Windows Phone (or Windows 10 Mobile) fans often face criticism for "lack of apps" in the platform, no matter whether or not the user themselves feel the need.
Sometimes, we are so busy
complaining about the stuff we miss or hate, or do both, that we fail to see the good side.
Here, I'm listing 20 things that a
Windows phone can do (or do more efficiently) but the most popular Android, on
the other side, simply cannot.
1) Reading Mode (Available on Edge in W10M and Internet Explorer in WP8.1)
What can be more peaceful than being able to read your favorite news blogs or web pages at the comfort and style of reading a book? No more distracting ads! No more social buttons, no more pop ups! All you have to do is, tap a button!
With Reading Mode enabled on the Microsoft's latest internet browser, you can have a clutter-free web browsing experience, be it on your Windows 10 PC, laptop or your phone. Reading Mode can also be configured to have a dark background, which is suitable for your eyes while reading at night.
Say goodbye to the apps that run endlessly in the background, consuming your phone's memory and ruining your phone's battery. On Windows Phone / Mobile, you can disable apps from running in the background permanently, just through the phone Settings.
The feature, apparently, is also available on some versions of Android. However, the apps automatically start running again on a phone reboot. And sometimes, they just don't have to follow the rules at all.
A popular Android app Greenify was released as an attempt to solve the issue but it came with another one. You get lesser battery backup while using Greenify because it kills every app that tries to re-open by itself every few minutes in the background.
Coming from the above scenario, this should really not be a surprise. Given the same hardware, Windows phone has better battery backup than Android.
HTC One M8 is available in both Android and Windows Phone version. ZDNet's Matthew Miller grabs the opportunity to play with both the devices with same number of apps installed. What he found out was really interesting. He observed that the Windows Phone version regularly showed 20% more battery than the Android version. He also pointed out that, this happened because Android had a lot more processes running in the background than the Windows Phone.
2) Permanently Disable Background Apps
Say goodbye to the apps that run endlessly in the background, consuming your phone's memory and ruining your phone's battery. On Windows Phone / Mobile, you can disable apps from running in the background permanently, just through the phone Settings.
The feature, apparently, is also available on some versions of Android. However, the apps automatically start running again on a phone reboot. And sometimes, they just don't have to follow the rules at all.
A popular Android app Greenify was released as an attempt to solve the issue but it came with another one. You get lesser battery backup while using Greenify because it kills every app that tries to re-open by itself every few minutes in the background.
3) Efficient Battery Management
Coming from the above scenario, this should really not be a surprise. Given the same hardware, Windows phone has better battery backup than Android.
HTC One M8 is available in both Android and Windows Phone version. ZDNet's Matthew Miller grabs the opportunity to play with both the devices with same number of apps installed. What he found out was really interesting. He observed that the Windows Phone version regularly showed 20% more battery than the Android version. He also pointed out that, this happened because Android had a lot more processes running in the background than the Windows Phone.
4) Do Incredible Things With Cortana
There's no trick here, but Cortana blows away Siri and Google Now easily. Her skills are not only acknowledged by her ability to chit-chat, but she's got the largest list of commands one can ever give to her in their entire life.
5) Universal Windows Platform And It's App Benefits
With Windows universal store, you can "Buy once, use everywhere". Once you buy an app or game on your phone, you don't need to buy it again for your Windows PC, laptop, tablet, Xbox or HoloLens. You can use the same app on up to 10 Windows devices. Not only are you getting the advantage of paying once, but the apps you purchase functions exactly the same way on all your devices. They also sync across the devices. It is made possible because of the same shared code the Windows apps are developed in.
6) UC Browser With Built In Video Downloader
You can directly download any YouTube video using the built-in feature of UC Browser for Windows Phone. On Android, you need an external add-on tool to achieve that functionality. While installing an add-on doesn't sound like a big deal, this might be a little questionable for those having low-end Android devices with limited RAM.
7) 99.9% Apps Movable To SD Card
On Windows phones, you can move almost all your apps to the SD card. Completely.
