Is lack of apps the real WP problem?

[msilver72]

It's not just the lack of apps, but the ones that are out there are non-updated versions that seem to have been forgotten about.
Also, on Verizon, it's a complete lack of a decent phone! How can you expect a phone OS to survive when you can even get a phone on your carrier that runs it! My Icon is still holding up, but the battery isn't. Frustrating.

 

[aximtreo]

My list of 5 reasons that WM is not as successful as it could be.

1. MS
2. MS
3. MS
4. MS
5. Apps

Thought long and hard and this is my definitive list of problems in the MS Mobile world.

 

[captblaze]

It's not just the lack of apps, but the ones that are out there are non-updated versions that seem to have been forgotten about.
Also, on Verizon, it's a complete lack of a decent phone! How can you expect a phone OS to survive when you can even get a phone on your carrier that runs it! My Icon is still holding up, but the battery isn't. Frustrating.

you have summed up my issue perfectly and until Verizon and Microsoft can play well together I don't see it changing. In fact, I see no reason to keep my Microsoft services either.

 

[Scott McBurney]

1. App gap - we all know it is a problem. More for some people that others. For me, pretty much not a problem, but for most people it is a sizable problem.

2. Bigger problem - Lack of phones/hardware!!! It is hard to find Windows Phones at carriers now. The bread and butter that was the bulk of sales was low end and mid range phones around the world. Nokia was making a killing on those. Now, you are lucky if your carrier has one mid range phone to offer. HP has the high end x3, but it only works on some carriers in the US, but not Verizon - which a large number of large businesses use. A lot of businesses would be interested in a mid-range phone too.

3. Big problem - marketing! Even when there were a lot of windows phones on the market, there wasn't enough marketing being done by both the manufacturers and Microsoft. Advertising is a big part of getting people to buy your product, and right now (and for a long time) Microsoft is doing NOTHING for phones.


If Microsoft could address all of these issues at the same time, even in some small ways, it could mean a change in direction for the platform. Bring out a new low end and mid range phone, an bring back the 950/xl (giving people a choice). Make sure the phones can support Verizon and Sprint. Address the app gap by working with the top 4 to 8 apps that people actually want and get them on the platform as universal apps, and people could even use them on their desktops. And so some marketing to let the world know about all of this.

One change is not going to reverse the course of the platform, but a multi-faceted approach can do it, Microsoft just has to put the effort into it.

 

[kapil Matta]

If MS could still make some decent w10m phones, affordable ones with continuum, it would still succeed.

Or at least, until continuum can be affordable, stay in the business, bring out Lumia 740, 750, etc.

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

 

[korben44]

Yes, the app gap is the largest problem. But that problem was a result of a lack of marketing by MS. As far as functionality goes, W10M is just as good as Android and iOS.

 

[Keith Vukasinovich]

Hell yeah its a problem. Apps make the phone very convenient for a wide range of things. If Microsoft isn't going to get serious about developing a robust range of apps for Windows 10 mobile platform, then shut the damn thing down already. I am in the same boat as many of the other folks who have commented. Did I give a Win10 mobile phone a try? sure did? I ditched it and went back to an iPhone. Both iOS and Android have ran circles around Window in the Mobile area. It's ridiculous. Kill Windows 10 Mobile and bury it already. Give us real Windows 10 experience on a phablet with the active stylus already and quit wasting time on a platform thats DOA. Hell the Dell Venue 8 still sells. You know why? Because if you slap a sim card in it and use Skype its pretty much the Windows Phablet everyone wants. Dells is moving so many of these damn things then even updated it to USB C. Whoever is doing market research for Microsoft with regards to the mobile enterprise marketplace should be fired immediately.

 

[ienfik]

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

Hi,

I'm sorry to write that but in my opinion it's worst at the moment
No Ebay, PayPal, Viber pulled out people from developing Viber for W10M, BBC removed their app yesterday
If you enter to official MS store you can see only 2 devices to buy...

