Bank of America to end support for its Windows Phone app in early March [update: Windows 8.1 too]

Update: According to its store listing, it looks like Bank of America will be dropping its Windows 8.1 app in March as well (thanks, Brent, for the tip).

Original story: Yet another major US bank is ending its support for the Windows Phone platform. This time it's Bank of America, which has posted a note on its app's store page that it will stop supporting Microsoft's mobile OS sometime in early March.

The post did not offer a specific reason for this decision. It only stated, "We're sorry for the inconvenience." It also recommends that Windows Phone users access Bank of America's website from now on. The app was first launched for the Windows Phone operating system in May 2011. Bank of America also has a Windows 8.1 app in the Windows Store, but so far there's no indication they plan to remove support for that app.

As we reported earlier this month, the Chase Mobile app for Windows Phone has been removed from the store, and will stop working completely on March 22.

Bank of America did update their iPhone app just yesterday, but they are obviously not discontinuing support for that platform. In other words, this is not a new mobile strategy for the massive bank but rather a clear rejection of the Windows Phone platform due to low market share.

Bank of America released their Windows Phone app way back in 2011. For them to end their support now is shocking.

• Download Bank of America from the Windows Phone Store

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Bill Gates is helping Microsoft create 'Personal Agent', thinks HoloLens is 'amazing'

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wrote today that the company's recently revealed Microsoft HoloLens hardware is "pretty amazing" and "the start of virtual reality." He also revealed, as part of a Reddit AMA session, he is working with Microsoft on a project called Personal Agent.

Today was Gates' third such Reddit AMA session and while most of his responses were based around his annual letter from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he did answer a few Microsoft-based questions. One person asked him what he thought of the HoloLens device that was shown last week as part of Microsoft's Windows 10 event. Gates replied:

"The Hololens is pretty amazing. Microsoft has put a lot into the chips and the software. It is the start of virtual reality. Making the device so you don't get dizzy or nauseous is really hard - the speed of the alignment has to be super super fast. It will take a few years of software applications being built to realize the full promise of this."

Another person mentioned that 2015 is the 30th anniversary of the first version of Windows and asked Gates what he thought the next 30 years would be like in terms of technology and personal computing. Gates wrote:

"There will be more progress in the next 30 years than ever. Even in the next 10 problems like vision and speech understanding and translation will be very good. Mechanical robot tasks like picking fruit or moving a hospital patient will be solved. Once computers/robots get to a level of capability where seeing and moving is easy for them then they will be used very extensively."

"One project I am working on with Microsoft is the Personal Agent which will remember everything and help you go back and find things and help you pick what things to pay attention to. The idea that you have to find applications and pick them and they each are trying to tell you what is new is just not the efficient model - the agent will help solve this. It will work across all your devices.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central 

FLAC support will also come to Windows 10 for phones

While we already knew that Windows 10 would be bringing native access to lossless audio in the form of FLAC support, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore took to Twitter today to confirm that support for FLAC files will come to Windows Phones as well.

Belfiore says:

"Yes, FLAC support will be on phones/small tablets... won't be in the first insider build, though, will be a few months later.."

The addition of native FLAC support in Windows 10 for both desktops and phones is great news for audiophiles who have historically had to rely on outside codecs or programs, such as VLC, to play the files on their machines.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Xbox Music for Windows Phone picks up substantial bug fixing update for January

Microsoft today pushed out an update for Xbox Music on Windows Phone 8.1. The update is the first for 2015 and the first since the update last December.

Although no new features were introduced, the 2.6.656.0 update does address numerous user complaints and issues with the app. The changelog itself is quite substantial, and we will post it in its entirety.

Xbox Music for Windows Phone 8.1 (2.6.656.0): Fixes and improvements

• Three of the top unexpected app exits (e.g. at launch)
• Downloading tracks sometimes resulted in an error message
• Issue that caused background image to flicker on shuffle setting toggle
• Playback errors on specific content
• Unreliability in delete action
• Inaccurate group headers (a, b, c. etc.)
• Issue that prevented all fans across the globe from being able to sync purchases and playlists consistently – the experience in these countries should be improved:
  • AR / Argentina
  • BR / Brazil
  • DK / Denmark
  • FI / Finland
  • MX / Mexico
  • NO / Norway
  • SE / Sweden

The update is very new to the Store, so if you do not see an update just yet, just keep checking as the update is surely to come to your device in the next few hours.

