Could Microsoft revive windows phone?

[techiez]

More mobile OS are needed. Android has a lot of issues and Apple has got arrogant and many Apple fanboys are switching to Android now. Some of them would have switched to Windows too if Microsoft had backed their OS

Apps is not a issue at all. Just get good browser and all things which can be done from apps can be done from the browser too and a lot of space can be saved as well

Tell that to Nadella, who clearly doesnt see space for third platform

 

[amits1024]

Tell that to Nadella, who clearly doesnt see space for third platform

Atleast 5-6 mobile OS should be there and Windows should be 1 of them alongwith Android, IOS & Linux based OS

Android has lot of issues and I want to switch from Android to Windows. Will do it provided Microsoft just launches a new windows phone and supports the old ones better. Currently I have a Microsoft Lumia 535 as my backup phone

 

[amits1024]

Tell that to Nadella, who clearly doesnt see space for third platform

And Microsoft needs to get back in mobile fast, by 2018 itself. If they don't get in mobile, in next 4-5 years, even desktop windows might die too

Mobile is the future of OS and Microsoft have to realise it very soon

 

[gary m17]

and microsoft needs to get back in mobile fast, by 2018 itself. If they don't get in mobile, in next 4-5 years, even desktop windows might die too

mobile is the future of os and microsoft have to realise it very soon

i think it's disgusting that microsoft have let down all of us that have kept them knowing about the issues when using windows 10 mobile insider builds they strung us along for 2 years and then decide to just kill off windows 10 mobile,,bastards is the only words to describe them.

 

[livejazz]

I bought my wife and 23 year old daughter S8 actives for Christmas because they couldn't deal with the app gap and both are very water-active. That left me with my 950 XL, a 950, an LG, and a busted HP. All, to me, are amazing phones.

I doubt, very seriously, I will run through all of those before this version of the operating system goes away. That said, I love the operating system for business and that is what is has evolved in to.

I will likely be using Windows Mobile and these phones until the bitter end because, to me, there's absolutely no reason to change. Maybe because my phone system doesn't provide an app for an extension on Windows Mobile, but I'm considering carrying an S6 just for that purpose.

So, that's it! The straight shooting practical approach. Maybe a little about money, but not really necessary. I just don't see a reason to throw $2,400 worth of really good phones away!!

 

[afkaboogieman]

So speaking as one of the most dedicated WP fanboys ever, my answer is No, nothing, never.

I loved Windows Phone, bought into the MS ecosystem. Used their apps and services. Loved it. Didn't think I was missing out on iOS or Android, had no desire to switch.

And then Microsoft let the platform suffer death by a thousand cuts. Slowly killing off apps, functions, and services. Letting years pass between the release of flagship phones. Failing to maintain the few appdev relationships that did exist. Releasing the best versions of their own apps on other platforms. Hell they bought LinkedIn and then KILLED OFF THE WP APP.

For me the trust is gone. Why should I buy a Microsoft mobile device and get vested in an ecosystem? Microsoft has simply a horrible track record of maintaining support for their platforms. Why would a new WP device / OS be any different? For my money, I want experiences and support to improve - not degrade - over time.

It was a sad day for me when I broke down and got an Android. But the way I see it, I didn't leave Microsoft. Microsoft left me.

 

[kaktus1389]

While I used to be a very passionate MS fan and understand the views of the people who would like to see Win32 apps running on handheld devices and having W10 handsets, I must say that in my humble opinion it does not make sense to me. As already pointed out in this thread, Win32 is a very old framework and is not very touch-friendly, as Win32 apps are meant to be used with a mouse, keyboard, and a monitor so I fail to see how that could be beneficial to anyone if it ran on a phone. I also think that powerful software, such as video editing software and 3D modeling, would run poorly on an arm-based machine if we were to run it in Continuum mode.

We also cannot just forget that Windows 10 Mobile was half-baked at its release and still is half-baked as we cannot see any significant changes MS had announced for RS1 and RS2 updates and that it's irreversible. Sure, there are issues with other OSes at launch dates too, but I highly doubt it that there were comparable issues present on any of competing mobile OSes so far. Yes, Ballmer did make some progress with WP8.1, but he was the one who was late to the party in the first place. We can't change that, we can't expect that Microsoft would invest in something that only cuts their profits. Look at Microsoft's stock value now - it's not high because Nadella would be doing a fantastic job, just because he cut loose stuff that made them losses, despite its importance. That's just how business works and as they don't care about consumers (and most importantly, don't have many consumers using W10M at all) they're free to do as they please. That's not me saying I support their philosophy or anything, it's just what's really going on over there and it does make sense to me. Apple can afford to support their consumers as their profit off of iPhone sales is gigantic and they have quite big user-base they cannot even afford to dump them if they were to be in the same position as Microsoft is in right now.

