MicroSoft giving up on consumer market for smartphones; cuts 1850 jobs

[zMeul]

source: http://www.recode.net/2016/5/25/11766210/microsoft-giving-up-consumer-smartphones

via: http://www.androidauthority.com/microsoft-smartphone-market-exit-694717/

 

in relation to this:

full memo from Terry Myerson, MS' VP of Windows and Devices Group:

Quote

Date: Wednesday 5/25, 2AM Pacific Time

Subject: Focusing our phone hardware efforts

 

Team,

 

Last week we announced the sale of our feature phone business. Today I want to share that we are taking the additional step of streamlining our smartphone hardware business, and we anticipate this will impact up to 1,850 jobs worldwide, up to 1,350 of which are in Finland. These changes are incredibly difficult because of the impact on good people who have contributed greatly to Microsoft. Speaking on behalf of Satya and the entire Senior Leadership Team, we are committed to help each individual impacted with our support, resources, and respect.

 

For context, Windows 10 recently crossed 300 million monthly active devices, our Surface and Xbox customer satisfaction is at record levels, and HoloLens enthusiasts are developing incredible new experiences. Yet our phone success has been limited to companies valuing our commitment to security, manageability, and Continuum, and with consumers who value the same. Thus, we need to be more focused in our phone hardware efforts.

 

With this focus, our Windows strategy remains unchanged:

1. Universal apps. We have built an amazing platform, with a rich innovation roadmap ahead. Expanding the devices we reach and the capabilities for developers is our top priority.
2. We always take care of our customers, Windows phones are no exception. We will continue to update and support our current Lumia and OEM partner phones, and develop great new devices.
3. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of innovation across our Windows devices and our services to create new and delightful experiences.Our best work for customers comes from our device, platform, and service combination.

 

At the same time, our company will be pragmatic and embrace other mobile platforms with our productivity services, device management services, and development tools -- regardless of a person’s phone choice, we want everyone to be able to experience what Microsoft has to offer them.

 

With that all said… I used the words “be more focused” above. This in fact describes what we are doing (we’re scaling back, but we’re not out!), but at the same time I don’t love it because it lacks the emotional impact of this decision. When I look back on our journey in mobility, we’ve done hard work and had great ideas, but have not always had the alignment needed across the company to make an impact. At the same time, Ars Technica recently published a long story documenting our journey to create the universal platform for our developers. The story shows the real challenges we faced, and the grit required to get it done. The story closes with this:

 

And as long as it has taken the company, Microsoft has still arguably achieved something that its competitors have not... It took more than two decades to get there, but Microsoft still somehow got there first.

 

For me, that’s what focus can deliver for us, and now we get to build on that foundation to build amazing products.

 

---

 

boo fucking hoo, MicroSoft - too little, way to late

and if they continue to stay in the smartphone market, they'll get down to zero % market share

they're focusing on business sector and licencing deals with 3rd party manufacturers? what a joke! do you know who still has a hand in the business sector? that's right, Nokia!

MS fucked up, and they pissed off the wrong people .. the developers - I wrote about it some time ago how devs can't find their own apps in the MS STORE

[PlayStation 2]

I dunno why Microsoft tried to shove Windows Phone down everyone's throats knowing that it'd never work.

[Master Disaster]

I blame AMD 

[GoodBytes]

6 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

I dunno why Microsoft tried to shove Windows Phone down everyone's throats knowing that it'd never work.

Oh yea? When they did this... Last I checked, there is not a single ad of Windows Phone in the past 3 years of any kind.

[Master Disaster]

2 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

I dunno why Microsoft tried to shove Windows Phone down everyone's throats knowing that it'd never work.

Same reason why they insist on pushing the Windows Store as a gaming platform. They're like that kid that touches the stove and burns himself but can't help going back and touching it again just to make sure it was that which burned them.

 

Sadia Nadalla (that's prob spelled wrong but I can't he arsed to go Google it to check) has made great progress in some areas but seems to have ignored the places where MS have traditionally done badly.

[Castdeath97]

Maybe if you didn't screw up every phone after the 1020 and the 520, just saying.

[MrRavens]

Lmao, why is there a 9 under the 10 in the pic?  Also, it was a matter of time before this would happen. I'm sure most of the employees in that department were already getting their resume ready for another position and or job.

[zMeul]

Just now, LtRavens said:

Lmao, why is there a 9 under the 10 in the pic?

because Windows10 8 9 

[MrRavens]

10 minutes ago, zMeul said:

because Windows10 8 9 

Lmfao! Get outta here @zMeul.

[Tech_Dreamer]

The Curse of Nokia!

[LukeTim]

No need to give up. Just stop putting Windows on your phones and you'll see an instant boost in sales.

[atrash]

I see nothing significantly wrong with these changes. It has been known for a while now that they are going to focus on the business hardware side (read Surface Phone) sooner or later since that's where large portion of money can and has been made, and they want the OEM to take on the consumer hardware side once W10M really takes off. 

 

 

 

 

 

[GoodBytes]

This is more of a good news than bad.

