If your phone has been through several OS branches (even as part of production updates) and if you've been trying loads of applications (, you know), there will come a point when you fancy 'factory fresh' performance again. No under-the-hood cruft, no detritus. Here, in a 2018 updated edition of my original feature, are the steps needed to keep things smooth and ensure that you don't lose much in the process.

This is something I've seen a number of times now and the fix is always the same - meaning that it's time to commit it to the (web) page here, for permanent record. The problem? After updating an application in the Store, it then won't launch. It tries to start but then crashes and you're back at the applications list. Happily, the cure is simple enough and (usually) works.

As often happens, additions to software can leak hardware plans and this is what happened in the recent builds of Windows 10 RS5 (due for release in a few months), it seems. A new constant with five (or six, depending on how you count) possible states reveals possible configurations of a folding mobile device, almost certainly what is project 'Andromeda' internally and what will end up as the Surface Mobile (or similar) when it appears on the open market later this year.

Getting news/feed headlines on your Start screen has always been a case of information overload. A feed reader will cycle through dozens of stories from hundreds of sites. A news app will cycle through the top stories it thinks are most important. But what if you just want the top, breaking story on just one site? What if you have specialist needs? This is where the new RSS Live Tiles UWP app steps in for all Windows 10 phones, tablets, laptops, etc.

The story so far.... Uber released a UWP application for Windows 10 (that was never really finished), then withdrew it, then . And now we have that same PWA, packaged neatly by Uber itself as a UWP application in the Store. As usual, it will run on any Windows 10 device - including Windows 10 Mobile phones.

The new version of Minecraft is out on Nintendo Switch which allows for cross-play with friends on Xbox One, Windows 10 or Mobile.

Forza Horizon 4, the fourth installment of Microsoft's popular racing video game, is now available for digital pre-order and pre-download for Xbox One and Windows 10. Forza Horizon 4 arrives globally on October 2! In Forza Horizon 4, players will be able to experience a shared open world where...
Learn more on XBOX ONE HQ!

Even though both NFC 'info' tags and QR codes seem not to have really taken off in the mainstream after a decade of availability*, QR codes are still a 'thing' and most people recognise them when they see the four corner dots and mass of encoded characters within. And most phones can now recognise QR codes, even if - as here - an extra application is needed. There are quite a few QR code scanners under Windows 10 Mobile, but this is the first that I've seen that focusses (pun intended) more on QR code generation and what you might do with such a graphical construct.

Although there's life left in Windows 10 Mobile in terms of updates and support, new hardware is almost non-existent, plus repairs and spares for older hardware are becoming tricky - so it makes sense for everyone to be aware of the best of the rest, flagships from other platforms. And with the productivity-centric Blackberry KEY2 in the office, it seemed appropriate to put up a direct comparison with a Windows 10 Mobile handset, an OS which is itself - these days - equally centred on 'getting things done'.

This is news from Microsoft itself, though it's a bit of stuff and nonsense in terms of branding and partnerships at the end of the day. Still, with all the 'iOS & Android' prose in the original story, I wanted to emphasise that the 'new' Microsoft News is also just as much part of Windows 10 Mobile, even if it's not called out explicitly. Because... of course. It's Windows 10.