Windows 8 vs Windows 8.1

Introduction

Windows 8.1 is the advanced version of the Microsoft Windows 8 operating system. Some enhancements have been made to the previous version of Windows 8. It was said that it is very useful for modern computing. It is more robust than Windows 8.

Windows 8

Windows 8 is the successor of Windows 7 by Microsoft. It was available on 26th October 2012.

Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 is the enhanced version of Windows 8. It was released on 17th October 2013 in the UK. From the 18th of October, it was available to buy in retail.

Windows 8 vs Windows 8.1

• The return of the Start button in Windows 8.1 is very exciting. From Windows 95 Microsoft has provided the start button. Windows 8 lacks the start button and that was the worst change in Windows 8. Now in Windows 8.1, we have the start button. Clicking on this start button will show you the Start Screen.
  
• Right-clicking on the Start button will show you some other functions, like Shutdown, Restart, Control Panel and so on that are not shown in Windows 8.
  
• In Windows 8 we can open only two applications on the screen at a single time, but in Windows 8.1 we can open four applications on the screen at a single time with some new options also like resizing the portion covered by the specific application.
  
• Windows 8.1 provides you the facility of directly saving your files to SkyDrive and the files are available even when we are offline, which is not a function of Windows 8. Up to 7 GB of memory is provided for that.
• In Windows 8 Xbox Music application is very confusing. Its user interface is very complex for a common person, but in Windows 8.1 Xbox Music is very simple to operate.
• Windows 8.1 provided you with an option to directly boot to the Desktop that was not provided previously.
• Windows 8 uses a single photo to lock the screen, but now in Windows 8.1, we can lock the screen using a number of photos.
• Windows 8.1 also provides you an option to click the photos from the camera while the screen is locked.
• Windows 8.1 supports native fingerprints and a virtual smart card that is very useful for security purposes.
• Windows 8.1 is safer than Windows 8. Windows 8 is 21 times and 6 times safer than Windows XP and Windows 7 respectively.
• Windows 8.1 provides Internet Explorer 11 which is safer and faster than Internet Explorer 10.
• The Windows 8 search option is very confusing, but it is very user-friendly in Windows 8.1 and it also gets the support of Bing.
• For resizing the live tiles we have more options in Windows 8.1 than Windows 8. In Windows 8.1 we have options like large, wide, medium, and small.
  
• Windows 8.1 has more power-saving capabilities than Windows 8.
• Windows 8.1 provides you with a better auto-predict mode than Windows 8 on tablets.
• We can directly print through Wi-Fi printers in Windows 8.1 which is not present in Windows 8.
• Windows 8.1 provides more colors and backgrounds for the Start Screen compared to Windows 8.
  
• Windows Store is more enhanced in Windows 8.1 than Windows 8.
• Windows 8 is mainly for devices having a touch capability, but Windows 8.1 provides new features for devices that do not have touch capability.
• Miracast streaming is also available in Windows 8.1 but is not available in Windows 8.
• Windows 8.1 supports 3-D painting while it is not supported by Windows 8.

Advantages of Windows 8.1 over Windows 8

• The cost is reduced because it is a central operating system, everything is centered on a single operating system.
• It is very simple and easy. The confusion is completely reduced.
• It is more secure.

Summary

This article will introduce you to the advanced version of Windows 8, Windows 8.1. We will also compare Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.