Is lack of apps the real WP problem?

[Soulskeeper]

The real problem is the incompatibility between the hardware and software, between apps and hardware, lack of apps, so many bugs in ios...etc.

 

[prettyconfusd]

The lack of apps is an issue, to be sure - but right now the lack of any actual Windows phones is more of an issue.

Throw in the glacial pace of updates to the mobile OS and a very iffy looking future past twelve months from now and those are much bigger problems than the lack of Snapchat, or your banking app, or some other random app.

The whole thing is a massive shame - and it's almost entirely one of Microsoft's making that they don't seem to want to actually do anything about.

 

[mariusdk]

I own a Huawei Mate 8 and a 950XL. I have always preferred the Windows Phone OS over Android. I don't know why that is, but for me it just works the way I like an OS to work.

But I stopped using the 950XL about six months back, simply because the apps available on Android (and that I actually use) were not available on WP.

And so it is that I have thrown in my lot with Android - not because of the OS, but because of app availability on the platform. And that's so sad for me, knowing that MS is really at the behest of app developers (or lack thereof).

Is the situation ever likely to change? I really hope so, because every day I wish I could go back to my WP.

Mart

It wasn't, but it sure has reached that stage now and if it has reached that stage for me, it must have done that for others a long time ago.

I don't tweet or Tumble or whatever else is out there, my social media is down to Facebook and Whatsapp. Facebook is used very sparingly and whatsapp on a daily basis.

Until recently I was covered with all the apps I could have needed, but it changed rather quickly. I am now without my local banking app, which was very polished and made banking on the fly easy and painless. Now i have to wait till I have access to my PC.

Not only are we losing apps, we went from having some of the best apps in the market like Here Drive to the worst version of Waze....and we just have to accept it.

I have just finished a experiment where I tried out a Iphone 7 and Galaxy S7 for 14 days...both have outstanding app markets and especially in the case of android several options, which i think keeps developers on their toes as there is competition for their product, but both systems feels just so jaded. I used to have android, but can not even remember what type it was,I know it was a HTC handset and at the time highly rated, but it just does not feel like android has evolved a lot from those days. Do not get me wrong, both systems are polished.....I just wished they were more windowy.......

Having said that, if there is a Microsoft t.v. app for android tomorrow, I would jump ship despite not liking the interface, being able to take my library with me whilst I travel and a continuum dock helps curb the boredom. With the foldable keybord and mouse it also helps me logon to my work and complete a lot of things that in the past needed me to take a laptop/tablet with me.

It's hard to acknowledge the truth about something you like, but for windows phone to succeed, they need to sell phones, the opportunity was there when they launched the 950 and 950xl and when they had more developers on board. They should have launched really attractive hardware that would have attracted both customer and developer. Even if they launch a Galaxy S8 type spec hardware now, there is no apps that would attract the amount of customers to make it a success.

Meanwhile they keep dangling the caroat that is Surface phone.....we can all hope, i guess, but in the mean while we will live with devices that are becoming less useful, less functional and a ever decreasing supporter and customer base.

 

[scolab]

HTC Trophy, Lumia 822, Lumia 928, Lumia Icon. Loved them all dearly, but yes, the lack of apps finally pushed me over to a Galaxy S7 Edge. Fantastic piece of hardware, but I still struggle with Android. I dearly miss the simplicity of Windows Mail and OneDrive integration. It's just not the same on Android; not even close. Even more so how smoothly Cortana integrated with my car by reading and sending text messages without even taking my Icon out of my pocket. And I don't care what anyone says, Android Widgets don't hold a candle to Live Tiles.

And yeah, I'm pissed at Microsoft for allowing this to happen. I still believe they could have been a major player if they had introduced new hardware to Verizon and provided incentives for selling them.

What apps? Banking apps, local news apps, work related apps.