• Android and especially iOS don't work well in Enterprise environment. That is not their focus. Seeing how Blackberry is out of the picture in this space as well,  and Microsoft strongest point is Enterprise space, this is actually a moved they should have done a while ago. It gives them an opportunity to grow.
   
• If you compare Windows 10 Mobile with Windows Phone 8/7, it a totally different experience. Windows Phone 7 was trying to be a consumer phone, but due to the GUI direction they went with, it prevented complex, feature rich app to be developed (well you could, but it would be cumbersome to use). The problem is that they used a GUI language that was designed for MP3 usage. In fact, it was designed for absolute simplicity, and out door viewing (high contrast, and large text), an issue back in the days, due to display brightness limitations on small devices. Windows Phone 8 tries to fix this, but it was mostly a patched up GUI of a mess. in other hand, Windows 10 Mobile is... well Windows 10! Inspired with what works with Android, it allows complex feature rich software to be possible, and yet keep things simple for simple apps. If you want to so see how it looks, just open a Windows 10 app, and scale it like a phone, and voila! This is what you get on a Windows 10 Mobile device.
  
  What I am trying to point to, is that since the beginning Windows 10 Mobile was designed for powerful feature rich / enterprise app. This is something Microsoft has always been good at, I mean look at Windows, and when they try to simplify things for "the consumer", it fails (Microsoft B.O.B, Windows 8, etc.), to reinforce that claim that this is what Windows 10 Mobile was since day 1.. look at Continuum, look at the ability (now), of sending, receiving text messages and get phone notification on a Windows 10 PC of your phone.
   
• Lastly, the good news, is that it shows that Microsoft HAS a strategy, and a focus, and isn't freaking out like RIM / Blackberry before which lead to the downfall of the company and its products, ruining its reputation and image as well.

 

The bad news:

• Lumia flag ship phone strength was its camera. Its camera is has been nothing more than ground breaking every time. While it did push, I believe, the industry forward a bit, instead of having Android or Apple actually compete against it, they compete more between each other, with mostly advertisement than actually better camera. The proof is simple, look how obsolesce Apple users claim that their mediocre camera is the best. And look how Samsung likes to claim that they have the best camera than any smartphone, while a Lumia 950 / 950 XL still beats it at taking pictures. So, this will probably be seen as a "consumer feature", and be axed, unless the Surface team is able to push Microsoft to keep that department, which I have my doubts, as so far, all the cameras in the Surface line products have been poor. Not horrible, but poor. One could say that it is because in tablets, and laptop world it is about the same.. and you won't actually take pictures with a tablet, but still. They might not see value in it, while it is an important selling feature for many, but sadly not for enterprise. Small businesses might be interested, as to be able to take pictures of fabrics, colors, inspirational things for designing a product, but that isn't really Enterprise thing.

[deviant88]

1 hour ago, GoodBytes said:

Oh yea? When they did this... Last I checked, there is not a single ad of Windows Phone in the past 3 years of any kind.

Maybe you can now stop defending MS with nonesense, they arent doing well at all.With their current ignorant attitude i bet one of my kidneys microsoft will be nothing in 10 years from now.

I hope they switch back to developing for desktop/laptop/ultrabooks before someone else takes over those aswell and microsoft is forgotten and dead.

They need to make UWP more friendly for the users and where developers are in control not MS.

#makewindowsgreatagain

 

If linux community wasnt so bad they would have long surpassed winOS, i think nowdays MS would be a cloud storage and/or IT services company

[Ansau]

" Thus, we need to be more focused in our phone hardware efforts."

"We always take care of our customers, Windows phones are no exception. We will continue to update and support our current Lumia and OEM partner phones, and develop great new devices."

 

Words of Terry Myerson say internet is full of dickheads who don't even have the minimum comprehension capabilities to understand what someone says.

 

Fact: MS won't stop developing hardware for W10 Mobile.

[rhyseyness]

7 minutes ago, deviant88 said:

I bet one of my kidneys microsoft will be nothing in 10 years from now.

WOW that's a bold statement!

 

[GoodBytes]

11 minutes ago, deviant88 said:

Maybe you can now stop defending MS with nonesense, they arent doing well at all.With their current ignorant attitude i bet one of my kidneys microsoft will be nothing in 10 years from now.

Stupid statement that can be applied to anything. In 10 years massive things changes, let alone 5 years.

I am not defending Microsoft, I am saying what it is. Not my problem if I have to correct "Nintendo Microsoft is D0000000000000000000000000000000000000000m" type of comments, been said since 1998-1999 (for both Nintendo and Microsoft, funny enough).

Look at their financial reports, look at their stock, look at innovation output, everything says that Microsoft is far from doing bad.

 

Quote

I hope they switch back to developing for desktop/laptop/ultrabooks before someone else takes over those aswell and microsoft is forgotten and dead.

That is how you die. Not moving.

 

Quote

They need to make UWP more friendly for the users and where developers are in control not MS.

You fail to understand UWP. They are great books on it, if you are dev incline.

