Is windows mobile really dying?

[camptime]

Keep here complaints about no banking apps. I think the American banks are just ****ty Look at Australian banks as an example we have an app from all the main banks even with our small population and small WP crowd. Hard to believe a country's banks don't support its own technology and people.

 

[Tsarli]

Hope is not a product management strategy or engineering solution.

Well said sir, very well said. Well, it may be enough for the few fanboys left out there but for the wider population I think the current sales numbers speaks for itself.

 

[dalydose]

Well said sir, very well said. Well, it may be enough for the few fanboys left out there but for the wider population I think the current sales numbers speaks for itself.

I love when these discussions devolve into "if you disagree with me, you're a ******". That's super productive...and original. /s

The fact is that Windows Mobile isn't dying. There is still investment from Microsoft. There are still MILLIONS being sold. It doesn't matter that iDroid sells a lot more. MILLIONS are MILLIONS. Also, we were told ahead of time that the current offering was to placate current users/fans. The push to disrupt the market and change the paradigm of small form computing has been said all along to happen next year. None of us are in the position to predict the future, but 2016 is not the year to evaluate the future of Windows Mobile. They could come out like a startup with something new. If the AI/bot paradigm shift happens, then the app gap will matter a whole lot less because bots will be platform agnostic. Microsoft bought a major development tool in Xamarin and has already been working to make multi-platform development much easier. Banks are coming back into the fold. OEMs are already planning interesting things. Apple sales have started the inevitable decline. No one by Samsung make money in Android. There are a lot of variables beyond the market share crunch that wannabe MBA's like to cling to.

This is going to be an exciting time. I'll be rooting for Microsoft because I like their stuff and I think three major competitors is better than two.

 

[Marconis4]

I'm really baffled by all of this. I've been with WP since 2013 and I've seen it do nothing but grow, quite rapidly in fact...share price included. Put the app gap aside, that's a different matter. Look at all the features that have been added to the OS in just two years. For me it's been an incredibly exciting journey. I was on an iPhone for a year and the only excitement I got was from jailbreaking. I think THAT says a lot about what is "dead". Being on W10 with constant updates is like getting a Christmas present every week (or coal).

 

[Ruster Kat]

IF small form computing paradigm shifts, I'll be back. IF bots negate the app gap, I'll be back. IF UWP jump-starts W10M apps, I'll be back. IF the iOS bridge produces tangible results, I'll be back. Multiplatform development can be made 'easy', but it still takes some (always limited) resources and a business case. I get the impression that MS is even having a hard time getting developers to buy into doing the (minimal?) extra work to put UWP apps on mobile. Like I said, perception is part of it.

Market share is important to spur efforts from developers. Does a developer allocate resources to porting from iOS to W10M, or does a developer put those resources into constantly improving and competing in the iOS and Android markets that are now putting food on their tables? MS needed to make that decision easier and 10%+ market share would've helped. MJF recently stated that 80% of the MS contacts she talks to are on iOS or Android. Softies need to get stuff done too, and today and tomorrow people use apps to get stuff done. As far as the American banks go, when have they ever really given three chocolate cakes about their customers as people. They are only going to do what is necessary to compete against each other for business. They've tried WP apps and have crunched the numbers: not worth it. Now market share is declining and UWP or iOS bridge is supposed to make them eager to return?

I'll be rooting hard for W10M because I do see what could be and I do vastly prefer the OS over the alternatives. But I will be cheering from the sidelines for now. Just like MS, I'm making a business decision, not an emotional one - the business is me getting my day-to-day stuff done.

 

[onysi]

Can we lock this thread already? It's always in the main page and each time I see it, it looks like am article that's just inviting haters. Windows phone already gets bad rep from other sites.

 

[Ivan05il]

Yes, this irritates me. I think MS needs to require that all new app releases/updates are actually universal. When I am on my W10 PC and find an app I like it is really annoying to discover that I cannot use it on W10 Mobile.

UWP can potentially run on all devices, but it's not for free, the developer should check that all APIs are available and very likely tweak the UI so it scales well on the phone's screen. It's an additional work some won't do or won't pay their developers for. It's still not such a hot market to justify additional costs.

 

[Pritam Naskar]

No it is not dying but it's dead already....and only Ms is responsible for this......phones with lower specs higher price....less marketing......are you kidding me?
Why and why and why anyone will opted for an OS that has little number of apps and less number of mobile model?........in case of windows phone the choice is very less one or two.....

