Is Surface Phone the future and Windows 10 Mobile a dead end?

[Spectrum90]

Microsoft has practically announced the Surface phone leaking the information to Rubino and other bloggers. The Surface phone will use an Intel SOC making possible to run desktop programs through Continuum. This is a great feature for the enterprise market and Windows fans, the two segments that Microsoft is targeting with Windows Phone.
But then, why would anyone buy a crippled ARM Lumia device that lacks the only unique feature of the platform?

Having two variants of an OS for the same form factor has proven to be confusing for the public and a commercial failure. I think Microsoft could abandon Windows 10 Mobile as they did with Windows RT.

 

[morozshawn]

Re: Is the Surface Phone the future of Windows Phone?

The Surface Phone could be huge, and yes, I agree with you. I think Microsoft really should abandon Windows 10 Mobile and just use Windows for everything.

 

[Spectrum90]

I agree. Most people should avoid the 950 and 950 XL and wait for the Surface Phone. The ARM devices could be EOLed in the near future and left unsupported.

 

[Sedp23]

I think it's stupid leave the surface brand on tablets.

 

[bo_woods]

I agree. Most people should avoid the 950 and 950 XL and wait for the Surface Phone. The ARM devices could be EOLed in the near future and left unsupported.

True, but the Surface Phone will be alone and ahead for awhile before others start making their phones run full Windows...

 

[Great deal]

Its all about timing - get it wrong and your screwed, get it right and your the king (tablets...ms came first, apple second and showed the world how to do it right but now suffering from thier own high walled limitiations)

Surface Phone is coming, no question about that, no point in releasing it when the OS is not even out to the masses and Win 10 has 6 months to go (at least) before drivers are updated and bugs ironed out, features added/activated, not to mention Office 2016, continuum etc.

950s are a stop gap as they need to release 'something' imo before Xmas, I doubt sales will be high, depends on price point i gess and what actually materializes.

 

[HeyCori]

Surface Phone as the future? I wouldn't say it's the future, however, if a Intel based Surface Phone was making iPhone level sells, I could see a future where Microsoft went full Intel/Surface. Of course, a Windows Phone of any kind isn't going to sell like an iPhone any time soon.

 

[a5cent]

You recently mentioned how, in your view, MS can't afford to ignore the low end market, and how it would be a disaster if MS didn't announce any low end Lumias on Oct. 6th.

Now you're stating that MS should abandon W10M and focus solely on the Surface Phone, which MS has already warned will be more expensive than an iPhone. Why will it cost so much? Because running Win32 software will require more capable hardware than is usually in a phone, and it will require the full W10 OS rather than W10M. Expecting MS to compete at the low end without W10M is quite the contradiction.

W10M exists primarily for one reason: to bring universal apps to low cost hardware. W10M runs well with half the RAM of W10, it requires 1/10th the storage space to install, and is licensed at the cost of $0. If MS is to compete against Android in the low end phone and tablet markets, W10M is the vehicle by which to do so. It was built specifically for that task.

Either you believe MS must compete in the low end market segment, or you don't. If you believe that is necessary, as you've previously stated, then W10M is an essential product in MS' product portfolio.

 

[sinisfree]

Surface phone? that is not gonna happen.
MS focus is on software for others mobile os. soon think they'll declare windows phone or windows mobile is dead.
but,
surface intel tablet mini, 7inch, with cellular , maybe.

 

[GoWP]

I also think the Surface phone will come if Lumia phones doesn't survive. I really miss the good old Nokia and their originality. IMHO but everything with the MS becomes boring.

 

[Xavier2508]

I'll just say that some of you are awfully sure about what is essentially an amalgam of assumptions, rumours and wishful thinking. All we know for sure is that MS is working on an Intel phone aimed at the enterprise, no one knows what it looks like or how much it will cost. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if continuum turns out to be meant solely for full-size universal apps either.
And even if it does do win32, ARM will continue to make sense for low end and mid range, and even high end since not everyone needs or wants win32 on his phone.

 

[a5cent]

I'll just say that some of you are awfully sure about what is essentially an amalgam of assumptions, rumours and wishful thinking. All we know for sure is that MS is working on an Intel phone aimed at the enterprise, no one knows what it looks like or how much it will cost. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if continuum turns out to be meant solely for full-size universal apps either.
And even if it does do win32, ARM will continue to make sense for low end and mid range, and even high end since not everyone needs or wants win32 on his phone.

