Is lack of apps the real WP problem?

[olivermills6]

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Nope, the situation is unlikely to change, and has in fact gotten worse.

Microsoft does not appear to care about the platform beyond the odd minor tweak here and there, and developers see that, which makes it even less of an appealing proposition.

That unfair criticism of Microsoft. Microsoft spent 6 years putting an insane amount of money into R&D and Marketing for Windows Phone/Mobile (considering its market share), to claim they do not care is not only short-sighted but downright ungrateful for everything Microsoft have tried to do for the platform.

What has actually happened is they have re-focussed their business to those more successful than mobile, as any sensible business would. I think it's impressive how much work they still do on Windows Mobile, too, given its ever declining market share and the rapid exodus of apps. It's a huge shame that developers never got properly behind Windows Phone, as I think it would have benefitted everyone if they had, as it is only we suffer.

And yes, I completely believe that apps (quantity and quality) are the only reason I, as a fan, am considering other platform. The OS itself is excellent, not perfect but neither are others. However, I think there is a bias in the general public against Microsoft, they're viewed as uncool and boring. I genuinely think the Xbox wouldn't be as popular as it is if it was more obvious that Microsoft make it, which is desperately sad.

 

[celticmagick]

I'm not a huge app person, the basics cover it for me with the exception of a couple of specialty apps. There are several factors at play here. The lack of apps keep your average user from taking a serious look at the platform. Also, the lack of current devices. This compounded with poor marketing and drive from Microsoft is hurting the mobile platform. The only hope right now is for more developers to develop using the Universal path to also include mobile - making an app for the desktop and tablet while including mobile as a bonus.

I'm not a developer but it would seem worth a look into the idea of making the foundation of my app in the universal package and having the option to make it available for multiple platforms (including iOS and Android).

 

[Brett Sites]

I'm simply ready for a new phone. Why don't we have continuum capable phones and high end phones available on the largest carrier? Small ball isn't cutting it. Microsoft could have updated the 950 and 950XL and made it available on ALL carriers to buy time for the so-called "Surface Phone". Why aren't they filling the interim?

 

[Tim Speicher]

I left WP for two reasons: the OS is way to slow. My 950 is slower than a 200$ Android. Opening apps or websites is just horrible. i.e. Whatsapp: Even when it was open a second before and I reopen it through the Taskmanager it takes some seconds. On Android it opens immediatly. The whole WP-OS is lethargic.
The second reason is: I have sent my 950 5 times to Microsoft and they weren't able to repair it. The internet connection often doesn't work. Except when I connect it to external power. And they don't repair it. And I just gave up.
And that's a shame, because WP is so much better designed than android. It's a beautiful system.

 

[dorelse]

Yes. I know whenever some new app, or cool product is out there, that that little app icon for my iPhone will always show up, and I'll be invited to the party. Movie tickets, Apple Pay, and every app under the sun is there. My new Yamaha receiver, iphone app...new projector, iphone app, credit union - apple pay, everything.

Its a great change...love WM10, I do, but I got tired of swimming upstream. Much prefer the UI of WM10...

 

[dorelse]

I left WP for two reasons: the OS is way to slow. My 950 is slower than a 200$ Android. Opening apps or websites is just horrible. i.e. Whatsapp: Even when it was open a second before and I reopen it through the Taskmanager it takes some seconds. On Android it opens immediatly. The whole WP-OS is lethargic.
The second reason is: I have sent my 950 5 times to Microsoft and they weren't able to repair it. The internet connection often doesn't work. Except when I connect it to external power. And they don't repair it. And I just gave up.
And that's a shame, because WP is so much better designed than android. It's a beautiful system.

To be fair...Whatsapp/FB/Instagram are all Osmetta ported apps by Facebook, which is why they're so slow on start up...nothing MS can do about it.

 

[pedmar007]

"MS isn't supporting the platform, I don't blame them, there's no point throwing good money after bad. They are doing the absolute bare minimum to stop it from becoming abandonware. The same can't be said of third parties who have pretty much left."

