Press F to pay respects: Microsoft to complete Windows Phone wind-down by June

[Nowak]

Sauce: http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsoft-to-complete-windows-phone-wind-down-by-june-515245.shtml

 

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Microsoft hasn’t even mentioned phones in the company’s most recent earnings report, and this isn’t really a big surprise, as the software giant isn’t very keen on keeping its mobile ecosystem alive these days.

Instead, Microsoft looks set to step away from phones completely, and now it’s believed that the company is targeting to complete the Windows Phone wind-down by the end of this current quarter.

Microsoft's lack of commitment to Windows Phone is probably one of the worst-kept corporate secrets out there. Sure, they still provide builds for Insiders but it's looking like the end of the road for Windows Phone is just around the corner. I mean, wasn't Microsoft opting to stock the Android-based Samsung Galaxy S8 over phones running their own software in their retail stores proof enough of that?

 

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Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott said in a tweet that “Microsoft's wind-down of its phone business is ‘expected to be completed by the end of the current fiscal year.’ That's the end of June,” while Mary Jo Foley added that “MS' GM Investor relations Chris Suh just said to me there's effectively no revenue in the phone segment, at this point.”

In other words, this is pretty much the last quarter when Windows phones are still relevant for Microsoft, even though the most recent financial results were negligible to say the least.

Windows Phone is making Microsoft no money, so the only logical conclusion now is to take it to the chopping block. During its 7-year existence, it has consistently failed to attract users and developers, with many big-name and even some small developers opting to release their apps on Android and iOS, ignoring Windows Phone completely. As a consequence, the users never came either. It managed to pick up 10% market share in a few countries, but those numbers have since fallen off a cliff.

 

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Even though Microsoft promised to ship the Redstone 3 update coming in September to mobile phones are well, there are controversial rumors out there on the future of Windows 10 Mobile.

While some say that Microsoft will continue to invest in the platform, with signs that even a new phone running Windows 10 Mobile could launch by the end of the year, others indicate that Redstone 3 is by no means a major update for phones, but only a small pack of improvements that Microsoft internally refers to as feature2 update.

Actions speak louder than words, and while people are hopeful that Microsoft is still committed to Windows Phone and will continue to invest in it, and even believe there will be a new phone running the software by the end of the year, Redstone 3 will evidently not be a major update for phones, a la the Creators Update, which brought almost no new features to phones.

 

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The number of improvements that Windows 10 Mobile devices are getting with the Creators Update is also extremely disappointing, and Microsoft reduced the number of supported phones to only 13, leaving plenty of popular models behind for what it calls compatibility reasons.

Oh yeah, there's also this. Many older Windows phones have been obsoleted by Microsoft, and who knows which ones will be next. Perhaps all of them.

 

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Without a doubt, Microsoft is slowly but surely moving towards the end of Windows phones, but for some reason, the company remains tight-lipped on pretty much everything regarding its mobile plans. We’ll see what happens at the end of the current quarter, but don’t expect any good news on the mobile front.

 

"Microsoft still committed to Windows 10 Mobile"

"Laser-focused on mobile"

"I want to assure you that your investment in Windows phones is not at risk."

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Y'know, back in September 2010, when Windows Phone 7 hit RTM, Microsoft held a launch party that included a mock funeral for the iPhone and Blackberry, with the theme being "Windows Phone 7 buries the competition!" Pretty hilarious in hindsight. Just another failed experiment in Microsoft's long line of failed experiments.

[pbx2]

ffffffffff

 

Windows phone got no love, it didn't help when publishers shelved the idea of updating apps for the platform. Was sort of doomed from the start.

[RadiatingLight]

F

 

Windows phone wasn't a bad OS. Fairly well optimized, unique interface.

Just no applications were released.

[BloodyWaters]

F. Rip. 

[The Sloth]

not going to point out names but somebody on this forum argued that windows phone had better app support than android and IOS. 

[MSWindowsinside]

This is the sextillionth news topic I've read about Windows Phone being dead and buried, however my Lumia 650 still works just fine.. We all know developers don't really care about the platform but it's still not quite dead and will probably still be around for a few years at the very least.

 

As for the app gap: I just use the browser for most of my things just like I did on Android, so it's not an issue at all. I hate having a phone full of apps..

[Spuriae]

Wonder if Windows mobile is just being winded down pending plans to release full Windows for ARM.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3191401/computers/qualcomm-first-windows-10-arm-pc-coming-in-the-fourth-quarter.html

 

Snapdragon 835 tablet with full Windows 10 and cell support slated for Q4. Phones might not be much further off if Qualcomm expands compatibility or a Chinese brand decides to make Windows phones based on the 835.

[Nowak]

3 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

not going to point out names but somebody on this forum argued that windows phone had better app support than android and IOS. 

From my own experiences, the whole "quality over quantity" thing is anything but true. To boost the app count in their store, Microsoft approved almost any and all apps that were submitted to them. This led to a huge number of apps that are just reskinned reference apps and apps that provide useless information in broken English. Even the third-party apps were lacking features compared to their iOS and Android counterparts, as well as getting updates anywhere from days to months after their iOS/Android counterparts. That really hurt the image of the Windows Store, when you search for, say, Spotify and get 25 fake apps above the real app, or a massively outdated version of a big-name app.

