Microsoft rolling Lumia Sensorcore SDK into Windows 10 APIs

Michael Cottuli

Lumia 950 Mozo Brown Leather 15

Contextual awareness is one of the big things that’s separating Windows 10 Mobile from the competition, and it’s arguably one of the more interesting features that the OS has going for it. For those who don’t know, contextual awareness is the system by which Windows 10 Mobile is able to draw conclusions about you and your routine using sensors. Using the tech behind contextual awareness, the phone can tell if it’s in the car, in your pocket, or wherever else you’re taking it – and it can decide to do shut down/initiate processes based on that context.

As we move closer to the Windows 10 Anniversary update and start being introduced to more and more new features, developers are getting a chance to get at this contextual sensing (or Lumia SensorCore) SDK, as it’s “gradually being merged into the Windows 10 APIs.” This essentially means that developers are getting a chance to dig into the development of apps that use this technology, starting out with Activity Detection and Pedometer features that are now available as “a part of Windows.”

While Microsoft is merging the contextual sensing technology into the Windows 10 API, it’s also important to note that not everything is being actively supported going into the future. It was also announced that Activity Monitor and Step Counter API’s are being “deprecated” – meaning they’re no longer going to be supported by Microsoft going forward.

You can check Microsoft’s blog page to get the whole story on this, complete with all sorts of development tips for people who want to take advantage of the SDK. Assuming developers take advantage of the full potential of Lumia SensorCore technology, we could end up seeing some truly fantastic apps coming out of it. The availability of this sort of contextual information to developers (which can, of course, be opted out of by privacy-conscious users) could mean a whole lot to Windows 10 Mobile users.