Is lack of apps the real WP problem?

[captaincalamity]

over the last few weeks, i decided to do an experiment, sold my iphone 6s and note 5, bought a lumia 640, always use my windows 10 dell tablet extensively, am saving the cash for possibly buying a lumia 950 and something else, maybe just for the odd game an ipad mini or something. Anyway, had two weeks on just windows 10 phone, and i have to say ive not really missed apps much, most of them are terrible background resource hogs anyway, even though the lumia 640 is low powered it still loads webpages fairly quickly and can be easily pinned to your start menu, many apps are glorified mobile web layouts anyway. Found some great alternative apps and seriously loving the UI, pin to start and ease of use, ok im not a heavy app user but really dont miss them that much at all. Just need to make my mind up on going for a 950 or just stick with the 640

 

[cr_buck]

It's easy. Price a cutting edge phone for around $299, take a $300 loss per phone, put 10 million in the market at a loss of 3 billion which is nothing for MSFT, and make your last stand.

Then developers will come over. It's clear the iOS bridge was a joke (see the Facebook 1.2 gig app) that is horrible.

Facebook was not made with the iOS Bridge. It was converted using Facebook's own tools.

 

[TechJunkie81]

Apps are not a problem for me. I am very happy with Windows 10 Mobile on my Lumia 1520.

 

[cr_buck]

The lack of apps gas always been thre problem. I've met quite a few people that wanted or tried Windows Phone only to go elsewhere saying they had no apps. Even as a fan i am being forced to consider switching. The sad fact is even fan apps like Windows Central work better on other platforms. The Windows app wouldnt even let me comment.

 

[remmo]

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 think the problem is that MS was expecting people to get Windows Phones just by pure magic.
Nokia was the only one actually investing money on marketing, but then MS killed Nokia, and they are letting the whole mobile platform die.
MS always had (and still have) enough money to "convince" everybody to create apps for WP/W10M, but they relied too much on consumer's loyalty, without returning that loyalty to consumers.
MS itself is perceived as an ancient brand, and with the exception of the XBox (which btw is not promoted as the "Microsoft XBox"), MS products are considered a brand for working and for doing boring stuff.
Windows is a victim of that branding problem. Young consumers see Windows as something outdated, while iOS and Android are cool and fresh.
Most consumers don't get an iPhone or an Android with the main idea of editing Word Documents, or connecting to the work email server via VPN. They want a cool hardware design, powerful camera, and the apps everybody is currently using, that's all. And MS wasn't able to provide these 3 elements at the same time.

 

[DSR11]

I am in the same boat with the rest of you. I love my Lumia 640....love it to death, love the platform, but the APP GAP is really got me looking towards android. Just for regular things.....EBAY, Bank apps, browsers, games....etc. Its just a platform that could be so much more....and its not.

 

[Vincent McLaughlin]

I love Windows 10 Mobile, as an OS. Could things be improved or added, certainly. For instance, the notification center should rotate, according to the position of the phone (Lansdale or portrait). Another feature that would be nice is to be able to adjust the start screen text color. The white only text keeps tile titles from being read clearly, when using a brighter background on the startscreen. These are just little touch that i would like to see, but do not keep me from loving the OS. I like the fact that tiles are so much different from what the grids of static icons that have become the norm on iOS and Android. I'm not taking anything away from either, I just prefer the look and feel of Windows 10 Mobile. As for the apps, or lack of, it doesn't bother me at this point. I can still do what is necessary using my 950XL. Besides, I've come to like being an insider and being on of many to help shape how our OS will work and feel. Do i wish Windows 10 Mobile was more popular, of course. There are certain apps that I would like to use, but are not available. I guess the fact that I have multiple Windows devices to fit my needs and even find some apps that are nit on Mobile has pacified my needs in a sense. If I wasn't a big user of Microsoft products, Xbox 360, desktop PC and Surface Pro, my outlook may be different.

 

[dorelse]

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.

They already tried funding devs for apps...the devs said no thanks. Or if they did do it, they left after they were forced to redo everything from WP7 to 8, then 8 to 10.