[2FA]

2 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

not going to point out names but somebody on this forum argued that windows phone had better app support than android and IOS. 

 

I can already think of who it is.

 

Quality doesn't matter if the apps I need aren't supported.

[Delian]

10 minutes ago, Daring said:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Nowak]

3 minutes ago, MSWindowsinside said:

We all know developers don't really care about the platform but it's still not quite dead and will probably be around for a few years at the very least.

I dunno about that. It's not included in the 2018 roadmap for Windows 10. Hasn't been for a while.

[Humbug]

I pressed F and nothing happened.

[The Sloth]

Just now, Humbug said:

I pressed F and nothing happened.

 

[Humbug]

LOL yes I did get the reference.

[Nowak]

3 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

-snip-

[The Sloth]

3 minutes ago, Daring said:

 

 

 

[LAwLz]

I think it's too late.

Microsoft has already ported all the worst things about smartphones to the desktop as well. Shitty locked down APIs, lack of user controls, data harvesting out the ass, and so on.

 

The damage has already been done. Both to consumers and to Microsoft.

 

I think this talk is still very interesting to listen to. It's a podcast from 2013 where Anand and Brian Klug talks about Windows phone. For those who are new to the smartphone world (or just weren't interested in phones back then) it will give a pretty good insight in why Windows Phone failed.

[Doobeedoo]

=/ hmm shame really, I've used it and interface and all worked quite good. Yes lack of apps and support for it was there.

Though app store aside odd they never went and thought to make their own WP flagship.

[SCHISCHKA]

Windows mobile was DOA. This has just been a very long drawn out funeral. The first stage of grieving is denial. then its anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Im glad MS is finally at the acceptance stage.

[Nowak]

btw, the June figure is related to the current fiscal year at Microsoft, which closes in June. Revenue for Windows Phone is so low now that Microsoft does not include it in their earnings report anymore, so a lot of people are suspecting that Microsoft will cease development of the operating system by the end of the fiscal year. Mad/sad about this? They're fully within their rights as a for-profit business to cut off unprofitable products. With the way how things are going with Windows Phone, that is extremely likely, that it has reached the chopping block at Microsoft. That's just the way how things are.

 

A shame. Back in 2014, I thought there would be a future for Windows Phone. That it was bright, and it'll eventually become a threat to the iOS/Android duopoly. The fact that it managed to reach double digit market share numbers in a few countries was a sign of that hope.

 

That light has since faded.

[Doughmay]

*Presses F* F

 

RIP windows phone. Never owned one but I tried them at the store and hey seemed like a cool concept. But due to the lack of app support, I didn't buy one as I needed some apps that weren't available on windows phone. RIP

[captain_to_fire]

3 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

not going to point out names but somebody on this forum argued that windows phone had better app support than android and IOS. 

I knew two people who will say exactly those sentences, one of them has a green badge.

45 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

Windows mobile was DOA. This has just been a very long drawn out funeral. The first stage of grieving is denial. then its anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Im glad MS is finally at the acceptance stage.

The loyal fans are not. Up to this day, they'll say stuff like "W10M is now focusing on businesses." Yeah, business oriented phone without the proper business related apps. 

[LAwLz]

34 minutes ago, Daring said:

Back in 2014, I thought there would be a future for Windows Phone.

Maybe you were blinded by optimism. The signs that Windows phone was still-born were there from the start.

I highly recommend listening to the podcast I linked earlier. At least the first ~15 minutes of it. It's pretty amazing how much of his speculations and opinions has turned out to be true.

[SansVarnic]

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

not going to point out names but somebody on this forum argued that windows phone had better app support than android and IOS. 

Not cool, you misrepresent my argument, the quote you posted does not state that I said it has better app support  just less crappy apps. It has better os support. Get it right.  

 

12 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

The loyal fans are not. Up to this day, they'll say stuff like "W10M is now focusing on businesses." Yeah, business oriented phone without the proper business related apps. 

It was always focused on business if I remember correctly.

[Nowak]

Just now, LAwLz said:

Maybe you were blinded by optimism. The signs that Windows phone was still-born were there from the start.

I highly recommend listening to the podcast I linked earlier. At least the first ~15 minutes of it. It's pretty amazing how much of his speculations and opinions has turned out to be true.

Build 2014 painted a pretty promising future for Windows Phone. It was gonna get all the missing apps from iOS and Android, there was gonna be a custom lockscreen app from Rudy Huyn that would be the ultimate in personalizing your phone and a lot more OEMs were coming in.

 

But alas, it was not to be. Only a few apps came and barely got updated, the lockscreen was labeled as "BETA" but felt more like a pre-alpha and barely functioned, then only got updated once before being forgotten about and the OEMs left the platform one by one, or never even made a phone running Windows that left the prototype stage at all.