Windows Phone 8.1 , codenamed 'Blue', is a forthcoming major update for Microsoft's mobile platform. While we're anticipating an announcement at the company’s Build 2014 conference in April, with new hardware arriving in June, already Microsoft has released the SDK to developers and we're seeing some leaks appear on Reddit, pointing at a handful of new features in the 8.1 update.

The leaks published by developers who have early access to the SDK show signs of further unity between Windows Phone and Windows 8.1, which Microsoft has previously hinted at. Both JavaScript and HTML is touted as being supported for app development, enabling developers on the desktop+tablet OS to bring across compatible content for smartphone consumers to enjoy.

Some obvious changes have been jotted down, including the rebranding of SkyDrive to OneDrive, not to mention the ability to set up and configure connections to Virtual Private Networks (VPN). A number of other changes have reportedly been implemented in the SDK, making multitasking easier with the removal of "X to close" and allowing users to swipe down on each app tile (much like Windows 8.1) – the back button no longer closes apps, but suspends them.