Additionally, some people have noted that a User Voice request has had a status change to 'Started'. The request is in regards to storing and playing back music on OneDrive for playback. This change is in reference to the announcement last week in Redmond by Microsoft about such a feature, which is coming to Windows 10 in the coming weeks and months.

• Download Xbox Music for Windows Phone 8.1

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Surface pulls in over one billion in revenue for Microsoft as sales increase by 24%

Microsoft is releasing their Q2 Fiscal Year 2015 results, and the numbers are quite good, despite some ominous decreases in revenue (due to sales or acquisitions).

The Surface line has officially crossed the billion dollar mark for revenue demonstrating a 24% growth from the previous quarter. In other words, the big holiday season looks to have been successful in pushing theSurface Pro 3, which drove the growth, into more hands than ever.

The Surface line of tablets that can replace a PC has been criticized since its inception as being a money-losing venture. However, Microsoft looks to be finally making some headway with the Surface Pro 3, which has been well received by critics and increasingly consumers.

The increase in revenue to $1.1 billion in an increase from last quarter's $908 million. Although the increase is not massive, it does show that the Surface still has some legs.

Now that Microsoft is pulling in over a billion in revenue (not profit, mind you), it may be harder for the voices to proclaim that the Surface is a failure. Alternatively, had Microsoft seen stable sales or even a decrease, the story would be very different.

Image & News Courtesy : Windows Central

Microsoft reports FY15 Q2 results, generated $26.5 billion in revenue

Microsoft has reported its earnings for its second fiscal quarter of 2015 ending on December 31. Overall, the company brought in a total of $26.5 billion in revenue. That's compared to $24.5 billion in revenue from the same period a year ago.

Windows Phone rev is down but Lumia sales top 10 million for the holiday

Microsoft's FY2015 numbers for Q2 are just going up, and the numbers for Windows Phones are a bit complicated.

Revenue itself for Windows Phone is down a massive 61% from the last quarter. However, before we declare everything a failure for Microsoft, they explain away that number from the loss of $650 million from Nokia. The agreement had Nokia paying Microsoft per quarter, but that venture has since terminated. In other words, since Microsoft took over the Nokia mobile division, it can no longer collect that lump sum of money since they are now their own customer.

Interestingly, Lumia phone sales are up, both for year-over-year and sequentially from last quarter.

Microsoft sold 10.5 million Lumias driven "primarily by sales of affordable smartphones". By comparison, Microsoft sold 9.3 million Lumias last quarter, gaining 1.2 million more in sales over the holiday season.

Microsoft's numbers are not impressive when compared to Google or Apple. However considering the gap between Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, and the lack of a new flagship Lumia this holiday these numbers suggest that Windows Phone is not yet entirely dead. Indeed, Q2 FY 2015 could be understood as one of the worst case scenarios for Microsoft and yet they managed to forge ahead.

Assuming Microsoft can hold onto to these numbers until the release of Windows 10 and new flagship hardware, Windows Phone is still in the race.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

8-inch and larger Windows 10 tablets only will have the desktop [updated]

Update: Belfiore took to Twitter once again to clarify that existing 7-inch devices will still be able to keep the desktop and take advantage of Continuum (thanks to everyone who tipped us on this).

Even after the recent Windows 10 event and the quantity of new information we received, there are still questions to be asked. Microsoft's Joe Belfiore has clarified in a Twitter conversation which devices will see the desktop with Windows 10.

"@marypcbuk @jackschofield @ExNokian @sbisson @dinabass 8" & up = "desktop" w/ win32 apps. < 8" = phones, phablets, sm tablets. No dsktp."

A little clarity, certainly. So it looks like there will be plenty of tablets able to act as a mini-desktop machine. While we weren't exactly expecting phones to have it, it clears up this particular question concerning the 7-inch tablet form factor.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Here's how to enable the Spartan Edge rendering engine for IE11 in Windows 10

When it comes to web browsers, Windows 10 gets a little complicated. Internet Explorer 11 is the default browser for now, but later Spartan takes over as it has the new Edge rendering engine (but it can fall back to IE11 for legacy sites).

The Preview 9926 build has Internet Explorer 11 for the browser, however it does have some bits of the new Spartan one coming later this year. Specifically, you can enable the new rendering engine in 

IE11, the same one that is found in Spartan.

