First shots of Windows 10 for phones emerge

Windows 10 for Phones leak
Is this the new face of Windows Phone?

We're still waiting to get a first-hand look at Windows 10, but in the meantime a few screenshots, purportedly from the technical preview, have been leaked.

While they show an interface that looks somewhat similar to Windows Phone 8.1 there are a number of differences too.

The images, which were shared with NokiaPowerUser by Kiran Kanade, show a tiled interface with a new notifications system which in this shot looks similar to the existing one, but which according to Microsoft will allow for synced notifications across different devices, so if you clear one on your phone it will also clear it on your desktop.

Above that you can see new quick settings toggles, with far more options than are found in Action Centre on Windows Phone 8.1, including the likes of VPN and quiet hours. There's also a link to the main settings screen for anything not covered there.

Similar settings

Speaking of the settings screen, an image of that has emerged too, showing a slightly new look with blue icons, but all the options you'd expect, including system and personalisation settings.

The final screen simply aims to confirm that we are indeed looking at the Windows 10 Technical Preview for Phones, with the apparent build number of 8.15.12493.42.

Of course it's not hard to doctor an image, so we can't say with any certainty that these are the real deal and even if they are this will be an unfinished version of the software. But they seem convincing, with a similar look to Windows Phone 8.1 but different enough that it could conceivably be a whole new version.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.