Bottom line - WP is not coming back in any form, I doubt there will be any Andromeda devices coming out at all and iOS and Android are the only viable options right now imho.

 

[jrealtor1]

I find it very interesting that this is still a question being asked when this site and many others trumpet "Windows Mobile is Dead" and "Come on people move on, W10 Mobile is done". Not really sure of the motivation behind this question, here but since your asking, heres my take.

"Can Microsoft still resurrect Windows 10 Mobile?"

Let me start by answering a question with a question...Can a company that can afford to write off of over 7 billion dollars for the Nokia purchase afford to do this and still not go under? Heres another one...Can a company spend millions of dollars developing devices that never come to market or get cancelled over and over again afford to keep doing this and still stay in business? The answer is of course Yes! Microsoft has the resources and capability to resurrect anything they please...and if the resurrection is a flop...quess what, write it off! Companies that are in the same league as MS go through development cycles like this all the time and they have plenty of resources to do so, and they ways to write it off so that it doesnt completely decimate their bottom line.

The short is Yes without a doubt!!!...and it really doesnt matter to them, from our end, if it fails or not. We dont matter. Now, the stock holders and board members, they do matter to MS, so this question really should be pointed to them

Just my take...for what its worth...

 

[Vincent McLaughlin]

I agree that it's never too late. However, what is MS and Satya willing to do to make it work? Their broken promises and unclear direction with Windows 10 Mobile in the past, has left many OEMs and average consumers not willing to trust or invest in that area.

Microsoft will have to first, build a compelling Arm mobile phone device that not only runs Windows 10 Mobile, it will also have to be upgradable to whatever version of Andromeda MS releases, with a garunteed 5 year update support. Why five? If it runs ARM and will be able to do most of what a desktop or laptop can do, people may treat it as such, when it comes to how often they decide to upgrade. I believe this would also help to build trust, because of the commitment.

Microsoft will also have to be willing to eat a lot of crow pie for at least two years, before seeing any real benefit to resurrecting Windows 10 Mobile. We are talking adding new features, convince developers to continue to develop for Windows 10 UWP apps that make sense on both mobile and PC. They will have to focus on greatly improving Cortana, if they hope to make her a viable AI assistant. I've mentioned before how well it works over Bluetooth and still works much better than the options currently available, in some ways.

Windows 10Mobile is a great OS, and the recent update keeps it running well on my 950 XL, even though I now use the Galaxy Note 8 as my daily driver.

With all of that said, this is something MS will have had to be working on still and just re-release the damn thing, with a huge surprise press event. This requires a lot of resources I'm not sure MS is willing to expend to make Windows 10 Mobile return from the dead like Superman, ready to be presented to the world and ready to give a beat down.

 

[mohmia]

I reluctantly switched to android about a year ago. I still miss a few features and functionalities of win 10. I'd consider a stable os from ms that has an android bridge that allows me to run all Android apps. Or ms could start with putting out free os builds for public that can run on most Android devices with ability to run all Android apps. But I'm not buying another ms device in the near future. My 950 xl was a dead weight in less than a year after I paid more than $700 for it.

 

[jrealtor1]

I find it very interesting that this is still a question being asked when this site and many others trumpet "Windows Mobile is Dead" and "Come on people move on, W10 Mobile is done". Not really sure of the motivation behind this question, here but since your asking, heres my take.

"Can Microsoft still resurrect Windows 10 Mobile?"

Let me start by answering a question with a question...Can a company that can afford to write off of over 7 billion dollars for the Nokia purchase afford to do this and still not go under? Heres another one...Can a company spend millions of dollars developing devices that never come to market or get cancelled over and over again afford to keep doing this and still stay in business? The answer is of course Yes! Microsoft has the resources and capability to resurrect anything they please...and if the resurrection is a flop...quess what, write it off! Companies that are in the same league as MS go through development cycles like this all the time and they have plenty of resources to do so, and they ways to write it off so that it doesnt completely decimate their bottom line.

The short is Yes without a doubt!!!...and it really doesnt matter to them, from our end, if it fails or not. We dont matter. Now, the stock holders and board members, they do matter to MS, so this question really should be pointed to them

Just my take...for what its worth...

 

[Jcmg62]

How hard would it be for Microsoft to change its mind on windows phone and not kill it off? And i mean 'phone' in the truest sense of the word, not a device with telephony capabilities. Is there a reason why they couldn't revive it?

I guess if we can theoretically bring back woolly mammoths then we can bring back windows phone.

