Introducing the Windows Phone 8.1 App Development Platform

1. Mariano Sánchez – Software Architect
marianos@lagash.com
@marianosz

6. 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

8. http://dev.windowsphone.com
http://appstudio.windowsphone.com

11. Windows 8.1 provides developers with a shared platform that renders the right app experience for the right form-factor
Designed once; engaging everywhere
• Converged developer platform
• Converged app model
• Shared app identities + entitlement
• Unified push services (via WNS)
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

12. Windows Phone 7.5 Windows Phone 8.0 Windows Phone 8.1
Convergence Begins with IE
• WP 7.5 shipped with IE9
• Same IE codebase as
Windows
• Same JavaScript engine as
Windows
Converged Core OS
• Common NT kernel, file
system and core
networking
• Kernel mode driver f/work
• Secure boot & BitLocker
Developer Platform
• Partial API convergence
(focus on sensors & IAP)
• Native Code (C++) and
DirectX
• IE10
Converged 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

13. 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

14. | |
Legend

15. Gaming HTML XAML

17. • One Visual Studio ‘Universal app’
project template for your app
• Shared dev and test tooling for both platforms

19. what’s it really mean?
80% exact same XAML 20% custom
Common SignatureOptimized
DatePicker
TimePicker
CommandBar
AppBar
Button
CheckBox
RadioButton ProgressBar
Slider
ToggleSwitch
Hub
Pivot
ListView
GridView

20. On Windows Phone 8.1 … and on Windows 8.1

22. Task
TimeTrigger
PUSH
Notification
LocationTrigger
PushNotificationTrigger
MaintenanceTrigger
InternetAvailable NetworkStateChange
TimeZoneChange

23. 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

24.  Central location to surface
missed notifications
 Apps can intelligently manage
notifications
(silently add, update, and delete
notifications)
27

25. • Local
• Roaming
• Temp
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]

28. Video Editing
(Phone only – not available on Windows 8.1)
Background Audio
& Streaming Media
MediaFoundation Access

32. Internet Explorer 11 brings more life to the mobile web via better HTML5 support
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

38. http://dev.windows.com http://dev.windowsphone.com

39. 44
New!
No Credit card required to sign up
Paypal supported

40. 45

41. Windows Phone History
WP 7.0
Silverlight
WP 7.5
Silverlight
WP 8.0
Silverlight
WP 8.1
Silverlight
WP 8.1
WinRT

42. 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 RT 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

43. 48

45. 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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Now is the time to build for Windows and Windows Phone!

47. Muchas Gracias
Mariano Sánchez – Software Architect
marianos@laash.com
@marianosz