A future where your phone looks just like a PC? Microsoft showing off Composable Shell for Windows 10

[suits]

If Microsoft made a smaller surface in the form of a phone, that has an standard OS on it I'd buy it. The problem is they're going to mobile-ize it and it will suck. 

[ARikozuM]

I liked Windows Phone on one of the Lumias, but seeing this is making want to give it another try. Maybe I'll dust off the programming gloves (and by dusting I mean learn everything again) and start making useful gadgets/widgets.

 

@AluminiumTech The only app I use on any of my phones is AviMark for veterinary practices. There are a lot of shortcomings to Android when it comes to unity of phones which is where iOS shines and Windows Phone does the same. Personally a bigger fan of "buy a new phone, get the same experience with better hardware". 

[You_are_a_cunt]

It doesn't necessarily mean anything right now.

They talk about this coming in "a couple major releases" which could mean we'll be seeing this universal shell next year, or even in 2019. By that time I'm pretty sure we won't be using the handsets we have right now (With an average lifetime of one year, odds are we'll be changing our phone at least once by then).

 

Also, this doesn't mean handsets under the Microsoft name (640, 640 XL, etc.) won't get some sort of support.

 

At this point all we can do is wait and see. (And I'll personally be in a corner drooling after an Elite X3)

[Nowak]

8 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

With the way you're being a hardcore shill? Yes, no doubt. Windows Phones would have a future if Google fanboys weren't trying to destroy it and defame it.

I'm a shill? Google better pay up soon then :3c

[FakezZ]

3 hours ago, leadeater said:

It's just email and web based storage, Google Apps/Gmail basically. Only difference is Exchange is an email server commonly used by businesses and to be fair to Android and iOS both of those connect up to it just as easily.

 

One of the best things about Windows Phone and O365 or a Microsoft account is any photo you take is automatically uploaded and all SMS messages and contacts are too. If I change phones and sign back in to my account on the new one everything comes back down and I can see the full SMS history etc, it's as if I never changed the phone. This is inbuilt and a core function, you can turn it off. Android sort of can do this with an app and iOS can too but funnily enough not as nicely.

 

Where Windows Phone falls down is usability. App switching is annoying, multiple browser tabs is a pain to use, the do everything back button is stupid, the search button is not app contextual and takes you to Bing search. Likely other annoying stuff I have left off too.

Actually contact syncing and photos is working just fine on Android out of the box. I have never worried about my contacts, I just sign in with my Google account and boom they're there. Same with the Google Photos app, it works wonders. Just SMS does not sync, but I really don't use SMS

[Drak3]

Yay, another good idea that won't work!

 

Then be copied by Canonical, who will likely do it a smidge better, and will work for those wanting to make it work.

[Doobeedoo]

I was wondering about this quite some time when W10 was introduced. Never liked the idea of multiple OS editions though, at least on desktop side. But it can be made to work as one and even across smartphones too as stated. I'm interested this and how they make it work out.

[Princess Luna]

I always hated the tendency of trying to turn PCs into phones, now turn phones into PCs might actually work out [:

[BuckGup]

It's called jailbreak an iphone and have the full unix terminal at your finger tips

[Nowak]

2 hours ago, Drak3 said:

Yay, another good idea that won't work!

 

Then be copied by Canonical, who will likely do it a smidge better, and will work for those wanting to make it work.

That implies that Canonical's phone OS is relevant. Windows Phone, as tiny as its market share is, is much more relevant than Ubuntu Touch.

[Drak3]

40 minutes ago, Daring said:

That implies that Canonical's phone OS is relevant. Windows Phone, as tiny as its market share is, is much more relevant than Ubuntu Touch.

Convergeance isn't an exclusive feature of Ubuntu Touch. It's a core component of Ubuntu on ARM devices moving forward, being any tablets or phones.

 

While not relevant to home users and business casual users now, it could make for a powerful tool for IT management, especially as Ubuntu picks up steam as a potential Windows Pro/Enterprise alternative.

[GirlFromYonder]

The hate is at level 9000 here

[TheKDub]

Based on how many people enjoy Windows phones, Microsoft might as well kill it off and focus their energy on making a good dedicated desktop operating system, instead of some mess of spaghetti that they expect will feed all devices.

 

I can see a few benefits of having a single OS, but the negatives greatly outweigh those benefits.

 

I think Microsoft should just kill off their whole "One OS for all devices" idea and instead go with separate operating systems for computers, phones, consoles, etc... Sure, there can be some similarities, but they shouldn't be the exact same thing, since the devices themselves just aren't the same.

You can have a multi-tool that gets most jobs done, not quite the most elegant of solutions, but still functions, or you can have a set of dedicated tools for each task that gets each of their jobs done much better than a multi-tool would be capable of. (Compare the screwdriver on a swiss army knife to really any dedicated screwdriver out there, there's a bit of a difference.)

I'd for sure rather have a set of dedicated tools instead of a multi-tool, even if it ends up costing more overall.

 

That and Microsoft needs to remove the shackles and chains from all the users forced into Windows 10, and stop screwing over users who managed to stick with older operating systems. (If they don't want to use Windows 10, they shouldn't have to, even if it's not going to be as secure.)

