Microsoft releases Windows Phone 8.1 Update for developers

Microsoft has released Windows Phone 8.1 Update for developers. Any user with the Preview for Developers app can download the update from Monday afternoon. After the update, users can create folders on the home screen and IE should display websites better.

The update won’t come to mainstream users until the next few months, but Microsoft always makes updates available to developers right away through the Preview For Developers program. Payment is not required for that, which basically means that every user can get the updates quickly.

The update includes the ability to create folders on the home screen, with each folder displaying the tiles of the apps contained in that folder. As a result, the system of notifications via live tiles remains intact, even if the app is in a folder.

In addition, Microsoft has optimized the mobile version of Internet Explorer, making use of a different user agent: it now logs into websites like both Windows Phone 8.1 and Android 4.0 and states that the browser is “like iPhone OS 7_0_3”. As a result, more websites know that it is a mobile browser and therefore serve a better mobile version.

At the moment, Microsoft is also in the process of offering the Nokia Cyan update with Windows Phone 8.1 to regular users. Unlike the Preview for Developers, this is done per device. This update will follow later for all Windows Phone 8 devices.