While most of the official Android versions doesn't allow moving apps to the SD cards at all, some of them make the cut by allowing the apps to be partially moved. That is, the app package files are moved, however, the app data still need to be installed in the phone memory for the apps to function properly. This ambiguity sometimes create a mess and confuse the users. Not to mention, the bigger part of the apps still remain in the internal phone storage.
On the other side, if you have a 128 GB microSD card on your Windows Phone, literally speaking, you can keep all the games from the Store on your device!
8) Use Your Phone, Forget The DSLR
When it comes to Photography, nothing can beat Nokia Lumia's PureView Carl Zeiss lens technology. While most Nokia Lumias (including my Lumia 930) already beats any Android phone easily, Lumia 1020 with it's 41 MP camera, still holds the crown for the greatest phone camera ever known to mankind in the history of smartphones.
9) Live Tiles!
Oh, how could I forget Live Tiles!? Live Tiles show all the latest news, texts, weather, email, messages, calendar appointments, and a lot more things, live on your Start screen!
You can also organize, customize and resize the tiles in whatever way you want.
10) Kids Corner
Do you have children? Then Kids Corner can save your phone from the unpredictable usage by your kids!
Even if you don’t have your own children, you might have nephews, nieces, cousins or siblings whom you may not want getting their hands into your Email, documents, photos or social media accounts.
With Kids Corner active, you can simply put a pass code for your account while they can just fiddle around your phone and play Ninja Fruit all day long without you worrying about your files!
Kids Corner allow you to select specific apps / games which can be accessed without needing a pass code.
11. WordFlow Keyboard
WordFlow does an amazing job when it comes to swiping or typing through your keyboard. While Android users are blessed with many good 3rd party keyboard choices like the Swiftkey or Fleksy, but Microsoft's own system-integrated keyboard, WordFlow still beats their swiping execution speed.
Gaurav Sharma made a Guiness World Record by swiping a 25-word challenging text message in 18.44 seconds using the Windows Phone's WordFlow keyboard.
12. Say NO To Anti-Viruses
13. Play Xbox Games
Windows Phone has a big lot for Xbox enabled games. You can play Xbox games on your phone and get Achievements, compete score with your friends (called Buddies) and much more. You never get bored of trying out new Xbox games as they are released.
14. Scale-able Screen (DPI settings)
If you have a phone with a big screen, you can easily tune your phone into tablet mode. This way, you get a PC-like experience with much less wasted space on the screen. Above screen shot illustrates the Settings app in tablet mode on my Lumia 930.
15. Contacts Hub
Contacts hub is a place on your phone where you can see all the updates from the people you know. From Facebook status updates of your friends to the latest tweets by the peple you follow, all in one place. You don't need to open ten different apps for that. Isn't that incredible?16. Windows Insider
Microsoft allows all it's phone users to get an early taste of the next Operating System update. For example, an user with Windows Phone 8.1 can try out Windows 10 Mobile on their phone without becoming a developer. This not only helps the users to try out builds from the future but they also help Microsoft build the software the way they want, through the Windows Feedback app.
17. Longer Software Updates Support
Three year old $50 phone, Nokia Lumia 520 (with 512 MB of RAM) is still getting the Windows 10 Mobile update. Tell me, how many three year old, low-end, $50 Android devices receive updates this long?
This is something Microsoft does same as Apple. They support their hardware for a much longer period than Google ever does.
18. Responsive UI
Windows Phone has always been appreciated for it's super fast navigation UI. Not only is it fast enough to help with your daily tasks, but it never lags or hangs, no matter how many apps you install and what you do on your phone.
A low-end Windows Phone with 512 MB of RAM performs much better than an Android with 1 GB of RAM. Thanks to the clutter-free and responsive UI to make it possible.
19. Reply To Toast Notifications
Got a message in the middle of doing something? No worries! Now make quick replies to messages or notifications without having the need to open the apps.
20. Continuum: The Future Is Here!
Last, but not the least. With Windows 10 on your phone, you can easily convert your phone into a full-blown PC with the help of a display and a wireless adapter.
What's your say on these features? Voice your opinion in the comments below!
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