Is Windows Phone becoming android?

[go1020]

For example, store, people, messaging, date sense, battery saver, music, all have different headers. Not all of them seem to follow the design language, unless there is a distinction between app types that I'm not aware of.

Unless my eyes can't see subtle differences, all the headers look pretty much the same on my phone. The only difference being some are all lowercase and some start with a capital

 

[anon(7901790)]

The original OP was about WP becoming Android. And my response is: Is it necessarily bad that we can now do many of the things that Android users have been doing for years? Also, if Microsoft wants to increase its user base, then it needs to be able to lure people away from Android. Worldwide Android is the OS of choice with WP a very distant third place. If Microsoft wants to stay relevant in the mobile market, then it needs to think about not only its current users, but future users, which most likely will be Android users. I doubt Microsoft can poach much from the iOS realm, at least not until they poach enough from Android to start getting iPhone users to really perk up. The one thing I noticed with Microsoft that I don't see with either Android or iOS is that Microsoft seems to listen to its user base. They've provided improvements that were user requested as well as improvements that they felt were needed. Whereas with Android and (especially) iOS, it's, "here you go. The OS we want YOU to use. Oh, you want such and such function? Well don't hold your breath."

 

[Manoj Daran]

To me, WP is getting the Shape now after the DP. There was a huge gap in the OS and it is being filled in. We started getting all the features, that we requested and probably more. I don't think there is nothing similar b/w WP and Andro. WP is entirely Unique with some gaps which needs tinkering.

 

[VARUNGUPTA1992]

Well, I have started using WP since 8.0 and ya I agree what differentiates WP from rest is its UI, aesthetics, which u mentioned above.

Windows Phone was something daring new, not like Andorid and iOS, picking up something running since Symbian and S series OS days. It was fresh and something new. But new is not always welcomed. (Actually we are also resisting same in some case =) ) People coming from Android and iOS, don't come prepared with learning new, so they tend to find something similar (and if happens some complain they have copied from iOS/Andorid). Well they try new, but many don't like. This is what has brought Windows Phone to this stage.

I guess the beauty and aesthetics , its diminishing in fusion of Windows Phone and Windows 8. I wished they followed some Windows Phone aesthetics in Windows 8 and retained in WP.

Ya new status bar is kind of ugly. But I guess it was to accommodate new action centre. Ya but they could have hide the rest of icons on status bar, which was case in other WP8. But again it may defeat the purpose of showing notification icon, which showed you have got notification. Although some other way out may be there.

Many may argue, Live tiles are there for notification, but at a time it can only one notification, which was inconvenience, for some. Although tapping on icon and seeing all is option, but Android and iOS has made us bit lazy =D

Facebook integration was good and unique, but was confusing for many and lacked many FB features. Many people even don't know they don't need a messenger, it comes inbuilt, although lacking some capabilities of FB messenger. (Fabricating same features in messaging and people app may would have helped). And inhouse app is really a mess.

Music+Videos app was breeze now it is a mess. Its even a mess on WIN8. We are no where getting any Xbox Entertainment advantages being in India.

To sum up, ya now companies are learning to adapt from each other, so soon we may loose the unique tag and will have Windows Phone with Andorid and iOS flavour Somes goes for iOS and Android.
In all MS must continue to provide stable, fluid and lag free Windows experience and maintain the Nokia quality on its devices to keep people hooked.

 

[EpicIncognitO]

I for now never share anything via my phone because they ate up the ME tile.

Dennis you are so right! I miss Facebook integration! Now I h ave to rely on the stupidly slow messenger app! And to see my news feed, I have to use the buggy Facebook app.
Guess what: I didn't have Facebook installed before, although I use it everyday!

 

[VARUNGUPTA1992]

What does this have to do with this thread? WP8.1 is released already. It's sold on the new phones that came out last week. This has nothing to do with the phrase "developer preview".

No, it is still publicly available, if u read many places it shows it is still in Beta phases. Idk how are they are bundling it with L630 and L730. As it is still buggy and battery eater. My Lumia 620 never crashed and lagged till 8.1 update. Although there were some times, it was bit sluggish. But now it randomly reboots more, especially while launching FB app. I think it still needs a lot of finishing.