Enable Experimental Web Platform Features

1. Open IE11
2. Type about:flags in the address bar
3. Set 'Experimental Web Platform Features' to enabled
4. Restart browser

According to AnandTech, who outlined how to enable this feature, a small number of testers already have this enabled by default. For the rest of you, you can force it to work all the time. However, keep in mind this is literally why it says experimental. As such, you are getting the new rendering engine (that can be fast) but you may also experience some other performance issues.

If you want to live on the edge, try enabling this feature to see the performance difference. Worse comes to worse you can set it back to Automatic or even Disabled, in which case you just use the old IE11 rendering engine.

Additionally, you can also enable the 'Set Custom User-Agent String' function, which may also help circumvent old IE-only content.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Spartan browser looks to crush old Internet Explorer 11 in benchmarks

Windows 10 is shaping up to be a big OS shift for many reasons, including the addition of a new web browser codenamed Spartan. Spartan is still very experimental and as such, it is not included in the current Preview for Windows 10. However, bits of the rendering engine can be engaged in the older Internet Explorer 11.

AnandTech forced the new Edge document mode in IE11 through a simple trick using about:flags. They then compared the new rendering engine to legacy IE11, Chrome 40, and Firefox 35. The results are very impressive so far, demonstrating that even in these early stages, what powers Spartan could be quite powerful.

AnandTech says the following about the changes so far:

"The performance increase of the new Javascript engine is massive, and brings Internet Explorer basically up to par with Google Chome for Javascript performance… IE was well optimized for Sunspider already, so there is not much of a change there. Google Octane 2.0 however has always been terrible in IE, and now it comes in roughly the same as Chrome, for a massive 81.8% increase over the old rendering engine. Kraken continues this with a 45% jump in performance. It is a big change, and a welcome one too."

There are still many months before we see Spartan under ideal conditions and a more finalized form, but so far, Microsoft appears to be nailing a lot of the performance issues. Even better, since Spartan is a Universal app, it gets updates through the Store instead of OS refreshes. This change means Microsoft can dynamically update and tweak the browser at a much faster clip than in the past.

Head to AnandTech to read the full write-up including more technical details about Spartan!

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Internet Explorer Edge? Possible names for Spartan browser reportedly being considered

The Spartan browser, or more accurately understood as 'Project Spartan' is a next-generation web browser for Windows 10. Its main features include being a Store app for dynamic updates, using the older IE11 rendering engine for legacy websites, Cortana integration, and the ability to annotate right on the web page for document sharing.

However, Spartan is not the final name, just the internal codename that Microsoft is currently using for the project. The question is, what will Microsoft call the browser upon its final release? A new report suggests a few names are being kicked around and we have the list.

The information comes from a person who participated in an online survey from a company acting on behalf of Microsoft. Although 'Spartan' was not named specifically, it was referred to in the description including "Writing on webpages", "A built-in digital assistant" and the fact that it is a browser from Microsoft launching later this year. No doubt that the survey is referring to Project Spartan.

Potential names for Spartan browser being surveyed

• Entourage
• Elixa
• Evo
• Evex
• Endeavor
• Edge

Some of the names surveyed all have a common feature as they begin with the letter 'e'.

Edge makes sense since it is the name of the new rendering engine found in Spartan. Even more interestingly, Microsoft is considering pairing each of the suggested names with:

• Microsoft
• IE
• Internet Explorer

This list would create possible combinations such as 'IE Evex' or 'Microsoft Elixa' or 'Internet Explorer Edge'. Those possible combinations are interesting because, if accurate, it demonstrates that Microsoft is considering dropping IE or Internet Explorer from the new name. That is something that has been brought up before due the heavy baggage associated with the browser.

Of course, we do not know if these are the only names that Microsoft is considering, but it is worth pondering.

From the above selection, does any combination jump out as a suitable name for Spartan?

News & Image Courtesy Windows Central

Microsoft included many user-requested changes and features in new Windows 10 preview

The new 9926 build of the Windows 10 Technical Preview includes many changes and additions that were requested by users of earlier builds. Those suggestions were collected and evaluated by Microsoft as part of its Windows Insider Program.

