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As much as Microsoft tried, the company couldn’t quite turn Windows Phone into a mainstream platform. The platform has never really managed to garner the support to compete against Android and iOS, so now, it is time for Microsoft to move on, with Joe Belfiore admitting that while bug fixes will still take place, new features and hardware are not the focus.
Joe Belfiore is Microsoft’s Vice President of Operating Systems and plays a big part in Windows 10 for all devices, including mobile. Over on his Twitter, someone asked Belfiore if it might be time to leave the Windows Mobile platform behind, and his response was very open and honest. In response, Belfiore said: “Depends who you are. Many companies still deploy to their employees and we will support them! As an individual end-user, I switched platforms for the app/hardware diversity. We will support those users too! Choose what's best for you”.
In response to someone else, Belfiore also added that Microsoft will “continue to support the platform” with bug fixes and security updates. However, building new features/hardware is no longer a focus. This seems to indicate that a ‘Surface Phone’ is also no longer on the table.
Finally, if you thought that Microsoft didn’t try hard enough to get developers on board with Windows 10 Mobile, that turns out not to be the case. According to Belfiore, the company would pay money and even write apps for developers to try and win them over but ultimately, the volume of users was too low for most companies to invest.
KitGuru Says: This move seems to have been a long time coming. Windows Mobile never quite took off, even after the Windows 10 update.Are any of you currently using Windows Mobile? Do you think Microsoft should stick with it, or is moving on the best thing to do at this point?
I still use my lumia 650, it is terrible slow in apps but the phone itself is very fast (almost no lag in OS). My problem is the camera, is so good that I can’t find a replacement in android space of below 200 euros and I value the camera quality above anything else (the phone is not mission critical for me, I don’t really need speed in some app). I guess I will stick with it for another year.
Also while it may sound that they abandon mobile, they just abandon lumias.
I read an article in windowscentral that says that MS is working on a new windows core that will make the OS scalable on any device, so they will not have versions of windows but just one version of windows with modules that add or remove depending on the device.
They will introduce this sometime in 2018 and there are some rumors that alongside with it they will show a new surface device with phone capabilities.
Not sure if they will call it surface phone or the “smartphone from microsoft” is toxic marketing wide (I mean consumers have already a mindset that MS have failed in smartphones).
I wait to see what this will be but I don’t hold my breath, I will jump back to android if I find some good deal with oreo.