 

[Editguy1900]

well, I've been with Windows Phone since the very start, and I have always been a dedicated ambassador of sorts in they eyes of the people around me, so switching to an iPhone is like me surrendering and admitting defeat, and that I have been wrong for all these years
And why wouldn't I be buying apps on the iTunes store? I have hundreds of apps on my iPad, and it's the main source of apps on my macs

So, in your original post you complain about WP becoming more about apps and then you say you're going to a system that is nothing but apps? It's contradictory. It sounds more like you're just trying to justify going to the iPhone, and that's something you don't need to do. If that's what you want, enjoy yourself. I'm so glad to be free from Apple's ecosystem that I would never consider going back. To each their own.

 

[snowmutt]

"Becoming Android"?

Way too harsh.

Attempting to compete with them?

Heck's to the yeah.

I came aboard during the Mango stage. Sammy Focus S- seamless intergration, excellent Hub use, amazing responses. The WP7 we all knew and were sold on was a great launching point. I so respected the functions and Microsoft's attept to walk a very slight tightrope- the control and tight intergration of iOS and allowing some personality of Android. It brought together so much into such a tight, neat package. BUT- it also had some basic flaws. Updates to those functions were few and far between. How do you upgrade those functions when they were so core to the OS without changing it? How do you appeal to an OS buying public so used to having intergration AFTER it reaches your device (the notification center) by pushing for intergration AS it hits (the Hubs). Yes, it was great. But it was also fairly limited in how you could get things to run to your preference.

I forget who wrote the article, but when WP7 was truly in the "other" catagory of sales and WinMo and Bada was still selling about the same amount, there was an opinion piece that made the argument that WP wasn't competing with Android, but with iOS. It was too closed, too controlled, too unique to appeal to Android users. Their only hope was to peal away iOS users who accept and enjoy a controlled OS that sold funtion over form. The argument was boiled down to this: iOS users wouldn't come over because they were too connected to the Apple ecosystem, Android users had nothing appealing to them offered in WP. MS's only hope was to appeal to non-smartphone users, and WP7 just didn't have the market to reach those people before a cheap Android.

So, it is simple: Either adapt to compete with the largest OS, or scrap at the bottom of the OS ladder for whomever falls through the cracks. MS has to compete with Android. iOS users tend to stay iOS users. Android is the biggest marketshare, but also has the largest nember of unhappy users. Offer something useful to this users, and you can get them over time. MS has no real choice. 3%-5% worldwide marketshare is not going to work. You need to be in that 10%-20% marketshare.

The loss of hubs and the addition of a notification center (oops, sorry: "action center". My bad) are vital. Maybe not improvements, but vital. WP needs them. They are making nice inroads in the feature phone users as they move to smartphones thanks to the L52X series, but have made zero dent otherwise.

This is 100% business decision. It is still WP. MS wants their users on MS products. It will never be Android. Ever.

It just won't ever be WP7 again. Which is kinda sad.

 

[Byrese]

I have to say that I totally agree with you. I won't have the right words in English, I also started with a Htc Mozart on WP7, before mango, when WP was "simply different"...

I even feel that 8.1 is a switcher OS, for people that are switching from Android or iOS to Windows Phone : look at some new transition effects, notably the one where the new window is coming from the bottom to the top of the screen.

I hear you somewhat. The problem is that its the consumers and not Microsoft that is driving the "changes". Microsoft is trying to appeal to consumers and get more customers. To do so requires them to bring in "foreign" elements. We can't have it both ways. We can't complain that WP isn't growing for xxx reasons, then complain that WP is compromising it's integrity due to it's trying to grow. Just my two cents.

 

[EC Translating Services]

If becoming like Android means achieving the same level of functionality Android has reached without the shortcoming of having to rely on a Google platform then the change is very welcome. After all, many users (including me) don't know what to do with an OS that while being good to look at, lean and smooth lacks most of the basic functions and app that make it practical to actually use for work, rather than spending hours mesmerized by those moving tiles, them too, limited in functionality. WP sold me on day one. However after trying 7, 7.8 etc. i never found it a good OS to use, lacking too much while looking damn good and being fast and smooth. I thought with 8 things were changing...i got my 1520 and..while people are sad if it becomes like Android, i am here hoping they LEARN from Android without copying it. Microsoft is simply lost on its mobile OS.