Microsoft's Windows team member Gabriel Aul posted a list of just some of those user-suggested changes that made it into the current build:

• You've asked us to support more languages so we're bringing you more languages: Japanese, Russian, German, French, French (Canada), Korean, Italian, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), Traditional Chinese, Swedish, Finnish, Turkish, Arabic, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Thai, Vietnamese (Language Interface Pack), Catalan (Language Interface Pack), and Hindi (Language Interface Pack).
• The new Windows Update UX in the Settings app provides a progress bar for preview build downloads which was a top request for Insiders. When you navigate away after starting the download/install, it will know that the download and install is still in progress when you return (instead of looking like a blank slate. And progress is now determinate, instead of just a spinning circle.
• We received feedback that ALT+TAB was too jarring (everything on screen changed) and that some people found it confusingly similar to Task View. Some people wondered why Virtual Desktops were not accessible from ALT+TAB. So, we merged the previous ALT+TAB design with the Task View to produce an approach that retained the large thumbnails that people like, but with an overlay that is familiar. Now, it feels far less jarring and while it looks like it belongs to the family of Task View and Snap Assist, it retains its unique strength of being a great keyboard switcher. Finally, this change makes the work we've done with precision touchpads feel better too. Now when you quickly three finger swipe left/right, ALT+TAB feels lighter-weight.
• We also heard that folks wanted Persian calendars support and you'll find that in this build. The Persian calendar format will appear on your Lock screen, your taskbar clock, and on time stamps on files in File Explorer.
• Another top request from you was to have the option to pick the default folder when opening File Explorer, and the team responded and added this feature.
• We saw feedback from Insiders that it was hard to find how to make apps full-screen in the "hamburger-style" menu seen in previous builds so we've added a full-screen button in the title bar. We've also made the title bars for both desktop and modern apps title bars feel more harmonious.
• Finally, I know that a TON of Insiders were unhappy about the bug where keyboard lights weren't working when Caps lock/Num lock/Scroll lock is toggled. I'm super happy to report that we've fixed that issue in this build. Thank you for being patient with us on that one.

Of course, Microsoft is still taking feedback from Windows Insiders for the current build of Windows 10 and will continue to do so in the weeks and months before the OS is officially launched.

Source: Microsoft

Image Courtesy : Windows Central

Cortana for Windows 10 only available in English (U.S)

If you're rushing over to download the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview, there's something you need to know first about Cortana. It isn't totally surprising, but it's important to note that she's only currently available in U.S. English.

The information is nestled in the system requirements page at the Windows Insider site, and while it's usually a good idea to read things like that before installing anything, in this case it's doubly worth it. There are some other bits and pieces in there that affects folks who use Windows Media Center for example, so before doing anything, go check them out.

• Windows 10 Technical Preview system requirements

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Remember to have Windows 10 Technical Preview updated before the next build hits

Microsoft's Windows Program Manager Gabriel Aul took to Twitter today, to not only reveal some numberson the Insider program, but also to remind those running the Windows 10 Tech Preview that they require a certain update before moving forward. Update KB3025380 (linked below) is strongly advised to be installed before Microsoft rolls out the next build of the preview.

According to the Microsoft website, KB3025380 addresses the following:

"This update includes improvements to Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9879 that will let members of the Windows Insider Program continue to receive future released builds of Technical Preview."

Microsoft plans to roll out the next release of the preview sometime next week, so get this update installed and prepare yourself for more goodies to be fired to your PC.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Office for Windows 10 free on phones and small tablets, Office 2016 on the way

Besides Windows 10 the platform, we're learning a lot more about the new apps that we're going to be getting with it, like touch-friendly Office. Today, Microsoft has elaborated a little more on the new version for Windows 10 and confirmed that it will be installed for free on all Windows 10 phones and "small tablets." This is particularly good news considering it's been the small tablets that have been getting free Office 365subscriptions, but have screens too small to really put the software to work.

In a post on the Office blog, Julia White, general manager for the Office Product Management team says:

"These new Office apps will be pre-installed for free on phones and small tablets running Windows 10, and available to download from the Windows Store for other devices. The Office universal apps will be available with the Windows 10 Technical Preview in the coming weeks and general availability is on track for later this year."

That's the other good news. We'll be able to play around with the new apps for the first time really soon. The site also shows off Excel and OneNote, which Microsoft did not during the event. Anyone who's ever looked at Office for iPad will see some familiarity, but since those apps are pretty fantastic, we're not complaining.

White also brings news of the next, full fat version of Microsoft Office. Launching later this year, Office 2016 will be detailed further in the future.