 

[fatclue_98]

This is where i draw the line with Microsoft, and windows users alike. The constant sugar coating of one of the most crucial topics involving the OS, "apps" Between the lackadaisical attitude many windows phone users take to the app market, and the constant sugar coating of how it isn't that hard to find alternatives, you would never think its an issue. But it is, to the general consumer. Not the business man who is completely satisfied as long as he has Excel, or the 40+ individual who was just recently coaxed into trading in his flip phone for a "smart phone" because his flip phone wouldn't take pictures. In short some loyal windows users keep implying that they're completely satisfied with the bare minimum; while I'd say an equal amount of Users, and a much more vast group of people who would really want to make the switch are screaming at the top of their lungs that we need apps. And clearly Microsoft has chose to listen only to the earlier group, thus they don't have to exert any extra effort. It's clearly a problem to a large majority, stop sugar coating it.

The 40+ users you're trying to portray as dinosaurs were the 20+ and 30+ in the 80s and 90s who built this b!tch. You'd be on an Etch-A-Sketch if it weren't for our us.

Sent from Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows via mTalk

 

[digitaldd]

If websites would just work in a mobile browser rather than have us install an app to get anywhere close to full functionality from their site there would be no need for mobile apps.

 

[Charles Collins]

The lack of apps has always been Windows phone Achilles Heel. Now we have a lack of apps combined with a miserable and miniscule choice of hardware. There is simply no reason to choose Windows phone now.

 

[Chris Mair]

I'm probably a good use case. Going back to 2007 I used the first iPhone then switched to Windows Phone. In most recent years L920>L930>L640>L950XL. Last fall my 950XL was destroyed so I needed a new phone. I went out and got the best iPhone (7+ 256 Jet Black) you could get and an Apple Watch just to see how I'd like it. I'm now planning to trade that in for the Galaxy 8+ and then make a final decision when the game changer iPhone comes out in the fall.

The apps became a huge deal for me. The city parking app in Chicago is a good example of a must have. I also became really sick of using a workaround app for *anything*. Switching to IOS meant most of the apps I enjoy were being actively worked on and I wasn't making excuses for Winphone anymore. I'm curious to see how I'll like Android having never had an Android phone and what I'm ultimately using at the end of the year.

At the end of the day the two reasons I stayed on Winphone so long, the UI and the Camera quality, are becoming less of an issue for me and the reasons I wanted to leave, no apps or forward leaning development, are becoming more important reasons of why I likely won't be back.

And I hate to say it but similar thinking is creeping into my desktop and laptop choices as well.

 

[tenneck]

I own a Huawei Mate 8 and a 950XL. I have always preferred the Windows Phone OS over Android. I don't know why that is, but for me it just works the way I like an OS to work.

But I stopped using the 950XL about six months back, simply because the apps available on Android (and that I actually use) were not available on WP.

And so it is that I have thrown in my lot with Android - not because of the OS, but because of app availability on the platform. And that's so sad for me, knowing that MS is really at the behest of app developers (or lack thereof).

Is the situation ever likely to change? I really hope so, because every day I wish I could go back to my WP.

Mart

I have had a 640, a 950XL, and am now on an Elite X3, which I really do like. And, I used to have dual sim models because I liked having my office and home number on the same cell, so I would only have to carry one phone. But since so many developers have abandoned the 10 Mobile market, I was forced to buy a BLU LIFE X2 for my office phone just to have access to some apps that I like to use. Fortunately, Garmin, for now, still supports Windows Mobile, so my fenix Chronos still connected to my X3, but who knows how much longer that will last. The OS itself is far better than the scattered and fractured Android platform, but MSFT seems to have thrown their hands up and given up on the market, when I still think it is viable (as long as they'll roll out their 10 on ARM, which would make Continuum 1000x more useful). I really do prefer 10 to Android (and iOS, which seems so dated). Hopefully MSFT and HP will provide us with some great hardware for 10 on ARM (with a better camera, please, for all that is holy, please).

 

[bing722]

The lack of phone choices and the difficulty of tracking down the available phones is definitely a huge issue. The "app gap" is almost insurmountable right now unless there's some huge shift in how average people live in the mid 21st century. Mobile websites don't cut it when you want to make a remote bank deposit or when you want to use Snapchat. The UWP app idea was a great one, but it didn't take off because the average person does not install a ton of apps on their desktops and laptops. There's much less variety on W10 Mobile although I do prefer it as an OS.