There is no reason to develop apps for W10M

Cheers
T

 

[Mike K8]

Lack of support all across the board. Yes, lack of apps is apart of it, but it goes a lot deeper than just apps. It really is too bad, because MS has the ability to be a dominant force in the mobile market but their lack of commitment has led to an underwhelming experience compared to what people can and do get from Android and iOS. I'll never go back to Win mobile in it's current state. Android has come a long way since I first tried and hated it almost 10 years ago and for me it is a much better experience today than that of Win Mobile.

 

[anton267]

Well, here's an honest opinion from an old Android + iPhone user:

• I think I prefer Microsoft's live tiles for all the basic information they can offer at a glance. Widgets on other platforms never ever reached Microsoft's usability and consistent experience.

• However, when swiping right to get to the full list of apps, the usability is ridiculous and there is no alternative, like Android's launchers. Almost impossible to navigate if you are a 50+ app user.

• And of course there's the app gap. Microsoft has done a decent job to cover the basics (office productivity, maps, photography etc). But so many premium apps are missing. All the core travel, banking , e-shopping, smart home and utility apps are missing. In my country I cannot park on a street with a windows phone (City apps support only Android & iPhone). I cannot pay with my mobile (banks support tap and pay only in Android & iPhone). I cannot use the Metro or buses (e-tickets only on Android and iPhones). I cannot watch IPTV on the move (telcos provide OTT clients only for Android & iPhone). And anything new, chances are it will support Android & iPhone. Windows users will be left out completely, or get too little too late. Take for example all the fresh functionality of facebook (live and 360 photos), snapchat, amazon's alexa & kindle, etc. Windows users always left behind, missing all the fun. So yes, I feel lack of apps and limited functionality is the real problem.

 

[Great Bear]

Personally, I currently use iOS after switching from Windows 10 Mobile a few months ago, and I have to say that the two reasons why I switched have been fixed. The first was the app gap, which I didn't mind that much since I could just use the web client for most apps anyway (the exception, of course, was Snapchat, which as my friends use it often, I was sorely missing). When I was using Windows 10 Mobile, if I saw anyone talking about an app, I would usually just ignore it, since the chances of it being available on my phone were very slim. On iOS, I might give an app a download, toy around with it for a while, and then either uninstall or keep using it frequently. it really does make a large difference.

The other reason I left Windows 10 Mobile was the performance, which again, isn't a big issue on iOS. I've lived with Windows Phones for a while, but the fact is that Windows 10 Mobile is not very polished. Apps crash frequently, response times are slow, and there don't seem to be many fixes coming. While there are bugs on iOS, they aren't as widespread and don't affect me as frequently.

That's not to say that I don't like Windows 10 Mobile - I do. The universal apps, the UI... the concept is certainly good, and has always been. But I don't suspect I'll ever come back to Windows 10 Mobile; instead, I'll be using a mobile PC running full Windows 10 on ARM, where I'll have better performance and more apps to choose from (since PCs running of ARM will be able to download all of the many, many, Win32 apps available. But for now, I'm on iOS, and it's partially because of the app gap.

 

[jasnils]

Nope. Not a problem at all! I need it to take calls, write emails, send messages, browse the web, listen to music on Spotify. The only problem is that I can't get hold of a device. Hence, since I dropped it on its head I had to go buy another device. Chose a cheap one Huawei P9 with a watch totaling $400,-

That device has no problems, except gravity once again took hold. Luckily Huawei keeps producing.

Miss the OS, miss the Lumia 930. Love Surface Pro 4! Use the apps besides the web browser, email client, messenger, spotify, and Netflix just about 1% of the time on the device.

 

[Steven Jepson]

I agree that a lack of apps is a problem, but to the community outside of WP users.

Most people whom I have showed my 950XL to ("You have a WINDOWS PHONE? How does that even work??") have been very impressed with the OS. Simply put, it does things that iOS and Android doesn't do. That's one of the reasons why those of us who still use them hang on to them.

