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Introducing the Windows Phone 8.1
App Development Platform
Lorenzo Barbieri
lorenzo.Barbieri@microsoft.com
@_geniodelmale
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8. Decrease HW cost floor (support 8x26, Qualcomm Reference Design)
Dual-SIM support
Apps to help you get more out of your data plan: DataSense 2.0, Wi-Fi Sense, Storage Sense, Battery Sense
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10. http://dev.windowsphone.com
http://appstudio.windowsphone.com
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Windows 8.1 provides developers with a shared platform that renders the right app experience for the right form-factor
Apps come to life on Windows
• Live tile improvements
• Action Center for smart notifications
• Background execution + triggers
• Bluetooth-LE support for wearables + beacons
• Internet Explorer 11 improvements
Designed once; engaging everywhere
• Converged developer platform
• Converged app model
• Shared app identities + entitlement
• Unified push services (via WNS)

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Windows Phone 7.5 Windows Phone 8.0
Convergence Begins with IE
• WP 7.5 shipped with IE9
• Same rendering engine as
Windows
• Same JavaScript engine as
Windows
Converged Core (NT kernel)
• Common kernel & file system
• Kernel mode driver framework
• Secure boot & storage
encryption (BitLocker)
• Core networking stack
Developer Platform
• Partial API convergence
(focus on sensors & IAP)
• Native Code (C++) and DirectX
• IE10
Converging the Dev Platform
• More skillset reuse
• More code reuse
• More seamless app experiences
Aligning the Stores
• Shared dev registration
• Shared entitlement
Common Core Platform
• Proximity & Location frameworks
• Security & identity
• Task scheduler

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The Windows Runtime (WinRT) is the
shared runtime and API space used by
store apps across the Windows platform
(phone and client)
Dramatic convergence in 8.1
• Goal is 100% convergence for dev scenarios
• In 8.0, we had ~30% API convergence
• With 8.1, we move well past 90%+ convergence

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Legend

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19. • One Visual Studio ‘Universal app’
project template for your app
• Shared dev and test tooling for both platforms
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21. Provides a common layout coordinate
system that extends along the x and y
axis into infinity, allowing you to scale
up
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10”
tablet
7” tablet
6”
5”
4.5”
Infinite virtual canvas
166 Logical DPI

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80% exact same XAML 20% custom
Common SignatureOptimized
DatePicker
TimePicker
CommandBar
AppBar
Button
CheckBox
RadioButton ProgressBar
Slider
ToggleSwitch
Hub
Pivot
ListView
GridView

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On Windows Phone 8.1 … and on Windows 8.1

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Task
TimeTrigger
PUSH
Notification
LocationTrigger
PushNotificationTrigger
MaintenanceTrigger
InternetAvailable NetworkStateChange
TimeZoneChange

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Windows Notification Service
(WNS)
• Shared push service for Windows +
Phone
• Improved queuing to limit lost
notifications due to intermittent
network connectivity
Tile templates + toasts
• Shared tile templates (more!)
• Periodic tile updates
• Toasts

27. Action Center
• Central location to surface
missed notifications
• Apps can intelligently manage
notifications
(silently add, update, and delete
notifications)
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28. Device B
WP 8.1 – PFN 12345
Roaming Local
Local
Cache
Temp
Device A
WP 8.1 App
Roaming Local
Local
Cache
Temp
Backup [Device A]

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32. Anna beats a level, with top
score!
The app asks her if she wants
to share this with her
friends? She says – “yes
please!”
Congratulations!
Shall we share this?
Share on:
Anna is playing her favorite
game. The level is almost
over, and Anna could break
her record. The application
starts recording the screen.
The application uploads the
MP4 file, which was
automatically transcoded to a
VGA resolution for quick
uploading, to a website for
sharing.

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36. Internet Explorer 11 brings more life to the mobile web via better HTML5 support
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Ability to code pinning behavior
• Specify high-resolution site icons
• Live tiles using notifications
Professional quality video
• Adaptive streaming
• Secure viewing
• Accessibility improvements
WebGL support
Web spec based on OpenGL ES 2.0, to enable use of low-level
3D graphics APIs on web sites and HTML-based apps
Rich user interactions
• Screen + device orientation APIs
• Pre-fetch and pre-render

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42. http://dev.windows.com http://dev.windowsphone.com
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43. Supported operating systems Windows 8.1 (x86 or x64)
Hardware
4 GB of free disk space
1.5 GB of RAM (recommended)
64-bit (x64) motherboard
To use the Windows Phone Emulators
Windows 8.1 Pro or higher (for Hyper-V)
and Second Level Address Translation
(SLAT)
Min 4GB RAM

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Approach Pros & Cons
Keep using Silverlight 7.x/8
(Windows Phone 8 platform)
Pros
 Will run on Windows Phone 8.1 (app compatibility), still runs
on earlier Windows Phone devices
Cons
 Will not take advantage of new platform capabilities
 Will not enable targeting of Windows
Use Silverlight 8.1
(Move Silverlight app into new execution
stack and app package)
Pros
 Enables existing Silverlight apps to take advantage of nearly all
new APIs and platform capabilities
Cons
 Will not enable targeting of Windows
 Will not run on Windows Phone 8 devices
Use Windows XAML platform
Pros
 Enables targeting of Windows and Windows Phone
 Takes full advantage of new APIs and platform capabilities
 Better performance & reduced memory use
Cons  Will not run on Windows Phone 8 devices

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50. Primary features:
Existing Windows Phone 8 apps run flawlessly
Windows Runtime XAML platform and HTML/WinJS support brings convergence with Windows 8.1,
and is faster and uses less memory than Silverlight
The core of an app can be built once for Windows and Windows Phone; you can share elements of
UI, though it’s best to tailor the user experience for each platform
Convergence is not just in the developer platform: it spans tools, store, commerce
Developer investment in the existing Silverlight platform is protected: Existing Silverlight apps can
be upgraded to access new Windows Phone 8.1 platform capabilities
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Domande?
Lorenzo Barbieri
lorenzo.Barbieri@microsoft.com
@_geniodelmale
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