Improvements to the non-touch experience. This is the context menu on Start stuff that I think is so awful (because it's inconsistent) and it "follows the customer satisfaction data" that Belfiore mentioned at the press event.
More hardware options. "We knew that we needed to give our [hardware maker] partners more flexibility, in particular to reach low price points." I wrote about this previous to MWC in Report: Microsoft to Drop Windows Licensing Fees for Low-End Devices. Two things are changing: the price of licensing Windows, where devices that cost less than $250 will have much cheaper licensing, and the "flexibility" of licensing Windows, where hardware makers who do play in that low-end pricing category no longer need to partake in the Windows logo program.
Improved compatibility for education and enterprise. Customers in these segments "are looking for improved management and better compatibility with legacy web sites.
In addition to these changes, Belfiore said that Windows 8.1 Update 1 will include more discoverable Search, Power and Settings on the Start screen, and easy (Modern) app launching and switching from the desktop-based taskbar. It will now support a new low-end range of hardware�key for hitting those price points�where devices have just 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of onboard storage, which is pretty much where the Android and iOS devices start, of course. And Internet Explorer 11 is being updated with an IE 8 compatibility mode so that recalcitrant enterprises can upgrade.
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Read a few articles about the Update since reading this and apparently there is a pretty strict install order. Its not long to wait until April and I cant seem to find a definitive order.
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