How default apps change in Windows 8.1

With Windows 8.1 Microsoft tries to correct some of the defects of Windows 8. It does so by modifying some of its functions and adding many others requested. But it also does so by updating the applications that the system brings by default and adding new ones to the list that are intended to complete the basic set that all Windows 8 users may need. In these lines we will try to take a quick look at all of them.

Although major changes are yet to be introduced in some of the most basic ones, such as Mail, Contacts, and Calendar, the rest of the applications receive some kind of update, mainly visual.To these are added all kinds of applications that bring some of the classic desktop accessories to the Modern UI and others that serve as a sample of the potential of the new design style of those from Redmond. There is also no shortage of unavoidable extras such as the web browser or the app store.

Minor changes

Mail, Messages, Contacts, and Calendar After receiving major updates last March, there's little change to these critical system apps in Windows 8.1. Except for the disappearance of Messages, replaced by Skype, the rest continue as they are up to now, content to receive a good review of their visual appearance. Microsoft has promised to improve them, but while we wait it's time to continue with the Mail, Contacts and Calendar applications that you already know.

Maps, News, Sports, Finance, Weather, and Travel Something similar occurs with Bing-based applications. Although the system search engine is now integrated with Bing and increases its potential considerably thanks to SmartSearch, the applications based on it receive only minor cosmetic changes. The most significant are those of the travel application that adds some extra options to those already known.

Updated

Camera The camera is one of the existing applications in Windows 8 that receives a good review with the arrival of the first update. The interface is now less confusing with only two buttons on one side of the screen to take a photo or record a video, with three simpler ones in the lower dropdown. A lot of the settings have been moved to the charm bar settings option.

Bigger are the changes in photo editing possibilities. After taking a photo, an editor opens immediately that will allow us to change all kinds of elements of the photo, as well as apply touch-ups and filters to improve it. It also includes the option to set the photo as the background of the lock screen, open it with another application or directly access the gallery with a simple scroll from the left side.

Photos Microsoft has also changed the interface of the Photos app in Windows 8.1. Now it looks similar to when we select a file in any other application. For editing, it uses the same editor that includes the Camera application, where we can edit and retouch all kinds of photo and image elements to our liking.

Music The change in the Music application is already evident from so many announcements by Microsoft.Its new design changes the horizontal style of scrolling for a fixed bar on the side and the possibility of scrolling our song lists vertically, a way that is still more natural for this type of element. The search within the application has been improved, as well as the management of our collections. The function of radio stations is also incorporated to complete the offer of the Xbox Music service.

Games With Windows 8.1, Microsoft has also improved some of the elements of its Xbox Games app. Changes in the user interface that include more content displayed in the tiles and the possibility of taking better advantage of the snap view mode that the update incorporates. There are also search enhancements that allow us to search Xbox Games directly from the sidebar and see our achievements sorted by date.

Videos The Videos application is also not spared from a well-deserved update.Improvements in multitasking and the ability to download videos in the background, as well as adaptation to the new snap view mode, make up the main changes. Available content is also increasing thanks to new additions to the Xbox Video service.

News

Alarm The alarm application is one of those that seems essential on a smartphone but that no one would miss on their PC or tablet. Even so, its presence in Windows 8.1 is appreciated and more so with the good design it displays, which should serve as an inspiration to more than one. In addition to the basic functions, it includes a timer, countdown, the option to set music as a tone, the possibility of using the tablet as a night clock, etc. All this with a very intuitive interface based on circular dials.

Calculator This is another of the applications that is perhaps less used but that cannot be missing from any system.The Windows 8.1 calculator is practically a carbon copy of the legendary Windows desktop calculator but ported to Modern UI. There are the basic functions in addition to the scientific mode, with the advantage of being able to fix it to the side of the screen to use it without leaving our work area.

Sound Recorder More classic Windows accessories. The recorder application has also been ported to Modern UI taking advantage of the arrival of Windows 8.1. Sound Recorder is as simple as such an application can be, but again it boasts a great design. When starting it we have a single central button with a drawn microphone that allows us to start recording. The options are displayed once we finish our recording, being able to minimally edit the audio and save it wherever we want.

Scanner The scanner is one of those applications that you never consider until one day you urgently need it.Microsoft has not hesitated to include it by default with Windows 8.1, solving an absence that one day we could regret. With all possible simplicity, the application obtains the documents from the scanner that we have connected to our equipment so that we can save them wherever we want.

Reading List The Reading List app was one of the most pleasant surprises of Windows 8.1 in the last San Francisco Build. This joins other services that have proliferated in recent years and that allow us to save articles and news to read later. Items are added via the share option available in the charms bar.

Unlike other services, Reading List does not save a copy of the article but sends us directly to its website. This implies not being able to read it offline at the moment. We'll see if over time Microsoft improves an application that could become essential.

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Recipes The Recipes application was another of the most announced during the last Build 2013. At the Windows 8.1 presentation conference we were able to see some of the functions of this new application that surprises from the beginning due to the enormous amount of content offered thanks to the power of Bing. But it is not only content. With the application we can build our own shopping lists, bookmark our favorite recipes or even create our own. In addition, the application launches the hands-free> function."

He alth and Wellness Another application focused on daily life that is released with Windows 8.1 is He alth and Wellness. The application allows us to keep track of our diet and exercises to help us keep fit. The extensive database of foods and exercises that it displays is its best cover letter.

Help & Tips Microsoft must have found Windows 8 so intuitive that it forgot to introduce a series of tutorials with the first version of the system. With Windows 8.1 they correct this absence with the Help&Tips application that will include all kinds of tutorials and tips to help users get used to the system quickly.

Additional features

Skype Skype becomes just another system app with Windows 8.1. The popular messaging and VoIP service acquired by Microsoft arrives with its revamped visual aspect and taking advantage of some of the features that the update allows. Notifications on the lock screen, better use of the snap view mode and the promise of higher video quality are the credentials with which it is presented to accompany the system.

SkyDrive SkyDrive gets a critical update with Windows 8.1. Not only in its appearance but in a good number of added features that bring it closer to its desktop version. Now we will be able to edit our files and organize them without problems, while we will be able to make all our files available offline.

IE 11 Microsoft's web browser comes with a new version accompanying Windows 8.1. If IE 10 was already the best browser for the touch system and the Modern UI interface, IE 11 is the perfect browser. Solving some of the defects of its predecessor, the new version includes many new features that we have already given a good account of here on more than one occasion.

Windows Store One of the most necessary changes introduced by Windows 8.1 comes with the Windows Store. The first version of the store has not finished serving its purpose adequately and in this second attempt it tries to correct some of its initial errors.

The store is now completely different, with a much more careful appearance and more filling in the gaps left by the previous version on the screen. Now we also have a drop-down top menu that greatly facilitates browsing the store. The suggestions have also been improved and Microsoft promises that they will be much more useful for users.

The extensive list of applications that complete the update to Windows 8.1 should satisfy more than one. Especially on Windows RT. Adding more Modern UI-style utilities Microsoft provides more incentives for users to gradually transition away from the desktop, while also leading the way for other developers.