Announced back in April during Microsoft's BUILD conference, the Windows Phone 8.1 release date is still one of the most awaited versions of the platform, specially that it allows a number of new and interesting features. 

One of these changes is the ability to customize the home screen, the theme of the tiles, as well as the background image you want to use. However in a new report, it looks like the lockscreen will also have something to offer for people who love customizing their smartphones. 

According to a report by GSM Arena, the new lockscreen app for Windows Phone 8.1 will soon be available for download. It does not come with the update, but is a separate download which users need to install. 

The lockscreen will allow more customizations and features a more textual approach in terms of display. 

Unfortunately, the lockscreen app will not work on devices which do not have at least 1GB of RAM. That means aside from the Nokia Lumia 930 and the Lumia 1520, there aren't many devices which would be able to run the app.

In other news, UK will soon get a Cortana Developer Preview version of the Windows Phone 8.1 for their WP-powered devices. While WP 8.1 has already rolled out to devices in the UK, the Cortana app cannot be accessed yet. 

The version will be available for WP devices which do not have the virtual assistant Cortana just yet, which is only currently available in devices in the US. 

Apparently, an easy fix for users in the UK is to change their phone's language to English (US), and they're good to go to use Cortana with their Windows Phone 8.1 powered phones. 

But for those who don't want to bother, they can just wait for the Cortana Developer Preview which will be available in the next couple of weeks.