While many people on here believe that the update to windows phone 8.1 is all they really need to be happy, it hasn't succeeded in attracting new customers. A lot of the features that I can show off to someone are already available on other devices, and have been available for over a year. While it is a huge upgrade for us, it isn't enough to turn heads unless they are impressed by the design of the OS in general. It also doesn't help that getting the update has been a baffling ordeal.
Eventually there is going to be a WP 9 update, and I think it may be the last harrah for the OS. Either it will succeed and the OS will continue, or it will fail and many of us will have to find a new OS to get behind.
Seeing as WP 9 is probably at least a year away, there is plenty of time for MS to get things right. There is also plenty of time for Android and iOS to receive significant updates. There is a good chance that MS will still be playing catch up when they release WP 9, unless they really aim to go over the top.
I guess one of the prevailing theories is that with MS attempting to merge the PC, tablet, and phone experience, WP 9 will be more similar to W9. I am not sure exactly how they would translate that to a phone, but I don't think that will be enough to really draw people in.
I think the next major WP release needs to be huge. I mean HUGE. Things that you don't even know that you want. Things that no other OS has. Things that a loyal user such as myself could show off to someone that makes them jealous. Its hard for me to even imagine what that would be. Phones these days are already capable of so much that it almost seems overboard. For WP 9 to trump what we are already capable of in a truly revolutionary way seems almost impossible.
But it is necessary. MS is battling so many different things. The stigma of being a dull company. Buggy OS updates. Slow release schedules. People hating Windows 8. The lack of apps on WP (there are apps missing. Whether you use them or not, somebody does). These are things that MS needs to overcome. They aren't on the verge of being an unprofitable company (they always seem to make money somehow), but their hardware and OS divisions have been struggling a lot.
Do you think the struggles with WP are more related to the OS/hardware or with MS itself? Can the issues be solved with a drastically improved OS or does Microsoft just need to market themselves better? What would change public opinion for the next mobile OS? Can they survive a failure?
Eventually there is going to be a WP 9 update, and I think it may be the last harrah for the OS. Either it will succeed and the OS will continue, or it will fail and many of us will have to find a new OS to get behind.
Seeing as WP 9 is probably at least a year away, there is plenty of time for MS to get things right. There is also plenty of time for Android and iOS to receive significant updates. There is a good chance that MS will still be playing catch up when they release WP 9, unless they really aim to go over the top.
I guess one of the prevailing theories is that with MS attempting to merge the PC, tablet, and phone experience, WP 9 will be more similar to W9. I am not sure exactly how they would translate that to a phone, but I don't think that will be enough to really draw people in.
I think the next major WP release needs to be huge. I mean HUGE. Things that you don't even know that you want. Things that no other OS has. Things that a loyal user such as myself could show off to someone that makes them jealous. Its hard for me to even imagine what that would be. Phones these days are already capable of so much that it almost seems overboard. For WP 9 to trump what we are already capable of in a truly revolutionary way seems almost impossible.
But it is necessary. MS is battling so many different things. The stigma of being a dull company. Buggy OS updates. Slow release schedules. People hating Windows 8. The lack of apps on WP (there are apps missing. Whether you use them or not, somebody does). These are things that MS needs to overcome. They aren't on the verge of being an unprofitable company (they always seem to make money somehow), but their hardware and OS divisions have been struggling a lot.
Do you think the struggles with WP are more related to the OS/hardware or with MS itself? Can the issues be solved with a drastically improved OS or does Microsoft just need to market themselves better? What would change public opinion for the next mobile OS? Can they survive a failure?