But the big deal for mobile users is free Office. No mention of an Office 365 subscription which is required on other mobile platforms to get the most out of the apps. Office, touch-friendly, and ready to rock with Windows 10.

Source: Office Blog

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

The Microsoft Surface Hub gets its own video showing off its huge screen [update: website too!]

The newly revealed Microsoft Surface Hub, shown off as part of the company's Windows 10 press eventtoday, is the subject of a new video that shows how the device, with its huge 84-inch 4K Windows 10display, can be used in an office setting.

The video show how the Microsoft Surface Hub allows office workers to collaborate with each other by using a pen to draw on its display, using the screen as a virtual whiteboard. It also shows how it can be used to display Excel documents on a large canvas. along with the ability to take content created on the Microsoft Surface Hub and copy it on a tablet, smartphone or other PC. Microsoft says that there will be custom versions of Skype for Business and OneNote made for the Surface Hub. There will also be a 55-inch version sold.

There are still a ton of unanswered questions about this product, such as what hardware specs it has, a price point and a release date. However, we certainly want to know more about the Microsoft Surface Hub and hopefully we will get that info in the weeks and months to come. Stay tuned as we will continue to post information from the Windows 10 press event.

Update: Microsoft has also dropped a website with more details on the Surface Hub here.

Source: Windows (YouTube) Windows Central

DirectX 12 will indeed be exclusive to Windows 10

A new report from Microsoft's Windows 10 press event today confirms that the upcoming DirectX 12 graphics API will only be for Windows 10 users. In other words, Windows 7 and 8 PC owners will have to take advantage of Microsoft's offer of a free upgrade to Windows 10 for one year to get the benefits of DirectX 12.

That's not all. According to Rock Paper Shotgun's report, Windows 10 PC owners will also have to get new graphics cards, currently unreleased, inside their rig in order to gain all of the features that will be included in DirectX 12, although a number of current graphics cards will still be able to use some of its improvements.

The Xbox One game streaming feature that was demoed today will also only work with game controllers on the PC side. In other words, gamers with just a keyboard and mouse won't be able to play games streamed from Microsoft's console. Finally, we can expect to see more Xbox One games that will be also support Windows 10 besides Fable Legends, which was also demoed today. Let's hope one of them is Halo 5: Guardians.

Image & News courtesy Windows Central

Dropbox finally drops an official Windows Phone app, goes universal

There's some good news for cloud storage users. After a long, long wait, Dropbox has launched an official app for Windows Phone today. Dropbox originally announced that they were working on the app back in November as part of a new partnership with Microsoft.

Skype is built into Windows 10 for Phone and has an updatable Messaging app

Today, Microsoft unleashed a salvo of news regarding Windows 10. Whether it was news for the desktop OS, gaming or something about holograms, there was something for everyone. After the main event, the press spent a good five hours in private tours of Microsoft's new announcements. Although video was not allowed, there was plenty of nitty-gritty that they revealed. First up, Skype.

Microsoft demoed how the Messaging app on Windows 10 for ­phone lets users switch between Skype messaging or SMS. This change is a total throwback to the early Windows Phone days with the Messaging Hub, and it's a welcome return. However, what about the Skype app—do you still need it for Windows 10 on the phone?

No, you don't. You can still install if you want to, but Skype is native to the Windows 10 OS.

The keyboard for Windows 10 on Phone has a virtual precision pointing stick

File this under subtle but cool. Windows 10 for phone has a new addition to the keyboard: a precision pointing stick, akin to the famous red nub on Lenovo keyboards.

Positioned on the lower left of the keyboard and in blue (likely the Accent color), the virtual pointing stick has one function: let you navigate with ease and precision on the screen. Yup, instead of the old problem of using your chubby finger to move the caret to edit text, you can optionally use this nub to move it around.

Although not worthy of a full announcement, it is neat additions like this that has us excited for Windows 10 next month on our phones.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Cortana has a slightly new look for Windows 10 for phone

One of the clean things about Cortana is its look which is amazingly dynamic,not built into the OS.
This means that the page layout can be changed by Microsoft on the backend at anytime. Going ahead, Microsoft is still playing with how Cortana is organized , its dead space and general layout based on the user feedback.

