Windows Phone 8.1 may support USB on-the-go

It goes without saying that if this turns out to be true, then it will be a significant step toward Windows Phone taking on Android. Former Microsoft employee Nawzil Najeeb is claiming that his device running Windows Phone 8.1 recognizes USB connections to the handset.

“USB storage detected. Tap to view files,” is the message that appears when he plugged in a USB thumb drive to his Windows Phone using a USB OTG (on-the-go) cable. This looks like good news for those that are hoping to be able to access the file system in Windows Phone too.

We should point out that this does not mean we will see this feature in the final build of Windows Phone 8.1, but we are feeling pretty good about it. Seeing as how Microsoft is aiming for as unified an experience as possible across Windows devices, it only makes sense that the user would gain access to some type of file management on Windows Phone.

Having USB OTG support does open up a lot of functionality to Windows Phone. In addition to external storage devices, we could see all sorts of accessory support (heck, maybe even an Xbox controller). The leaks of information keep coming, we cannot wait to see what is next and what ultimately gets announced by Microsoft.

sources: @Nawzil8 (Twitter) via Softpedia