Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella admits that pulling the plug on Windows Phone was 'a strategic mistake,' in a broad interview

[Windows Central]

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently touched base with Mathias Dpfner at Axel Springer's Berlin headquarters to talk about his leadership at the company, including his achievements, setbacks, advances in AI, plans for retirement, and more.

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella admits that pulling the plug on Windows Phone was 'a strategic mistake,' in a broad interview : Read more

 

[Jcmg62]

"exiting mobile was a mistake"....

wait, you mean spending billions on a platform, billions more on Nokia, scrapping features that made the hardware and OS better than the competition, ballsing up the marketing strategy, promising to remain in mobile then pulling the pin less than a year later, and finally launching a hobbled Duo with Android was a mistake.

Ya don't say.

This is a particularly sore point for a lot of Microsoft fans. We got behind windows phone in a big way, and the abandonment issues are real.

We can dissect all the reasons why WP struggled and what could have and should have happened, but at the end of the day Microsoft upped and walked away from the single biggest personal computing space on the planet, and in the process pissed off millions of users.

When I see headlines like "it was a mistake to exit mobile" I imagine the guy with his head cocked to one side, a vacant look in his eyes and drool dripping out of his mouth, with a slow duuuh uttering in his head.

 

[Arun Topez]

At least he's aware of that. But they have the perfect opportunity to make it work now. With all the major players now scrambling to get foldables and new form factors out, this is Microsoft's perfect opportunity to jump in since they already have a headstart with Duo. The issue is they gave up on the mobile version of Windows, though there are hints of touch-friendly UX on Windows 11, so it's not impossible if they actually invest time and resources into it. And with Android apps now working on Windows, the app gap might not be an issue anymore. But they need to make the install experience more natural like it is for Windows apps.

 

[wojtek]

to this day I'm sore there are no more Lumias - they were brilliant devices! as for the os itself - I had to "tile the os" for my father once his lumia died and we had to get him new device...

 

[Jcmg62]

At least he's aware of that. But they have the perfect opportunity to make it work now. With all the major players now scrambling to get foldables and new form factors out, this is Microsoft's perfect opportunity to jump in since they already have a headstart with Duo. The issue is they gave up on the mobile version of Windows, though there are hints of touch-friendly UX on Windows 11, so it's not impossible if they actually invest time and resources into it. And with Android apps now working on Windows, the app gap might not be an issue anymore. But they need to make the install experience more natural like it is for Windows apps.

I agree, and on paper the stars should align:

Windows on Arm is working, and working well

Qualcomm are massively behind making high powered WoA hardwarehe

Microsoft have made desktop windows more mobile centric. It's only a short hop from desktop WoA to mobile windows.

Windows store have most of the apps that they didn't have six years ago.

Microsoft are now one of the biggest games developers on the planet, and are using that to build out a massive game store. They could start by building handheld gaming devices with mobile phone capabilities and go from there.

The Duo is a solid form factor (I've been using the Duo 2 as my daily phone for two years....great device)

In short, they have the hardware, the software, the apps, the money and the ability to be in mobile

But I guarantee they'd screw it up, because they lack vision.

 

[Jez Corden]

I think Microsoft should really just say "screw it" and fight hard to bring it back. Having ZERO CONTROL over a mobile endpoint is hurting every corner of their business, whether it's AI, search, Office, Microsoft Teams, gaming, etc. etc.

 

[Jcmg62]

I think Microsoft should really just say "screw it" and fight hard to bring it back. Having ZERO CONTROL over a mobile endpoint is hurting every corner of their business, whether it's AI, search, Office, Microsoft Teams, gaming, etc. etc.

But even if they did, would they stay in the fight?

That's always been the issue with getting behind Microsoft. They have a nasty habit of walking away.

With Panos gone, and sales sliding, I wouldn't be shocked to see the surface brand under threat of the axe.

There was an article the other week on the Google/DoJ case, and it turns out Google pay Apple over $10 billion a year to remain the default search engine on iPhone.

Its a lot of money, but Google probably think it's a bargain.

The point is that tech companies are not above paying other tech companies to bring their apps/services to their platform.

Thinking back to Windows Phone, the single biggest point of failure was not having Snapchat and instagram at a time when that's all people wanted on their phone. They simply couldn't attract an entire generation of narcissistic teenagers to Windows because those two apps weren't in the store.

Looking back, they should have paid whatever it took to get those apps on the platform. Had they taken that gamble, there's a good chance that far more people would have picked up a Lumia.

 

[svenvandevelde]

Microsoft really messed up with windows phone. They launched all the developer tools needed to build great mobile applications and then they walked away. They really disappointed me and probably millions. Lumia devices were the best. They had an image issue at the time but running away just made it worse. They thought that they could partner with Google and provide mobile Microsoft services over the Google platform.... WRONG!
They lost a big chance to compete and win. Now they do the same with surface, which highly likely had seen its last GO4... It all looks like an experiment. There is no continuity within Microsoft. I'm sure Microsoft internally is a big mess. And the cash cow cloud will disappear as Microsoft won't have the devices anymore. Windows will lose terrain too if they continue to ruin it.

 

[Kjw24]

That is good when I see you start to make his mistakes is always a good find a company is going in the right direction

All they need to do is launch a lightweight version of Windows 11 and Windows 11x

 

[Jez Corden]

But even if they did, would they stay in the fight?

That's always been the issue with getting behind Microsoft. They have a nasty habit of walking away.

With Panos gone, and sales sliding, I wouldn't be shocked to see the surface brand under threat of the axe.

There was an article the other week on the Google/DoJ case, and it turns out Google pay Apple over $10 billion a year to remain the default search engine on iPhone.

Its a lot of money, but Google probably think it's a bargain.

The point is that tech companies are not above paying other tech companies to bring their apps/services to their platform.

Thinking back to Windows Phone, the single biggest point of failure was not having Snapchat and instagram at a time when that's all people wanted on their phone. They simply couldn't attract an entire generation of narcissistic teenagers to Windows because those two apps weren't in the store.

Looking back, they should have paid whatever it took to get those apps on the platform. Had they taken that gamble, there's a good chance that far more people would have picked up a Lumia.

honestly, i know you're right, but i just like to dream lol.

 

[Jez Corden]

That is good when I see you start to make his mistakes is always a good find a company is going in the right direction

All they need to do is launch a lightweight version of Windows 11 and Windows 11x

i do think this is on the way, but not for phones, moreso for gaming handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally. I know Xbox is pushing for it.

 

[DontBeEvil10]

What a surprise, he just preferred to take the quick and fast wait: cut the area with less profit = more profits, such a great CEO /s