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Windows Phone Weekly Digest: November 15, 2015

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There's a lot going on in the world of Windows Phone. So much, in fact, that it is sometimes tough to catch every important story.

Device rumors come and go. New apps join the Windows Phone Store, and your favorite app can get a big update with a new look or new features.

Therefore, every week we will compile a list of the Windows Phone news that you just shouldn't miss. Welcome to the "Windows Phone Weekly Digest."

Windows phone

Windows Phone

Microsoft's Gabriel Aul confirmed that we won't be seeing a new Windows 10 Mobile 'a few more days'.

Sources have indicated that AT&T is set to release the Lumia 950 on Friday, November 20. The date falls conveniently right before Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, but no official word has been given.

German phone maker Shift announced that it will be selling a Windows 10 Mobile phone with modular parts. The Shift5 +will have a swappable battery, display, internal memory, and "other important components."

Though specs will not be finalized until December, it's looking like the phone will sport a 5-inch IPS display on board, a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera. It will also pack either a Snapdragon quad or octo-core CPU, 2GB or more of RAM, and at least 32GB of on-board storage under the hood.

Pre-orders for the Shift5 + start in December for €399, but it's not expected to ship until Q3 2016.

Finally, it's looking like Microsoft's Project Astoria, the Android emulator that was supposed to help close the app gap on Windows phones, has been shelved. Reports are that "the Android app porting is not going as planned," leading Microsoft to put the project on hold, or possibly cancel it all together. This could potentially be a big blow to developers, hopeful Windows smartphone users, and Microsoft's smartphone plans alike.

Other notable items:

Apps

Apps

It was a pretty decent week for apps. DeviantArt, the social website artists can post their personal work, launched a universal app for Windows 10 PC and Mobile.

Cloud storage giant Box also put out a universal Windows 10 app. The company worked with Microsoft, leveraging their Universal Windows Platform to combine the code for the Windows 8.1 app with that of the Silverlight Windows Phone app.

Microsoft did some app work of its own. Their Windows 10 photo app can now show you where your pictures were snapped. It also lets you limit OneDrive folder indexing to the Pictures folder, rather than your entire drive.

Redmond also released a new version of GroupMe, designed specifically for Windows 10 smartphones.

The unofficial Google Maps app, gMaps scored a big update, adding driving mode and integration with Simple Latitude.

Facebook Beta picked up support for Continuum with its latest patch. Rumor has it that they are also working on a Snapchat-style messaging feature for Facebook Messenger.

And after a long stretch with any updates, Baconit for Reddit was overhauled as a universal Windows 10 app for PC and phone.

Other notable items:

Games

Games

In games news, Disney released a new fantasy role-playing game for Windows 10 and Windows Phone called Descendants.

Game Troopers was at it again with their latest game, Momonga Pinball Adventures. It's pinball like you haven't played before.

Age of Empires: Castle Siege got a whole lot less buggy with its latest patch.

And the popular platformer Pixel Slime, made famous on Nintendo Wii, is now a Windows 10 universal app.

Other notable items:

Be sure to weigh in on this week's news in the comments section. See you next week!

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