How is it good after bad money when it's you who made it bad in the first place. If you have a kid struggling in private school which is good money wouldn't you hire a tutor to help the kid or would you allow that kid to struggle? Is that throwing good money after bad because your kid isn't learning at the same pace as the others?

 

[ucyimDa_Ruler]

In my perspective it is multiple things that **** me off on the platform:

1. Microsoft releasing first party apps on other platforms first.
2. Microsoft Garage not releasing apps for us.
3. Bluetooth sucks. Absolutely horrible - doesn't connect to MySync in my truck. Both developed by Microsoft you'd think it'll pair without a hitch.
4. ZERO communication from Microsoft. We were promised features for RS2. We've heard **** on what this update would do for us. Creators update brings a wealth of new features for Mobile that tally up to a big fat GOOSE EGG.
5. We've been through 3 iterations of being told one thing and having to buy another phone because of "we've changed the stack". I feel another coming with this Dynamic Shell because most phone hardware won't support it.
6. I own a 950 XL and the camera sucks. I've missed so many pictures because of focusing.
7. Their auto-text predictions suck. I should have abandoned swype for regular typing months ago. It was terrible ever since WM10. WP8.1 was the best by far!
8. Continnum isn't ready.
9. UWP isn't ready.
10. App crashes cause the OS to reboot. Opening up Groove usually restarts my phone one a week.

I am not big on apps. I live my life outside of my phone so apps aren't a big deal. If they work great, but usually not the case for first part applications like Groove.

I am a strong believer that the BS insider program ruined the platform. I've noticed things becoming crappier the moment an innovative company asked biased people to drive the development of what could have been an awesome experience. Xbox also suffers from this.

 

[Plaban Biswas]

Well to be honest, it's not the app gap that bothers me(apps I require are already present) but the quality of the apps that bothers me.
Take apps such as LinkedIn, Uber, Amazon, PayTM and many more.
The UI, functionality etc are much better on Android than in Windows 10 mobile.
Even Microsoft's OneNote app has an intuitive badge support in Android to take notes quickly but not in Windows (at least they can implement something like that in Action Center like the app Action Note).
Another factor is the lack of Google apps.
The company where I am doing my internship uses Google services such as slides, sheets etc and hangouts which are free of cost and are seamlessly integrated with Android.
Even my college uses google services.
When I open google drive from my phone, it says browser not supported.
So these are the challenges which I have faced as a Windows Mobile user.

 

[shaunydub]

Having been using WM of some description since my ipaq in 2002 I finally left last October.
I loved the OS and the features, despite losing some of the "killer" features and exclusive features that were in WP7 thru WP8 but more and more apps left and everything MS do with app bridges and universal apps doesn't seem to entice developers to the platform.

If they think people want to use bots and web pages instead of apps they are very mistaken, maybe in 10 years when bot technology can do everything an app can do but only after Apple invent it of course

I moved to Huawei P9 and it's pretty good on a day to day basis although I miss my camera button a hell of a lot and think if Lumia camera tech was with the Leica lens / dual lens in the P9 it would be killer.

Having had a Surface RT, Band 1 and a Band 2 and a HTC Titan, L920, L1520, L950XL, L520 I will be very cautious if MS decides to push Windows on phone type devices in the future or jumping on any future concepts as an early adopter.

 

[Patrick Satta]

The lack of apps isn't the problem, but a symptom of a larger problem. The larger problem that is the cause of all others is the public's perception of Microsoft. There are many things (Win98, Me, Vista, IE, poor hardware) that have tarnished Microsoft's image, & consumers, as well as companies paint with a wide brush. Microsoft's tarnished image is both deserved & undeserved. There is a hard line anti-Microsoft bias that is out there, & that infects not only consumers, but people in tech companies as well. There are no apps because tech companies, & those in charge, are biased against Microsoft. Consumers don't buy the phones because they don't like Microsoft, it's not popular, & it has no apps. It's been an unending cycle that Microsoft has been unable to break.