That being said, WP will probably move away from regular consumers and become more of a business tool - productivity is the rule of the day, and WP will become very interconnected into the W10 OS. Those people who just need things like Word, Excel, Outlook, and Cortana will probably migrate over to Android since they're making an effort to appease those users.

I wish it had more apps, especially banking and airlines. But I'll hang on to my 950XL.

 

[pallentx]

Yes, its the apps

Its the app gap and nothing but the app gap.
If WP had all the apps you have on Android and iOS, we wouldn't be having this conversation. There would be millions more users and MS would still be making phones as well as Samsung, LG and others.

All this talk about MS doesn't care is nonsense. MS simply realized all their efforts weren't moving the needle. Windows Phone never really got off the ground. I loved it. I still think its the best OS available for a phone, but the were never able to get developers on board. Never. The apps the got was the result of paying or building them for others. They flushed billions and couldn't break 3-4% because developers ignored the platform.

As for me, its the reason I'll most likely be moving on later this year. They dropped the Band2, so I bought a Garmin watch. There's an app, but music controls don't work, notifications pretty much never work, weather doesn't work and half the time it wont sync. I have some Insteon home automation, but some of their solutions don't work with the Windows app and they've dropped Cortana support. I have a nest thermostat - no app, but the mobile website works ok, its just slow. My Asus router has a mobile app, but not for windows.

Maybe there's a future where apps don't matter, I would love to see that. Maybe there's a future where MS reinvents mobile and developers flock to it and its a big success. I'll be the first to come running back.

 

[pallentx]

...instead, I'll be using a mobile PC running full Windows 10 on ARM, where I'll have better performance and more apps to choose from (since PCs running of ARM will be able to download all of the many, many, Win32 apps available. But for now, I'm on iOS, and it's partially because of the app gap.

That's not going to save Windows mobile. Yes, you will be able to run Photoshop on your phone (good luck with that), but you still wont have Snapchat.

 

[svenhassel]

I have all the apps (stupid name for software) that I need on my 620 running WP8.1. Ah sorry, FB messenger stopped working on 8.1 last week...

The problem I face is that I want my next phone to have a fingerprint scanner, and in the Windows Mobile camp, there are only two options, and only the really expensive one (HP X3) is available in Germany.

On the other hand, I would be reluctant to buy something that is not from MS, because support to W10m devices seems to fade away quickly. I had an Ativ S that never received even 8.1, and the Alcatel Idol 4S seems to have problems with the camera software.

I would buy an updated 950 with a better processor and a fingerprint scanner, at a reasonable price. I love the Lumia cameras, and a dedicated camera button!

 

[PerfectReign]

Re: Yes, its the apps

Maybe there's a future where MS reinvents mobile and developers flock to it and its a big success. I'll be the first to come running back.

And MS is not throwing in the towel yet. The phone as we currently use it belongs to the Android.

Dona Sarkar made two interesting tweets yesterday. One discussing a screen less future - https://twitter.com/donasarkar/statuses/849448901266616321

The other flatly saying they're not giving up on mobile (sent from her Iphone) - https://twitter.com/donasarkar/statuses/849104051006431233

Sent from mTalk

 

[photobriangray]

Apps are the reason I now let my 950XL sit lonely. The Nexus 6P has been Microsofted as much as possible with Office, Groove, OneDrive, Outlook, Cortana and Arrow. Happily using bank apps to deposit checks, far better user experience for all the home automation apps, better multitasking and app switching and even making changes to my Yamaha receiver and running my home theater via the Harmony app.

Sorry, fellow fans. Life is better overall on Android, though I thoroughly miss the W10M OS.

 

[photobriangray]

...and to all that say they don't need that many apps or have all they need, one quality app experience is all it can take to make your life easier. Little things like an official Sonos app or local news and weather can make a big difference.

 

[David Puffer]

I left Windows Phone about a year ago. And I had plenty of windows phones that I loved but as the app gap and support grew larger, so did my patience. It's a shame really because it had so much promise. I was losing support for apps left and right, lack of game (sounds lame, but it was annoying to me) is what caused me to jump ship. The lack of phone diversity is also what sort of swayed me.