 

 

[alamox]

i hope Xbox division is next, so that microsoft stops destroying PC gaming.

[raphidy]

Well... They haven't called GG. It's just cutting jobs is not helping at all. I don't own a W10 phone but less choice is always bad for the consumer.

[Kobz360]

The article seems to jump the gun a little. I don't think Microsoft is going to exit the phone business at all, they just seem to be consolidating and working on what I'd assume to be the Surface Phone - as Terry clearly said: "we need to be more focused in our phone hardware efforts." 

 

He's essentially saying (IMO) that Microsoft's idea of using the Nokia brand as a means of pushing Windows Phone OS failed and as a company, they need to accept that along with the repercussions. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can deliver with the Surface Phone and W10. They're not out just yet, and that is a very good thing. 

[Kimmers]

Microsoft simply made a phone nobody wanted to buy.

 

Nobody wanted WinPho.

 

Nobody wanted plastic phones.

 

Nobody wanted a slow camera.

 

Samsung and Apple are building premium phones, both having a huge catalog of apps from their respective app stores. Each bring amenities such as touch ID and a camera that doesn't take ages to get a good photo out of so the user can get to doing what they want.

[Bouzoo]

3 hours ago, deviant88 said:

Maybe you can now stop defending MS with nonesense, they arent doing well at all.

You mean the same way how you attack MS with nonsense over and over again? 

They are doing more than great. The last few months have been the best for them since '99/'00.

[LAwLz]

I think this is for the best. I don't think Microsoft will succeed in the enterprise space either, but with a bit of luck they will stop trying to shove so many mobile things into their OS now.

 

 

4 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

Android and especially iOS don't work well in Enterprise environment. That is not their focus. Seeing how Blackberry is out of the picture in this space as well,  and Microsoft strongest point is Enterprise space, this is actually a moved they should have done a while ago. It gives them an opportunity to grow.

They do actually. As I have told you countless of times before, Android and iOS are just as easy to integrate into your network as Windows Phone is. BYOD is getting more and more popular, and since iOS and Android are the dominant platforms the tools to support it has taken them into consideration.

Even Microsoft's own mobile management tools (Intune and MDM) supports Android and iOS.

 

 

4 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

If you compare Windows 10 Mobile with Windows Phone 8/7, it a totally different experience. Windows Phone 7 was trying to be a consumer phone, but due to the GUI direction they went with, it prevented complex, feature rich app to be developed (well you could, but it would be cumbersome to use). The problem is that they used a GUI language that was designed for MP3 usage. In fact, it was designed for absolute simplicity, and out door viewing (high contrast, and large text), an issue back in the days, due to display brightness limitations on small devices. Windows Phone 8 tries to fix this, but it was mostly a patched up GUI of a mess. in other hand, Windows 10 Mobile is... well Windows 10! Inspired with what works with Android, it allows complex feature rich software to be possible, and yet keep things simple for simple apps. If you want to so see how it looks, just open a Windows 10 app, and scale it like a phone, and voila! This is what you get on a Windows 10 Mobile device.

 

What I am trying to point to, is that since the beginning Windows 10 Mobile was designed for powerful feature rich / enterprise app. This is something Microsoft has always been good at, I mean look at Windows, and when they try to simplify things for "the consumer", it fails (Microsoft B.O.B, Windows 8, etc.), to reinforce that claim that this is what Windows 10 Mobile was since day 1.. look at Continuum, look at the ability (now), of sending, receiving text messages and get phone notification on a Windows 10 PC of your phone.

Why does your Microsoft related posts always sound like they were taken straight from a sales brochure?

 

 

4 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

Lumia flag ship phone strength was its camera. Its camera is has been nothing more than ground breaking every time. While it did push, I believe, the industry forward a bit, instead of having Android or Apple actually compete against it, they compete more between each other, with mostly advertisement than actually better camera. The proof is simple, look how obsolesce Apple users claim that their mediocre camera is the best. And look how Samsung likes to claim that they have the best camera than any smartphone, while a Lumia 950 / 950 XL still beats it at taking pictures.

I have to disagree. The Lumia 950's camera is good, but I would argue that the S7 has a better camera (or at the very least on par), especially in cases with less than perfect lighting.

Here is a comparison if you want to check for yourself. The tiny 1.12µm pixel size in the 950 is much less sensitive than the big pixels in the S7, which really hurts it in these situations.

Spoiler

If you switch over to good light then the 950 wins.

If you switch over to the ISO 12233 chart you can see that the extra resolution helps make things sharper, but the 950 has some pretty severe artifacts at 28 and up (look to the right of the color chart, below the GSM Arena logo).

[zMeul]

5 hours ago, Kobz360 said:

He's essentially saying (IMO) that Microsoft's idea of using the Nokia brand as a means of pushing Windows Phone OS failed

thing is, they din't use the Nokia brand name, they used Lumia

certain point after the acquisition, all phones manufactured by "Nokia" were Microsoft branded

[Cornelious11]

I understand the decision but I'm still a little bummed about it. I love my Windows Phone regardless of the faults of the OS.