 

[PhineasTD]

It still cracks me up that this is a topic. Microsoft as a software firm MUST have a presence in the mobile market division and it'd be corporate suicide for them to not be there. Both Google and Apple continue to push their own OS's packed with features they design, have core software they themselves implemented, and have massive third party support. Microsoft isn't the software giant that it was in the '80's and '90's and other companies don't rely on their software as much as they use to (however their stock margins are steadily growing MSFT Advanced Charting - Microsoft Corp. - Wall Street Journal) so they must present and support some manner of device and maintain it. People don't scramble for the latest PC's like they used too, even laptops are losing ground to mobile devices like tablets and phones. How many people have fitbits, Apple watches, or other wearable technology? This is the direction tech is taking and Microsoft must be there to survive. Period.

That said, the phone isn't their focus at the moment and understandably so. They've just invested copious amounts of capital in synthetic DNA (Microsoft to buy millions of strands of DNA for long-term storage | Daily Mail Online) for storage research, they've got Windows 10 floundering and being torn apart by critics, and the Surface performed less than expected; shock surprise that the phone has been back burned (Microsoft's Terry Myerson: Windows Phone is 'not the core' for its developer interest this year | Windows Central) for the moment. The firm is running in numerous direction so it's no surprise that they've hit snags along the way.

Keep your eyes open and be patient...there are changes coming to the mobile division, albeit perhaps months or years away.

 

[Timbre70]

A headless chicken.

 

[RumoredNow]

Can we lock this thread already? It's always in the main page and each time I see it, it looks like am article that's just inviting haters. Windows phone already gets bad rep from other sites.

Our members want to discuss this.

'Tis like the hydra. Strike this head off and two more will grow in its place.

 

[windowsrok]

Flip to silence is gon from win 10 shame on you Microsoft

 

[onysi]

Our members want to discuss this.

'Tis like the hydra. Strike this head off and two more will grow in its place.

but its not dying, nor it will ever be. Microsoft will not submit and will not allow a two giants run mobile. Giving up mobile is like giving up gaming just because Nintendo and SOny are both in the lead. There's no way they'll give this up.

/end of discussion. lets end this thread already.

 

[Migi2015]

With Intel cancelling Atom processors, W10 Mobile is dead, baby dead UNLESS they immediately shift towards ARM and forget about x86 crap. Nobody wants this stupid Continuum feature. We want powerful UWP apps, apps, apps.

 

[RumoredNow]

but its not dying, nor it will ever be. Microsoft will not submit and will not allow a two giants run mobile. Giving up mobile is like giving up gaming just because Nintendo and SOny are both in the lead. There's no way they'll give this up.

/end of discussion. lets end this thread already.

I understand your point. I agree. Microsoft isn't throwing in the towel no matter how many click-bait titles say the game is over.

I can't envision that Android and iOS are all there will be in mobile ever. That's just shortsighted and unrealistic. Things change and evolve. I believe Microsoft is trying to evolve in a viable direction.

Threads like this will continue as the tech bloggers won't let it go. We can't shut down all those blogs and closing this discussion off as a topic on the site is a disservice to the members who want to talk it to death and can't let it go because of what they read daily.

As members who are tired of this FUD we have two basic tactics.

A) Insert facts and reasoned arguments

B) Pass on by

 

[paulee04]

slowing and surely, if all devices would get the Windows 10 upgrade then there'll be hope.
Nobody wants to buy a phone that's not future proof.
iPhone 4/4S got the latest iteration of iOS and it's very old.
Why can't MS do the same ?
That's why Apple keeps snatching the market share.

 

[Lord Method Man]

but its not dying, nor it will ever be. Microsoft will not submit and will not allow a two giants run mobile. Giving up mobile is like giving up gaming just because Nintendo and SOny are both in the lead. There's no way they'll give this up.

/end of discussion. lets end this thread already.

Two giants run mobile. Windows is an absolute non-player in the mobile space.

 

[etad putta]

279 posts in this thread would indicate there is still a good amount of interest in windows mobile, so no, it ain't dead yet. Weak pulse, shallow breathing, but still alive. Tell the priest to walk on past this room, last rights not needed quite yet.

 

[Felipeicd]

After reading all the post I can concluded that Microsoft hasn't killed windows mobile, and it doesn't seem like their are planning to shoot it down anytime soon, however, developers and a lot of tech sites and even users of windows mobile seems to think that it's dead, so, if MS says it's alive but the community think is dead ... Then what can w10m do? An os that is supported but their creators but not for the people?

 

[InspectHerGadget]

I would be reluctant to recommend Windows Phone. I used to recommend it to my customers but am reluctant now. I think it will go on but the doubt hangs over it and that doubt feeds on itself which drags sales down. I'm using an iPhone now. It is just so slick, polished and nice to use, it reminds me how far WP has to go. It takes time, money and commitment to deliver and I wonder if the will is there.