Microsoft Begins Rollout of Windows Phone 8.1 and Lumia Cyan Update
by Brandon Chester on July 15, 2014 12:44 PM EST- Posted in
- Windows Phone 8.1
- Microsoft
- Nokia
After a long period as a developer preview, the official release of Windows Phone 8.1 is now rolling out to Nokia Lumia Windows Phones. Windows Phone 8.1 brings many long needed improvements to the platform, some of the most significant being features like the new Action Center which combines notifications and access to settings and shortcuts in a menu that can be pulled down from the top of the device, and improvements to performance and compatibility in Internet Explorer 11. For a full overview of the improvements made in Windows 8.1 you can read Anand's review of the April developer preview here
In addition to the improvements made in Windows 8.1, the update rolling out to Nokia devices also includes Nokia specific improvements in what is being called the Lumia Cyan update. The Lumia Cyan update includes a handful of audio equalizer features like enabling equalizer settings for audio played over the phone's speaker and a "dialog enhancer" to boost the volume of human speech in videos played on the device. On some of the higher end Lumia devices the update enables the option to record Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio in the camera app which does audio processing to emulate multi-channel audio recording.
The Lumia Cyan update also brings a couple of improvements to the display settings. The first is support for brightness profiles which was originally introduced on the Lumia 630. This introduces a slider in the brightness section of the settings application for finer control over the desired brightness than the default fixed settings of low, medium, and high. The other new display related feature is what Nokia calls color profiles. In essence these are just settings that allow the user to shift the display toward a brighter more saturated image or toward a cooler less saturated image. Along with the three presets of standard, vivid, and cool, there is also an advanced mode which allows the user to manually change settings labelled color temperature, tint, and color saturation using three sliders.
While Windows 8.1 is an update that will roll out to the entire range of Windows Phone 8 devices with all features included, the Lumia Cyan update may have certain features tailored only to specific devices. More information about other features included in the Lumia Cyan update can be found in Nokia's announcement post below. Both updates are beginning their rollout today and Nokia has updated their update status page to reflect the beginning of the Lumia Cyan and Windows 8.1 rollout. The update will be rolling out to Nokia Lumia phones as well as Windows Phone devices from other manufacturers like Samsung and HTC in the coming weeks.
Source: Nokia Blog, Nokia Update Status
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Houdani - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
Of course, your mileage may vary since the update is still gated by individual carriers. Here's hoping they won't drag their feet any more than is absolutely necessary.On the plus side, going forward, the core features in WP8.1 will be decoupled from the OS, which means that updates to those features can occur at MS's pace and outside of the carrier's purview.
jimjamjamie - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
What about ie?XabanakFanatik - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
So does this mean since I have a 1520 unlocked on T-mobile, I'll never receive the update as the 1520 is not a supported device by the carrier?kyuu - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
That's an interesting question; I honestly dunno how it works when you're running a device that the carrier doesn't support.The easy answer would be for you to sign up for a free developer account with MS and just get 8.1 that way.
Farru - Friday, July 18, 2014 - link
.FAQ - Does my Lumia 520, 521, 525, 526, 630 or 635 phone support sound equalizer?.
No, Lumia 520, 521, 525, 526, 630 or 635 phones don't have support for sound equalizer
frostyfiredude - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
If I understand correctly, your 1520 is a factory unlocked model that you've stuck a T-Mobile SIM in and thus use on the T-Mobile network. T-Mobile won't have any say in your updates, so updates will be pushed directly from Nokia/Microsoft to your device. I believe that's the case for most if not all factory unlocked devices.XabanakFanatik - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
Not quite, it's an AT&T model that I purchased from Microsoft, unlocked while still an AT&T customer, and brought over to T-Mobile when I switched carriers.a5cent - Thursday, July 17, 2014 - link
In that case you will get the update when AT&T releases it.althaz - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
You can get the upgrade by unlocking your phone.You can then either download the updates when they are in preview or release (on a case by case basis).
To do this, sign up as a "developer" and unlock tour phone. Then download the "Preview for Developers" app and you'll be able to get the latest updates.
AMRooke - Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - link
Updates for the L1520 will likely be pushed out on the AT&T schedule. Updates to the Cyan distribution schedule are posted at http://www.nokia.com/global/support/software-updat... (click North America and look down the list for the 1520 under the United States of America, AT&T is the only one listed). I'm not sure if my L920 will get the update with US AT&T (my carrier) or UK Country Variant (I flashed the ROM to this last year to get Data Sense).