I think it's a two-sided coin. You can't take one side without acknowledging the other. We know that Windows on phones has been failing for a long time. Not only that, but PC sales have been falling dramatically for years. Microsoft needed to make the necessary changes in order to protect the user base they've built up over decades of work. Windows 10 was the answer to Microsoft's problems, their attempt to simultaneously salvage the failing PC market whilst also building a foundation for the future of Windows on mobile devices. Windows Mobile has never been a money maker for Microsoft, so why on earth would they dedicate precious resources to building it up when their profits were slowly dwindling? Now PC sales are back on the rise according to noted and respected analysts, and Windows 10 has successfully become an operating system that can reliably run on any number of form factors. The next step for Microsoft is to take advantage of their newfound position and to bring their mobile efforts to the forefront. The retrenchment was absolutely necessary for Windows 10 to happen, and Nadella and everyone else on Microsoft's board recognized and acted upon this.
Windows 10 Mobile has not faded into nonexistence, it has simply hidden behind its larger, more capable brother, Windows 10 on PC. The Universal Windows Platform, the Universal Update Platform, the CShell, Continuum, these are not flags of surrender, these are the pillars that will support a new era of Windows that's more capable, more mobilized, and with a broader consumer focus. Windows 10 Mobile runs amazingly on my phones, when only six months prior it was plagued with problems and bugs. The improvements have come slowly, but they have come. Microsoft is looking to the future that is device agnostic, where no matter what you're using Microsoft's services are available at your fingertips, and they do the job just as well if not better than any competitor. Windows 10 Mobile is a part of that future, or it would've died a long time ago. We all know Microsoft is one to kill things off rather suddenly, not dragging them to their slow, painful death.
One thing can definitely be said of Microsoft, and it's something that has always been true. Microsoft is terrible at communication. We rarely have any clue what Microsoft's plans are, or their reasoning behind their decisions. Not only this, Microsoft is awful at communicating what they have done to their consumers. Microsoft's silence regarding Windows 10 Mobile doesn't necessarily mean that Windows 10 Mobile has died and we've just yet to smell it's body, only that Microsoft is doing what they always do. And that's not tell us a single fluffing thing.
I just don't think either side can jump to conclusions so hastily. The business world is a slow moving one. It takes months for a business the size of Microsoft to execute a plan, especially when working with such a large, complex operating system. All of our arguments have merits, but not a single one of us can claim to know what Microsoft is truly planning with Windows 10 Mobile. I understand perfectly well why Microsoft took this retrenchment strategy, but I dislike this long silence. I really believe communication is the issue here.