 

[726]

I love everything about Microsoft; their OS, the UI and how it works. What really bothers me is the app gap. There are a variety of apps I was using on my HTC, myTouch, which are mostly missing from the windows store. I will go to the store and can't anything important there. Most apps are leaving the store, with claims of low usage. I wonder why! Why is Windows is not making their brand attractive? I know 100% sure that if an app like SnapChat comes to store, 45% of those who have left wp will return.

 

[Christian Del Rosario]

I also just switched to android. I also got the mate 8 (it's a great phone!). I can say is that i missed wp ui, but having no local apps is a deal breaker now that i realized how much i was missing before.

And that was a few months ago.

Recently ive been checking on my old lumia 720 running w10. I passed it to my mom after getting the mate8. I noticed that windows has become sluggish and unreliable software-wise. Yes maybe lumia 720 was too old for w10 but my lumia 800 was even older but it still feels new. I guess w10 has become too heavy as phone os. Like i always say on comments, photos app takes too long to load newly taken photos, many times sharing causes app crashes or lags. Basic apps like camera is taking time to load too.

So i guess i wont be missing windows phones any more. Im ok with android since im not the uberly techie person.

 

[Ntokozo Mkhize]

I used a Lumia 640 which I loved so much, besides the front camera. I loved how it worked and looked. I started getting crazy when my bank, network provider and few shops I usually shop at stopped supporting WP. Besides the essential app, it was tiring not having apps that most people had. Sad that I had to change to a ZTE device(Blade V7 lite) but I just got paid and saw it cheap and bought it on the spot.

 

[tsanov]

I own Lumia 930 and every day I find another app that stops work. For example with latest Anniversary update, also with Creators update, my favorite apps doesn't work. Here is short list of apps:
- Spotify (yes, Spotify cannot be opened. It is stuck on loading screen);
- my d-link lite - it works before, because it was installed on windows 8.1 before upgrade to windows 10. It also stuck on loading screen;
- Flightradar24 - the same problem;
- and more and more apps that I like to use every day or once a month - never mind. When I need an app, it should work even without latest features.

As much as I miss, today I decided to leave the family of Windows Mobile. It is OS with great potential, but smartphone without apps is just a phone.

Even the Redstone 3 to revolutionize - it will require new devices.

 

[nufailshabandri]

Yes

 

[editguy]

I own Lumia 930 and every day I find another app that stops work. For example with latest Anniversary update, also with Creators update, my favorite apps doesn't work. Here is short list of apps:
- Spotify (yes, Spotify cannot be opened. It is stuck on loading screen);
- my d-link lite - it works before, because it was installed on windows 8.1 before upgrade to windows 10. It also stuck on loading screen;
- Flightradar24 - the same problem;
- and more and more apps that I like to use every day or once a month - never mind. When I need an app, it should work even without latest features.

As much as I miss, today I decided to leave the family of Windows Mobile. It is OS with great potential, but smartphone without apps is just a phone.

Even the Redstone 3 to revolutionize - it will require new devices.

Did you try uninstalling and reinstalling those apps?

 

[Chemy JMHT]

Do you remember when like 100 brands were making Windows Phones ?

 

[fatclue_98]

Do you remember when like 100 brands were making Windows Phones ?

I remember when there were 100 brands selling Windows Mobiles. HTC probably made 90 of them.

 

[Chemy JMHT]

I remember when there were 100 brands selling Windows Mobiles. HTC probably made 90 of them.

Well I actually remember Dell, Acer, HTC, Samsung, ZTE, Sony, LG, Toshiba and a lot more.

In 2008 Windows was got more than the 40% of the market share for smartphones: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile)

And in time a lot of brands were making devices for that platform (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Windows_Mobile_devices).

Sad today is not as powerful as it should be.

 

[danna_bowman]

Yes Its Best to have the best Platform and its always nice to have as many Apps without any problems