 

[ashram]

For every single company that seems to be adding to the Windows Store, it feels like 10 others are leaving. This past year has been brutal. Favorite apps leaving, feature parity non-existant with Android/ios versions, app instability, the list goes on and on. It REALLY sucks, especially since I've been on a Windows device since the Samsung Blackjack. I have been able to make due, and use my work phone (a piece of crap iphone 6, god I hate it) for the missing apps (banking, etc)

 

[ladydias]

I love the OS and plan to stick with it but I do think the app gap is hard for other people to get around. I also think that MS should have kept promoting the mobile side of things along with the desktop. In order for UWP to succeed, it needs people and developers to see the benefits which means promoting the fact that the apps can be used across the ecosystem and mobile should have been front and center because most people use their phones constantly and, in many cases, it has replaced what they used their desktop for back in the day. It's not enough to promote just one section of the ecosystem and hope it will trickle down to phone but the messaging needs to be clear and consistent for everything else involved.

Right now HoloLens is still out of reach for normal people (although that looks to be changing with the incoming mixed-reality partner devices) and not everyone wants or has an Xbox One so that leaves PC and Mobile as the most prominent vehicles to showcase the benefits of UWP and it feels like MS has been sitting on their butt about showing clearly where the perks of one OS and ecosystem are.

And then there is the situation with the Samsung Galaxy MS Edition. If MS wants to promote it because they feel it will get people interested in the concept of a Continuum-like experience then that's fine. However, if they aren't pushing Windows Mobile every bit as hard as they do Samsung then I'm afraid it will send a clear message to developers that they have no confidence in their own platform and that it will be pointless to develop for it. Yes, PC is good but they need more to push their vision further and get more people on board.

I have to agree with the sentiment that, while Satya Nadella has done a lot of things right, where he's gone with WM10 is a step backward. The features are there but the promotion of the platform just isn't and I'm not sure we can come back from where we are now, which is a shame.

 

[Billferreira]

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 don't need a thousand versions of the same game or note taking app. I do need one good version of each serious app. Microsoft needs to get out there and fund their app store, it is chump change. If they expect business users to support their vision of Windows mobile, the non-business apps are required or folks will refuse to use the device. People are not going to carry two smartphones.

 

[final_fantasy781]

Ok yeah,I think the app-gap is one of the top reasons the platform isn't doing well.

Others can be misinformation from opinion journalists, telling a bad story,or piece, about the platform that is incorrect. I remember last year a journalist would share a story once or every two weeks, saying, "Windows Mobile is die."

Most people don't know it exists!

With the app-gap, some users have stated that we will never get apps because of Xbox. Not because it's there, but if Nintendo or PlayStation/Sony is ever to release a new game on a mobile device, it will never come to Windows 10. Only due to competition.


Mistaken identity - is that an Android device?
It's never on TV. Plus the commercials aren't as memorable.
There's an 64/32bit for pic, just use that. (Hearthstone)

These are just most things I notice, not in any particular order.

 

[TheKingsEighth]

Yes the lack of apps has always been the problem. Yes the major apps are there but it's new ones that will never get to the platform. Pokemon Go was the biggest example. People say they don't need the latest and greatest, which is fine, but why would you not want the latest and greatest if you could have it? We are all tech enthusiast on this site and are always trying to keep up with tech. OSes aside, people on Apple and Google phones will get the latest apps forevermore until something drastically changes. Latest home automation thing comes out, doubtful those apps will be on Windows Phone. A lot of the new WiFi Mesh routers need the Android or iOS app to set the thing up. I would not be able to do that on my 950. Also, I had to purchase a car recently. It was a Jeep so it comes with their Uconnect system and service with it for free for a year. They do not have their mobile app for Windows Phone. No remote start or sending navigation routes to the car for Windows Phone users.

I too am a huge fan of Windows Mobile. Even if it was the best OS experience out there we are just not getting the experiences other mobile users are getting plain and simple. Unfortunately Microsoft can't guarantee any of that in whatever comes next for Windows Mobile. I honestly hope that changes but for the time being it's nice to not worry about never getting something when you are on iOS or Android.

 

[Albatross2]

I was a long time windows phone user from the WP7 days up through my pre-order of the Lumia 950. I left for android in the fall of 2016 and it was definitely due to the apps.