The two images posted above by Windows Central reveal the neat changes coming in Windows 10 for phones. We can see the Cortana icon is now center instead of the upper left along with some other minor changes,

We should also be aware of the fact that none of this is final. Microsoft expects to change things based on user feedback, but this is at least one look they are considering. And not forgetting to mention that the voice dictation in every instance can be used where there is a text box in Windows 10 for phones. The microphone in the upper left area of the keyboard shows how this will work (in combo with that new pointer stick).

Image Courtesy Windows Central

Windows 10 for phone and PC settings are stark and simple

The settings area on Windows PC and Windows Phone needs to be simple and easy to navigate.

Windows 10 completely revamps Settings once again, but this time it also comes to the phone. Indeed, settings on Windows Phone is a bit of a mess with a seemingly endless unorganized list.


We dont know if Windows 10 has finally fixed this but we need to agree that it looks dead simple.

Lumia Camera 5.0 is coming to all current Windows Phones through Windows 10

As we are currently learning more and more on Microsoft's vision to "Universalize" the Lumia Camera app code for Windows 10, we can confirm that this is the case.

Microsoft is taking the Lumia code as the base for the new camera app, including its faster load times and putting it right into Windows 10 for phones.

This is a good news for HTC and Samsung devices too as they will soon get this cool manual controls and a new simpler UI found in Lumia camera 5.0. It should be coming up as a part of preview next month.

This also means that Windows 10 tablets and PCs can use the same app of course.

Finally there was one big change to the demo we saw tonight. Previously, when you tapped the little photo icon in the upper left corner, it launched the photo history instead of the formal photosapp on Windows Phone.

Stay tuned for more info

Image Courtesy Windows Central

All current Windows Phones can get Windows 10, flagship 'later this summer'

With Windows 10 for phones around the corner, at least in a preview, the question still on many people's minds is 'What about my phone?'

The issue is both simple and complicated. Let's break it down.

Short Answer

Yes, all current Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 devices can get Windows 10 as an upgrade. Sure, there could be some restrictions (mostly the camera), but the Lumia 530 and Lumia 635 are just as likely to get this update as the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 930.

Microsoft was certainly showing off all of their current phones with Windows 10 today and boasting about this fact.

Even for the Windows 10 preview program, all of those phones should be able to get the upgrade. Microsoft has said this for a while now, so this isn't even news. However, I can state that as of today, they are still sticking to that message.

Longer Answer

Carriers. You know how they are. They still play a role in which phones get updated and which do not so they still have some power here. However, since Microsoft has a preview program (both for early builds and one for later builds), people have options.

Flagship and release

As mentioned earlier, Microsoft was hitting the message hard that a flagship Lumia phone is on the horizon. Ifi Majid, director of product marketing for Microsoft Mobile Devices, mentioned that such a phone (and updates for current phones) were likely "later this summer".

For some time, I have noted that I do not expect a flagship until summer time, aligning with a proper Windows 10 release, and this is still the case. I'll have more on this maybe tomorrow as to my thoughts about how and why on this timing. For now, I'd plan on that timeframe.

News & Image Courtesy Windows Central

Hike messenger for Windows Phone gets new stickers, faster uploads and more in latest update

Hike messenger for Windows Phone has being bumped to version 2.9.2.0 in the latest update. It has got a number of features like faster uploads, faster app launching , new stickers etc.

Here's a list of all that's new in version 2.9.2.0, according to the changelog:

• Lighter Than Ever: We put on a lot of weight last year, so we hired a trainer and went on a strict diet! We're super happy to announce we are now under 10 MB in size!
• 3 New Sticker Categories: We are working overtime at bringing the full Sticker Shop to you. In the meantime get the latest 3 popular sticker packs - College, Marathi and Festivals.
• Quick Upload: We've added a little hike magic to bring lightning fast uploading of photos & videos especially over 2G networks and in low network areas!
• Send Uncompressed Images: You have taken the best photo or selfie ever and it's time to share it with your friends. What happens after you send that awesome photo? Image gets compressed, the quality drops significantly. There goes your killer photo. Good thing is that this will never happen again! Now choose to send uncompressed original quality or compressed images.
• Shared Media: Quickly access all the media shared centrally in one place.
• Turn Off Notification of Friends Joining hike
• Download Settings: Now use data smartly by choosing when to download media depending on the network & media type

The built in India messaging app is gaining good traction off late in the country and elsewehere . Thanks to its offers like privacy mode, theme pack, sending messages to offline contacts and more.

Download the Hike messenger from here

Image courtesy Windows Central