I don't think the assumptions being made are as unreasonable as you make them out to be. They are these:

a)
A Surface Phone is in fact in the works. You think this is certain, but as of yet it has not been officially confirmed by MS, so it's existence is still just an assumption. There are simply too many reports of its existence to believe it mere fantasy however.

b)
A Surface Phone will run Win32 software. This is by far the biggest assumption. Nobody knows this for sure, but there would seem to be absolutely no reason to use an Intel x86 based SoC if running Win32 software were not the goal. Without this ability, MS would appear to just be wasting a LOT of effort and time on supporting a separate SoC with absolutely nothing to show for it. That makes far less sense and is far less likely.

c)
A Surface Phone will be priced above the iPhone. This is a rumour that can be traced back to an article published by WindowsUnited.de which WCentral and others quoted. I don't know how well sourced the rumour is, but if you're willing to believe that the goal is to run Win32 software (decently), then concluding that the price would have to be higher than an iPhone is practically a given.

It's true that we can't really know anything about this device, but that doesn't mean we can't put 2 and 2 together either. IMHO the above are three very reasonable assumptions. The willingness to believe those to be very probable is all this discussion requires.

 

[Spectrum90]

You recently mentioned how, in your view, MS can't afford to ignore the low end market, and how it would be a disaster if MS didn't announce any low end Lumias on Oct. 6th.

Now you're stating that MS should abandon W10M and focus solely on the Surface Phone, which MS has already warned will be more expensive than an iPhone. Why will it cost so much? Because running Win32 software will require more capable hardware than is usually in a phone, and it will require the full W10 OS rather than W10M. Expecting MS to compete at the low end without W10M is quite the contradiction.

W10M exists primarily for one reason: to bring universal apps to low cost hardware. W10M runs well with half the RAM of W10, it requires 1/10th the storage space to install, and is licensed at the cost of $0. If MS is to compete against Android in the low end phone and tablet markets, W10M is the vehicle by which to do so. It was built specifically for that task.

Either you believe MS must compete in the low end market segment, or you don't. If you believe that is necessary, as you've previously stated, then W10M is an essential product in MS' product portfolio.

I'm trying to understand what Microsoft is doing and how It's going to impact WP users. I'm not really stating what Microsoft SHOULD do.

If Microsoft neglects the low end segment, sales are going to fall of a cliff and developers won't port their apps to the platform. If Microsoft abandons W10M, people who recently bought Windows phones won't be happy.
Microsoft is 'massively retrenching' on the smartphone market, that can't be good for us.

That been said, I don't see any impediment for a low end Intel smartphone. Atom SOCs are powering low end tablets and computer sticks that run quite well most Win32 programs. You can buy those products for $80.

 

[gljvd]

I think they face the bigger problem the phones that leaked are lack luster. If surface phone isn't an October or nov thing I will just get another note.

 

[morozshawn]

Windows 10 Mobile is just the beginning.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Microsoft's strategy is :
2 high end
2 low end
2 enterprise

You can't do that if you get rid of W10M.

 

[skstrials]

Surface Phone as the future? I wouldn't say it's the future, however, if a Intel based Surface Phone was making iPhone level sells, I could see a future where Microsoft went full Intel/Surface. Of course, a Windows Phone of any kind isn't going to sell like an iPhone any time soon.

When Windows 8 was first released, it was going to be Windows 8.1 that was going to save Windows Phone. But we all know how it turned out.

When Windows 8.1 was released, it was going to be Windows 10 Mobile that was going to save Windows Phone. But we all know how it is turning out.

When Windows 10 is released, it is going to be the "Surface phone" that is going to save Windows Phone. But we all know how it is going to turn out.

All in all, there is no changing the fact that the smartphone market will be a duopoly between the Iphone and the Android phones.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Peter Rundqvist]

Well, I don't think that that necessarily will be the case. For many enterprises, Windows is the platform of choice. Having the possibility to enroll the phones used in the organisation and make them manageable as just another Windows device, will be a killer feature. Here, Microsoft will have a real advantage over its competitors. I think MS should stress these possibilities much more. Today, much of the debate is about app gap and home user experience. There's another dimension to WP that needs to be communicated as well. And, to be honest, I think W10M will take off from here, and only then spread to the home user market.