BERLIN—Microsoft might license its Windows Phone OS to third-party manufacturers, but it really only wants you to buy Lumia devices. How do I know? Look no further than the new Lumia Denim update for Windows Phone 8.1, which the company announced at IFA on Thursday.
Lumia Denim—a much catchier name than Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2—combines the latest Windows Phone 8.1 update with exclusive enhancements for Lumia smartphones, particularly in the camera department. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Microsoft has introduced a feature called "Hey Cortana," which is a more convenient, hands-free way to activate Cortana, Microsoft's Siri-like voice assistant. All you have to do is say "Hey Cortana" and your phone will automatically be listening for you, even when it's in an idle state. Cortana is rolling out to new markets, too, including China, the U.K., Australia, India, and Canada.
As mentioned, for particular Lumia devices—the Lumia 930, Lumia 1520, and Lumia Icon—the Lumia Denim update brings some pretty substantial camera improvements in the form of a Lumia Camera app. Speed, for instance, which has often taken just a little too long for comfort when snapping photos with a Lumia phone, is said to receive a boost. Microsoft promises faster camera startup and the ability to capture photos with just milliseconds between shots.
Perhaps the coolest new feature is Moment Capture, which allows you to record 4K-quality video with a long press of the Camera button in the app. Notice I said 4K-quality. You're not actually shooting 4K video. Instead, every frame is made up of 8.3-megapixel image captures, which means that every video frame can be selected and saved as a high-quality image.
Microsoft has also added a feature called Rich Capture, which basically turns on HDR and Dynamic Flash automatically. I saw a really cool demo of this, in which the feature was used to edit the flash in a photo that had been taken a few days earlier. It allows you to tone it down, punch it up, or simply turn it off completely.
Lumia Camera will first roll out as an update with Lumia Denim for the Lumia 930, Lumia 1520, and the Lumia Icon in the fourth quarter of 2014. It will also be available as an over-the-air update for the newly announced Lumia 830 (pictured above). Lumia Denim will then roll out to all other Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones following carrier testing and approvals.