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.

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.

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.

Calling itself, rather curiously, 'Instagram for Windows 10 Tablets', by which I assume it's for any Windows 10 device on an ARM chipset, this official client has had a big update overnight. New to be enjoyed here are a type mode in Stories and various video modes and the possibility to send a choice of 'replay' or 'view once' media.

From the developer of the terrific comes this new News/RSS feed reader. I have to be honest and say that the UI had me all in a spin, it's too easy to get confused and be unable to get back to browsing and adding new feeds without closing the app down(!), but I suspect a little extra refinement would sort this out. Not that news readers are in short supply, even under Windows 10 Mobile, but add this to the pile, at least, and watch for updates.

If you're not 'down with the cool kids' (a phrase which itself - ironically - declares me as NOT one of the cool kids!) then you may need some help deciphering slang you hear in town and online in chat rooms. Which is where the Urban Dictionary comes in. It's a crowd-sourced (and lightly curated) repository of slang and miscellany and... hard to access on mobile, since the web site's not responsive. So a client is needed and this is where this new UWP app for Windows 10 Mobile comes in.

Encrypted databases, or secrets/password managers, are always a popular application genre, and there are quite a few in the Store for Windows 10 Mobile. This isn't new, but I'd never heard of it until surfaced it today. It's slick and attractive, especially on AMOLED screens, but it's ultimately very much a 'v1' project and it's a shame it never went any further.

After several enquiries as to the latest table I'd put together for all the various Windows 10 Mobile-compatible smartphones, and realising that I'd lost track myself, I thought that a refresh was appropriate, approximately three months on from the previous incarnation and with several updates applied, not least confirmation of the extended support and special treatment given all Windows 10 Mobile branches (when compared to the appropriate Desktop branches).