[ARikozuM]

14 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

I think Microsoft should just kill off their whole "One OS for all devices" idea and instead go with separate operating systems for computers, phones, consoles, etc... Sure, there can be some similarities, but they shouldn't be the exact same thing, since the devices themselves just aren't the same.

Quote

Microsoft is showing off just that with their new "Composable Shells". This will allow a single UI shell to be used across Xbox, PC, Tablets and Mobile

 

[Dionyz]

So what you are telling me BSOD is now transfer to phones?

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, Dionyz said:

So what you are telling me BSOD is now transfer to phones?

At least it would tell you "why". Android just boot-loops until something doesn't go wrong.

[scottyseng]

21 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

Yeah. I showed off my Lumia 650 to my engineering teacher who's somewhat tech savvy. I showed it to him and he was like "Why the hell are people not buying these?".

If I got a dollar for how many times people ask me how much I like my Nexus 5X (I own a Lumia 950...)...

 

Though thanks for mentioning that SMS got added to skype. I was really bummed out when they removed skype from the SMS app (Which was awesome to me). Another fun app to play with is the Remote Desktop Preview app. I sometimes derp around and remote connect to my server (Though LAN only sadly).

 

As for owning phones with no future, I had a Nokia N9 and a Nokia E71 before the Lumia. I actually still love the interface of the N9, but sadly no support / T-Mobile blocking media SMS to it kind of made it hard for me to keep using the phone. At least with my Lumia it's still kicking.

 

One thing I miss from my N9 is that with the Billboard app, you could customize the glance screen to your liking. I had a battery icon / percentage on the glance screen and miss that. Also, no phone OS to date can match how fast I can close apps with the N9.

 

Looking forward to seeing this roll out though. I'm not a heavy phone user at all though.

[RedRound2]

For a company who cant fix current operating systems, I'll say good luck as there will be massive complications to this approach especially at both the hardware and the software sides

[Dredgy]

12 hours ago, Princess Cadence said:

now turn phones into PCs might actually work out [:

Has failed every time in the past. 

It's a horrible idea - and why the iPhone was so successful. Companies had been trying to cram full featured PC apps onto phones (Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry, Nokia) and it was a horrible experience. A phone is a phone, and apps should be designed to work beautifully on a phone and take advantage of the platform.

 

Scaling in this case is a better idea, but will be a nightmare to implement from a developers point of view.

[SlipperyPete]

On 1/21/2017 at 4:09 AM, AluminiumTech said:

Yeah. A lot of people are. Only the loyalists are the ones really left on it.

I loved my windows phone (HTC 8x) before it eventually died, but when i had to make a decision about a new phone i got a galaxy s6. I regret this to a degree. I like the app support and availability but something still feels like it is missing. I miss the contacts system with the fanominal facebook/twitter/messaging integration and the UI. The lack of apps is what is making me hold off for now. I need snapchat, updated paypal. not to mention my bank shut down their mobile app for windows mobile (bank of america)

[SansVarnic]

One, I have been saying that Windows Phones / Mobile has been moving in this direction for a few years now.

Two, the implications of such a thing is pretty big and I for one am excited to know it finally coming.

Three, Those that say that that the Windows Phone is waning as a platform are not paying attention. Continuum may not be all that great but its a big jump on what else is available and the first proof of concept that this is possible. 

Four, After MS gets this done Windows Phone will dominate the market as We All know that Apple and Android have not added anything to the market of substantial worth in, oh say, 5 years maybe (I'm being a bit conservative) ... at least.

I am not saying that the WP has made vast jumps in tech here just that it has taken its sweet time in development and the fact nobody is patient proves the point I have made in the past;

 

 

Please go ahead and  laugh at me but so far I have been correct with my prediction about Microsoft's Windows Phone/Mobile platform.

[alexcheetah]

On 1/22/2017 at 4:15 AM, Dredgy said:

Has failed every time in the past. 

It's a horrible idea - and why the iPhone was so successful. Companies had been trying to cram full featured PC apps onto phones (Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry, Nokia) and it was a horrible experience. A phone is a phone, and apps should be designed to work beautifully on a phone and take advantage of the platform.

 

Scaling in this case is a better idea, but will be a nightmare to implement from a developers point of view.

I've seen Android and IOS increasingly try and make use of pc feature through certain apps.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

On 1/21/2017 at 9:58 AM, AluminiumTech said:

Your next phone could potentially be running desktop Windows 10 with a cool and usable shell !

 

(...)

 

There are some massive implications of this....... Some of which I dread and fear.

 

The most dreaded implication is: you just can't have a desktop UI in 5 inches (I mean, you can, as a masochist exercise). Therefore, this can only mean more mobile-like UI in your full-sized computer.

 

So a more accurate statement would be: "your next desktop could potentially be running Windows Mobile with an oversized impractical shell!" - Oh, wait a minute... sounds familiar...

[TidaLWaveZ]

lol, noobs.

[Otaku_MasterRace]

This could potentially be a great thing for people with HTPCs, if this means a PC running Windows 10 would be able boot into the Xbox UI