Is Microsoft going to do ANYTHING to help WIndows Phone, or just let it die ?

DavidinCT

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The news on Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile is very dim. Market share has dropped lower then blackberry, Apps are going away like crazy, companies who used it are changing to Android, and carriers have not seen new devices in a long time...

IS this a way for Microsoft to give up on it ? Do they plan to promote it again, or is it completely done ? When will their be good news with Windows Phone ?

There is no other way to look at the news, it looks like the time to move on is now, it's a great OS but, with NO support from Microsoft, it's looking like it's time to just go.
 

Leonel Funes

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The news on Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile is very dim. Market share has dropped lower then blackberry, Apps are going away like crazy, companies who used it are changing to Android, and carriers have not seen new devices in a long time...

IS this a way for Microsoft to give up on it ? Do they plan to promote it again, or is it completely done ? When will their be good news with Windows Phone ?

There is no other way to look at the news, it looks like the time to move on is now, it's a great OS but, with NO support from Microsoft, it's looking like it's time to just go.

This is what I understand [which may be way off from reality]...

Windows 10 will be updated to adapt to different environments, including phones, Xbox, VR/AR, etc. With Snapdragon supporting full Windows 10, it might be the preferred choice for device makers. It might be that Windows 10 will run on high-end phones, while Windows 10 Mobile will be the OS of the lower end. Of course, I hope that Continuum is worked on and improved for W10M, but I'm sure the focus is getting Windows 10 to scale nicely to smaller screens.

Or something like that.
 

anon(50597)

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There are multiple threads already about this. They are changing their game plan and looking towards the future. You can stay and live through it or move on to something else. There are plenty of choices.

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S
 

fatclue_98

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When a company the size of Microsoft has to change vendors for light bulbs, it's a drawn out process. They are in the midst of an overhaul to not only their mobile division but desktop as well. A major OS update is coming soon and MS needs to divert every resource at their disposal to make sure PC is done right. It sucks that mobile is in "retrenchment mode". I get it, I've had to go iOS simply because a critical app for work just got deep-sixed on Windows Mobile 10. As TgeekB mentioned above, you have choices: stick it out or move on.
 

Kevin Rush

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We're sticking with Windows Mobile. Absolutely no reason for my wife or me to leave. It would take more than one or even several missing apps for us to consider leaving and I'm not sure we would even then. Our lives simply do not rotate around apps. Other than apps, the phones are fully functioning and we love them. That all said, we'll reevaluate in a year when we're looking for new phones.

Best Wishes
 

xandros9

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Eh, Windows on phones dying is probably going to plan. It's not incompetence here, just indifference. I suspect they're plotting their fourth mobile reboot or if Nadella has his way, probably complete abandonment of anything with a screen below 7".
 

Zachary Boddy

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This topic has been opened countless times, and there's never a sure conclusion. There's not even a clearly defined line between the two sides. There are those of us who use and love our Windows phones, those who have lost hope, those who were always indifferent, those who have garnered some hate against Windows phones...it goes on.
My opinion? There is no real reason to stick with Windows 10 Mobile unless you believe it is worth it. I love both my Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, and I love my Surface Pro 4. Yes, I get disheartened when a major PC update barely touches Mobile (like the Creator's Update), and yes, I am saddened when a popular app is discontinued or reevaluated for Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft's focus on PC and Xbox are clear.
But at the same time I know I love my phones, and I love Windows 10 Mobile. I love my Start Screen, my Live Tiles, my Groove Music, my Cortana, my Xbox integration, my Office integration. I love my Windows Camera, and my awesome Settings app (come on guys, at least agree with me on that one. Windows 10 Mobile's Settings is pretty great compared to other offerings). I know that Windows 10 Mobile has come so far, and I know that it still has a future with Windows 10 and beyond. It has a part in Microsoft's vision, and if is to eventually be the low-powered interface for low-end devices, than so be it. My next phone will run full powered Windows 10 on ARM.

Make your decision based on your wants, needs, observations, and knowledge. I believe Microsoft will continue to work on Mobile, and continue to improve it. I know that those changes may come slowly, since full Windows 10 is where the vast majority of Microsoft's ecosystem is, but I believe they will come.
 

Zachary Boddy

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Then your circumstances dictated your decision. For me, my Lumia 950/950 XL work perfectly. Yes, they have flaws, but so does every other device on the planet. I accept the flaws, find solutions, and love my phones nevertheless. If you cannot accept the flaws of your current device or any possible devices running Windows 10 Mobile, your decision is set out for you, isn't it? There are so many great phones out there. The OnePlus 3T or Google Pixel would be my choices if I weren't a fan of Windows 10 Mobile or weren't happy with my current Lumia.
 

a5cent

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I've noticed a lot of people find it difficult to differ between W10M (the OS) and phones (as in hardware). Stating: "W10M is dying or dead" is simply flat out wrong. What is (probably not entirely but almost) going away is the phone hardware that W10M typically runs on. Those are just two different things that aren't necessarily related. We think of them as being related only by convention... it's how things have been so far... but there is no technical reason it must stay that way.

Some claim that W10oA (Windows 10 on ARM) will replace W10M, but that is also incorrect. Nothing is replacing W10M. It will continue to be developed alongside W10.