But the bigger question here is why would we want to?

MS need something new. Another go at windows phone isn't the answer

 

[Christopher Kendalls]

Microsoft can revive Windows Phone.

Just put Microsoft enthusiasts and loyalists first. Differentiate Windows Phone from the rest. Windows Phone was never about the apps. It was about the ecosystem. Groove Music, MixMusic, Maps, the Skype integration. This is what made Windows Phone so great. The Live Tiles were bleh; good when they worked, but then at times I think it was too much information.

Microsoft should really study what Canonical was going to do with Ubuntu Phone, and what Mozilla was planning for Firefox Phone. Neither of those phones relied on apps. They were going to extract data from web services and display them in a creative and interesting way. Microsoft had this initially in WP 8.1 with the hub. Then they got in their own way.

Give us something that works but don't bother us with how it works. It can be Progressive Web Apps, it can be Instant Apps, it really does not matter. Just make it work. They are never going to catch up with Android and iOS with apps so they have to commit all of their efforts with what a phone can do out of the box.

People are still buying budget phones with a great ecosystem built in. Google gives them everything they need out of the box. And with Android Go it is even better on Oreo. Those users may install a few apps here and there, but they don't really need to. Windows Phone used to offer this before Microsoft had the bright idea of making Skype more difficult to use, and again, that People Hub; we didn't need Facebook and Twitter apps installed when the hub worked.

If we can just use the services we need to on Edge, and it works well, that's all that is required. I might even buy a Windows device again.

 

[Christopher Kendalls]

I don't think they are killing it off in the way people are assuming. It's more likely that they have taken the mobile platform to its limits and at this point need a more capable framework to move forward. I mean it all depends on the way people are defining a phone and the difference between what they personally define as a phone versus something else. In my mind, anything that can make a phone call is a phone, lol.

People do not want their PC to be a phone. Microsoft jumped the gun and tried to offer this, like a good decade before the market was ready. Maybe around 2025 or something when we have technology strong enough to make it feasible but the experimental projects that are out right now no one really cares about. How many people do you know using Samsung Dex?

 

[Christopher Kendalls]

The only thing that makes no sense is they invested so much time and effort in developing a mobile platform and when it was actually beginning to become a full fledged OS in the form of W10M, they killed it.

1. W10M today has all the features unlike WP8.1 and works fluently unlike initial 2015 builds.

2. It's file system is probably the best.

3. It's security and integration with Windows 10 for PC it's also among the best.

4. It supports OTG and WiFi direct.

KILLING IT AT NOW IS LIKE WITHDRAWING FROM THE RACE JUST BEFORE THE FINISH LINE.

This can only be possible if they have found a better alternative due to which it made no sense to further continue the development of W10M. The new alternative will use all the developments and features of W10M. That can be the only explanation.

We've been saying this for the last three or four years now.

 

[zr2s10]

IMO, letting it completely die is the only way for them to stand a chance. It pretty much has to come back as W10S, on a pocket PC with Phone/Messaging. Let people forget (as if that many people knew it existed), and come back all new, with a plan and actual EFFORT. However, I don't see them bringing it back. Nadella is too far up Google and Apple's collective rear-ends for that to happen.

 

[spaceOpia1]

I hung on for as long as I could. I finally had to buy a new phone out of necessity. Lumia 950XL had been as buggy as I could stand.
I bought a Pixel 2 XL from Google.
to be honest, the only thing I miss is the start screen from Windows Phone. Everything else is so up to date and... functioning.
In the end, it was not a Windows Mobile versus other brands, but a move towards something that really works.
Windows Mobile is now in such a bad shape that I came to really hate Microsoft for their lack of motivation, especially on Mobile.
I really was a hardcore fan, but it got me blind for a long time. with my new phone in hand, I really feel like I was not seeing how inefficient Windows Mobile has become, especially because of the app gap.

 

[Willgum]

Look. You have to understand the practicality of apps. I think Windows is looking at the problem wrong. You can do EVERYTHING on a pc that you can do on any phone. That's the starting point don't make a phone make a pc. Don't make apps make full version software. Where as, you can only use an iPad for the same purposes as an iPhone. Make a phone for the same purposes as a surface with full versions Windows 10. These pocket phones are capable of running full ps4 if you build to that platform. Then integrate apps to that is not a mobile os. That's the future. Pc in a pocket doimg what you cant on a pc when you're on the go.

 

[mwright53]

I've been on Verizon the last 20 years and using a 8/8.1 Windows phone for the last four years. Today, I'm activating a 950 on Cricket and moving to 10 finally. The dream dies hard.

 

[ronharding]

At the core, it will be Windows 10