One of the changes that I outlined in my initial thoughts on Windows 10 for Phone is the semi-transparent tiles on the Start screen. As I discussed with my friend Mike Temporale (he runs MobileJaw) yesterday on Twitter, I personally like them as it was one of the aesthetic things about iOS 8 that I enjoyed in my walk through the iOS wilderness. Mike however isn’t so sold. Well Mike and others who aren’t 100% sold, take heart. Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore in a Tweet last night confirmed that Transparent Live Tiles like we have in Windows Phone 8.1 is returning in a later build of Windows 10 for Phone.
@OpenPlumbob yes… Were planning to include both the “full background” and “in the tiles” options.
— joebelfiore (@joebelfiore) February 13, 2015
How exactly this change will be implemented is not discussed. This could be simply a setting change in the device settings or could be part of a larger theme change. Equally, it’s not clear when we can expect this option to come to the Preview. One thing for sure is that the ability to have transparent tiles will be a welcome feature for users of 8.1 who have gotten use to it. It is another example of how Microsoft really allows users of Windows Phone to personalize their devices to their own liking.
There is no indication on when we will see this return in the previews but hopefully soon. Like many aspects of the release, this will be one thing that users will want to test and equally, one that developers will need to support in their applications.
