HTC’s Windows Phone 8X is the first WP8 device to receive an OTA update, a feature Microsoft touted as essential to the platform’s future ubiquity. Not being tethered to a computer for updates and syncing is one of the foremost examples of the “post-PC” existence, and Windows Phone was the last major mobile OS to implement this.
The contents of the update itself are just as important, however: this is the first Windows Phone 8 device to bring the long-awaited “always-on” WiFi to the platform. Previously, and often infuriatingly, Windows Phone would disable the WiFi signal when the screen was off, leading to instances of lost connectivity and service interruption, especially if the user was not close to a cellular signal.
There are a few other notable additions in this release, including a “Reject with SMS” message when denying an incoming call. Users can now delete text messages en masse and save draft messages, features that arguably should have been included in the OS’s release.
The update is currently only rolling out to international 8X devices, but it should hit Canadian carriers in the coming days.
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