Navigation, banking, parking, local sports... No support for Windows mobile on any of these fronts. I still love and prefer windows mobile, but I like my new apps too much to come back.

 

[Tunde Fajimi]

I am on Windows Phone 8.1 Update (I know, unsupported) on Lumia 630 dual SIM (I know, low-end).

Even though it's a several-years-old OS I am relatively comfortable with it. I prefer it to Windows 10 Mobile, which I used for some months before it crashed my phone and I had to revert to status quo, and it felt incomplete with weaker design, font choice, etc.

I think the handling of the OS was the genesis of Microsoft's problems. The changes between architectures (from 7 to 10) jaded a lot of small-time developers who were dipping their toes in the Windows Phone OS waters. They mostly didn't return.

The unbalanced handling of OEMS and buying Nokia led to HTC and the like giving up on the platform.

For the fans? The loss of unique features ; the lack of evolution of Live Tiles ; UI inconsistencies in shoehorning non-organic concepts from Android; stability issues; poor marketing (only after Nokia bowed out); instability ; inability of Windows Phone/Mobile, and Windows OS (from 7!-10) to work together seamlessly (in the light of Apple's efforts) are baffling; MS and SG8; and loss of user-specific apps have made supporting the platform quite a challenge rather than a pleasure.

It will take several generations of a stable OS (CShell? WoARM) with massive marketing, on quality hardware (high-end to low-end), and no sudden changes to get some new, first-time users to come in and maybe have some market share, but if they do not see apps, they will not buy. Again, MS alienated a whole swath of engaged Western and non-Western users (and developers, by scrapping their developer engagement platforms) who have now moved on. How will they win them back?

 

[Lundon44]

Just my personal opinion here. For years, literally years I defended Windows Phone to non-Windows Phone users. I defended things like the app gap, the lack of cutting edge features or hardware, the delay of updated features etc etc. I spent a good 8 years or so loyal to the OS and it's fan base. I've owned about a dozen various Windows Phones and flagships from the HTC PPC-6700 aka HTC Apache all the way to my last and final WP, the Lumia 950 XL.

My overall experience was bittersweet but in the end it really was the waiting game that led me to buy a Note 7 (swapped for an S7 Edge, now patiently awaiting an S8+). I felt for years I was deceived and lied to by Microsoft about upcoming features and apps. And every new iteration of Windows Phone was considered a fresh start and the beginning of a new OS. Windows Phone 7, then 8, then 8.1 and now 10. I saw developers come and go. I waited years at a time in between major hardware refreshes (Lumia 1520 to the 950 XL) and some basic features felt like they took years to arrive.

Everything I felt that was unique to my phone would only soon been given away or adopted by another OS. And it was my 950XL that was the final nail in the coffin for me. Simple things like not having my own banking app, no Cineplex app (though it finally arrived right before my switch), having limited access to games and having to resort to 3rd party apps to give me a limited experience. Plus, again based on my personal experiences my 950XL was just buggy as hell. I actually regretted the upgrade. And the salt in the wounds was I had just spent almost $1100 CAN on this phone. I couldn't do it anymore.

Other flagship phones now looked way more enticing. Other hardware was outclassing Microsoft's by far and having Microsoft admit they sorta gave up and offered the 950's just to please the fan base was sad. The cameras were no longer superior in the industry. Microsoft Office became available on other phones, and surprisingly the experiences were better in most cases on anything but Windows Phones. Xbox services moved over.. Everything that made me proud to own a Windows Phone was now available on a Galaxy S phone and in most cases, the experience was superior.

Some people will make that "laggy" argument regarding Android but I can assure you folks that have never owned a laggy Android yet. My assumptions are that poor optimisation was a problem in the past. But with a Snapdragon 820 or higher I've found it quite quick. While I'm glad I made the switch, WP will always hold a soft spot in my heart. And should a day come when MS gets their act together and builds a quality, Surface like experience on a phone I will definitely take a close look at it. But without having access to all the apps I currently have access to now I can't see myself sacrificing everything just to have something unique anymore.

 

[yeungl]

If WP can't make Edge, facebook, tweeter, Nest, bank apps and MS wallet right, they are certainly doomed