Anyway, yes, intentionally or not, MS has surrendered the smartphone market... for consumers... for the enterprise... everyone. If you do buy such a device from one of the very few OEMs willing to risk it, you are not investing into a dead OS, but you are investing into a form factor that is very low on MS' list of priorities. So, if it's a typical smartphone you want, you may want to look elsewhere.

However, if you like the idea of a pocketable PC with continuum and cellular capabilities, which when used as a phone looks like W10M (but with a lesser focus on "pure" phone apps), then MS might be working on something for you. Since such a device can profit greatly from software that can scale well from a 32" display down to a 5" display, there will continue to be reasons for devs to create UWP apps. If such devices catch on, and the library of UWP software grows, there may come a time when companies and people can get by only with UWP apps. Then there is no longer a reason for companies to shoulder the costs of deploying / administering / supporting the Win32/desktop environment. It is then that W10M again becomes very interesting, as it can run UWP apps, but axes the overhead and vulnerabilities associated with full W10. Until then W10M will be carried along by the OS team and MS will continue to invest heavily in UWP.

W10M's future is inseparably linked to that of the UWP, which is still in its infancy. If UWP fails and MS gives up on it, then W10M fails along with it. Then, and only then, is W10M dead. If UWP succeeds, then W10M will also reSurface.
 

ajayden

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This is how I worked around the issue.

I have my iPad and my Lumia 1520 (my primary device). So I use all the required and unavailable apps on my iPad and then use the splendid L1520 (on Windows 10 Mobile) as my primary device. Hope this helps whoever is saying they missed some apps.
 

anthonyng

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Man the ride I went on, as well as a lot of us, with my launch 950XL (canada)... Microsoft for sure has been working on it trying to find ways to differentiate :) and help windows phone. Over a year later and it's still a really good phone.

As I've watched my Surface Pro 3 and 950XL merge more and more, I'm still believing in the vision :)
 

ajayden

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Man the ride I went on, as well as a lot of us, with my launch 950XL (canada)... Microsoft for sure has been working on it trying to find ways to differentiate :) and help windows phone. Over a year later and it's still a really good phone.

As I've watched my Surface Pro 3 and 950XL merge more and more, I'm still believing in the vision :)

Yes the OS is merging well and is already well refined. By the time the new form factors arrive, the OS will be fully polished. I have not bought 950/950XL as I am waiting for the new devices and my L1520 is still doing a great job.
 

GN_Will

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I think Microsoft is not doing enough to keep users interested on the OS. They have released very few phones recently and most carriers are not offering them. I love Windows Mobile for its simplicity and I hope they continue improving the OS.
 

Ejay Lozano

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I went to the Microsoft store at the fashion show mall (Las Vegas) and only saw the hp elite, no lumias, no ms band, little to no mobile section in the store. All it was, was mainly Xbox, notebooks, and tablets.
 

ajayden

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I went to the Microsoft store at the fashion show mall (Las Vegas) and only saw the hp elite, no lumias, no ms band, little to no mobile section in the store. All it was, was mainly Xbox, notebooks, and tablets.

Well, MS has already informed everyone that they will not sell Lumias anymore and HP Elite is the only flaagship phone that was released after 950/950XL. MS Band is being discontinued. So its only HP Elite, Xbox, Laptops and Tablets.

We have to wait for the new devices with new form factors.
 

Kevin Rush

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Well, MS has already informed everyone that they will not sell Lumias anymore and HP Elite is the only flaagship phone that was released after 950/950XL. MS Band is being discontinued. So its only HP Elite, Xbox, Laptops and Tablets.

We have to wait for the new devices with new form factors.

We all should be more careful about the "facts" that we spread. Some people will, unfortunately, believe them.

Recently I read that the Luminas are back in stock at ATT and at the Microsoft Store. I, just now, checked the Microsoft Store web site and found the Lumias.

Today, you can buy a Lumia, an HP, an Alcatel, or others too.
 

fatclue_98

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We all should be more careful about the "facts" that we spread. Some people will, unfortunately, believe them.

Recently I read that the Luminas are back in stock at ATT and at the Microsoft Store. I, just now, checked the Microsoft Store web site and found the Lumias.

Today, you can buy a Lumia, an HP, an Alcatel, or others too.

The only thing I would add is that Verizon and Sprint users are more up the creek than GSM buyers. But that's not exactly Microsoft's doing, that's more the carriers themselves not wanting to support the OS.
 

anthonyng

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I think Microsoft is not doing enough to keep users interested on the OS. They have released very few phones recently and most carriers are not offering them. I love Windows Mobile for its simplicity and I hope they continue improving the OS.

OS wise, I'm not sure if we could handle anymore than they've done. It's been quite a whirlwind from 8.1 to 10 to today. The early parts of w10 was just barely passable, I couldn't recommend anyone to it at the beginning... threshold was the tipping point and anniversary smoothed things out so much more and expecting the same from creators.

The negativity stems from users expecting a finished killer product day 1 and instant app availability, so each time it's been a failure for them but from my viewpoint, actually sitting through every bit of the transition, I've come to appreciate the amount of work microsoft is doing for this one OS everywhere thing.

The focus on windows on arm lately as a mobile saviour is in my opinion, incorrectly placed, as it should be just another option for types of devices... I still want cheap 50$ windows mobiles available for my parents! lol... and then a cheap 100/200$ windows 8" tablet or 2 in 1 they can easily relate with :)
 

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