 

[HeyCori]

Problems (mostly) in order from start to finish

1. WP7 had feature gap between Android/iOS
2. Hardware options but limited availability worldwide
3. Growing app gap
4. Ineffective marketing campaigns
5. Nokia deal pushed away other OEMs
6. AT&T exclusivity
7. WP7 users not upgraded to WP8
8. Feature/app gap continues to grow
9. Nokia goes unchecked releasing a bewildering number of umimpressive devices
10. Major OEMs (especially Samsung) abandon platform
11. Feature/app gap is basically insurmountable now
12. Nadella flubs Nokia purchase
13. WP8 users not upgraded to W10
14. W10 released in buggy and unusable state
15. Microsoft "retrenches" but does little to backup efforts
16. Lumia 950 released with unimpressive design and buggy
17. Development of new features comes to a crawl
18. Microsoft abandons market and calls it "refocusing"

 

[SEB2014]

It's the lack of MARKETING!

 

[anon(5530345)]

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

You and pretty much everyone else in this thread. And it's not only the lack of apps, but the disjointed app store experience. Trying to find anything in there just takes so much longer than it needs to.

- I don't want to use a third party implementation.
- I don't want my first party app to decide it's just not worth it and kill it.
- I don't want to have to sort through hundreds of useless and space wasting apps to find what I'm looking for.

I would love nothing more than to ditch my SGS7 Edge and iPhone 7 to go back to a Windows phone. While the hardware is top notch, the app experience makes it so plain depressing.

 

[erzhik]

It's not just the apps. It's everything really, including lack of interest from Microsoft's part. When you care more about competitor's OS than yours, that is when you fail.

 

[Williaml99]

I want to stream mlb baseball and xm radio. The browser or an app would be fine. With neither working is a black mark on the platform.

 

[kaaremai]

We have 9 Lumia 650, 2 950 and one 950XL at work where i implemented Windows Phones as work phones and i can tell you that the biggest problem with Windows 10 Mobile isn't "the app gap" - it's all the bugs in the OS.

There are simply so many bugs and hiccups that i might go back to android as work phones again in the future if Microsoft won't show more dedication to their own OS.

The following bugs are present on ALL devices:

- Sometimes touch isn't working when turning on the screen or of someone calls. You then have to turn off the screen and on again for touch to work.

- After some time the devices begins complaining that our Office 365 accounts are out of date and needs to be fixed. However, fixing them won't change anything and it will keep spamming this message even thou mail is working properly.

- Sometimes wifi stops working. It will connect but say theres no internet and you have to restart the phone to get it working again.

- Sometimes the store stops working displaying a message that it "could not load the page". A restart fixes it.

- Sometimes it won't download apps or update them in the store. It either says "Waiting" or hangs after a few kilobytes and you have to restart the phone to get it working.

These are just some of the bugs.

Just today i tried fixing the "account out of date" problem. I removed the office 365 account with the result that you can't add it back again as the device is logged on a work account with the same mail address. Which means the employee cant send mail, use the calendar or sync contacts. The only fix is to reset the entire phone!! Way to go microsoft! You're so enterprise friendly!

 

[farhaantariq]

i don't think so, there is no reason of using or leaving an OS or a system, its just personal preferences, since dawn of modern age I am a proud user of MS ecosystem and its products. I have switched to Apple as well as Android for sometime but returned back to MS camp. its my personal choice and I am really happy with it. I can easily perform any task using my Lumia 950xl that any person can do using iPhone 7s Plus or Lg V20 or HTC Ultra.

 

[JaiGupta]

Bro facebook app has not been ported using microsoft's developed ios port. It has been ported by facebook's self made porting platform.

 

[asharma13]

I use Windows 10 on PC extensively. So if an app isn't available on Desktop, I am mostly won't use it in mobile too. For me, lack of devices are more problematic than apps.

 

[shielahswshielah]

Lack of apps is def am issue for me, at least the basics..no eBay really screwed me bc I like my 1020 for the camera and can't list in Ebay with my phone now bc of no app, and the browser is not stable enough or easy enough to list & post pictures with.

 

[shaunydub]

Totally agree, when we started to see Xbox games on Android and OS it was a slap in the face, then Office too, they removed People Hub and deep links to social sites and contacts, removed Photo Hub which I loved, Cortana then moved, sure I understand as a services company they want to have as big an audience as possible but why would people move from Android or ios when they can have all MS apps on there current eco system.

MS are asking people to leave an eco system they are heavily invested in that doesn't have app parity just for a different user interface.
I loved the interface but if people have been ios or droid for several years it is a very hard sell especially with the crappy advertising and every phone store sales person pushing Samsung or Apple.

 

[sumton]

when you take one successful department from Microsoft and compare what they are doing to what they are doing with windows mobile you will understand what exactly is the problem. i do believe the idea of Tiles interface much more modern and advanced than ios or android but the lack of Microsoft push for this OS killing all my hopes.