that will run on both(but optimized for that platform,) and bundle deals for buying on more than one platform.  I think that could definitely entice people that like value and who doesn't like value?!
     
    Of course they also need some features that are really going to turn heads, even if it's gimmicky stuff like the Galaxy's look at the screen and play the video thing.  They need things that can be shown on ads that will get people interested.
     
    They are heading in the right direction but it's just taking awhile, I wish MS would just throw bundles of money at their engineers(and hire MORE) and app developers to get all this shit right now... like... right now, right now.  
  • Some of the stuff you mention has been expressed as goals for WP already.
  • it's better to wait rather posting about whats next  thats the WPteams job. they are the programmers and im excited for next yr major update for WP OS! bring it on guys! kudos to all windows phone team and to all the app developers.
  • I hope they will give the ability to upgrade to Windows Phone 9 when it comes out for free or for a small fee. Easy OS updates can be a selling point against Android, and from 7 -> 8 it was just not possible because of the new kernel, but they got WP 7.8
  • If instead of thinking about new features and new things they would consider making what we have (that is a pretty good looking OS...) bug free and more responsive we will have more and more people adopting it. Every thing on WP8 works ok but it´s not great. Lets make it great and build on that... that´s my idea...
    I came from iOS and very breafly from Android and i´m afraid since i have my Nokia 920 i cant count on notifications anymore and i miss messages. this really annoys me because i thought this was the OS build for connectivity.. live info on the live tiles (i would call them bearly alive tiles...) and so on... So great idea... poor execution.... for now... i have fate that they will get better but i can´t have messages notification coming in 5/10min after they were sent... i can´t have a FB chat that updates here and there and it´s not live at all times...email and text are great (thanks... those are great anywhere.... my first sony erickson had already those two thing sorted.... but the rest of the notifications are rubbish. Who say "I´m happy with the notifications" is a fun boy or doesn´t really use the phone for work. When you don´t get a on screen notification or a sound notification on a what´sapp message and it was and important one belive me you get upset.  iOS is always the same and nothing much is being happening for the past few years ( iknow iOS7 is out now...) but people love it because it never let you down. It´s simple but it  works well. That should be the target for MS. Make this thing "perfect" and than build on that... don´t keep adding things that works 95% of the times. You are expecting things to work so you will only remember that 5% that went wrong. The 95% that went right is just how is suppose to be... nothing more.
  • I would like they to reduce the huge words on the top of the screen. And the words shouldn be hided behind the screen unless the screen scrolls right or left.