 

[Ebuka Allison]

I would rather they made the native apps so awesome no one would ever even think of going to the app store to find Spotify or a podcast app or Netflix. Think of it like Office, an app so good everyone is in its shadow. If every WP native app was like Office then XD
Also, I rather like the new design over the old humongous header style. They look so ugly to,me now

 

[Kram Sacul]

I don't really agree that WP is slowly becoming Android but I do agree that some of the stuff that I loved about the OS is being replaced with inferior crap. The photo, music, video, and games hubs instantly come to mind. There's also the system tray that no longer auto-hides and games that are no longer hidden in the games hub. The cobalt accent color was changed to a purple even though we already have a purple. The removal of the cool and useful pinch out carousel in the gallery. The removal of the touch and hold cursor. The list of downgrades is depressing me.

On the positive side I really like the 3 column layout (on phones with big screens), the action center quick toggles, Cortana, the added functionality of the app store, and the 2 individual volume sliders. It's just a real shame they had to mess with so much stuff that worked well.

 

[A895]

Whereas with Android and (especially) iOS, it's, "here you go. The OS we want YOU to use. Oh, you want such and such function? Well don't hold your breath."

Actually since Android has the most functions than any OS, I have to disagree with this statement. Android you can do whatever the hell you want with it.

You perfectly described iOS though.

Posted via Windows Phone Central App

 

[A895]

Windows Phone is becoming exactly what I thought it would be: a mix of iOS and Android. Simplicity of iOS with the features of Android is where I think they are trying to do it, but I don't think WP is becoming Android.

Posted via Windows Phone Central App

 

[Ebuka Allison]

Looks like Cyan fixes the lag/bugginess problems according to someone who has one. That's pretty cool imo. Also, for those lusting after WP7. It put many people off (including me) I'm afraid you're in the minority

 

[50ShadesOfDJWS]

Looking at the current platform state i'd say to an extent it is, but WP still has a different feel to android.

 

[yunchikan]

I've been a WP user since WP7 as well. the HTC Surround. then Samsung Focus S, Nokia Lumia 920, then now, Lumia 1020.
The thing that got me into WP was because I was also a Zune user. I have 3 Zunes, Zune80, Zune120, ZuneHD.
When ZuneHD came out I was so happy with it, in fact, I still use it as my mp3 player.

When WP7 was announced, I was very excited that Microsoft adopted the Zune metro boxy design.
Everything was strict in the design on the WP7 and I agree it seems to have loosen up.
But like a lot of the repliers have said, it is mainly due to complaints from users. Like the most common one I would think is "the big header wasting so much space." I rather like it now in WP8.1. It is a huge step from Microsoft and I like it.

I do agree that taking out OS integration and making them as apps is a stupid idea. One of the main reasons why I like Windows Phone is that I don't have to rely on apps. I always say iOS mainly just uses Apps, without Apps, it is kinda crippled.
Just can't imagine WP is slowly following that idea as well. I understand making them into separate apps can provide more updates. So I am being optimistic that the future updates will make these apps amazing..........

But anyways, I cannot think how Windows Phone is becoming like Android. I just don't see it. The UI is ugly, laggy, and unpleasant? I don't see it on my WP8.1.

 

[Aniruddh Sharma1]

What I believe is that whatever MS does, they would not be appreciated for it. When there was proper FB integration, people cribbed about not having all the FB functions in it and now the rant is not about having the integration at all; the idea behind which is to move forward.
People cribbed about lack of customizability and now its about the OS getting cluttered and ugly.
So many rants about endless missing features and now when they are being added, WP is becoming like Android.
I for one love WP 8.1 and looking forward for the rumoured Goldfinger.
Just my two cents.

 

[oviedofreak82]

Common practice in business, study your competitors strengths and weaknesses and build upon that and make practical and useful. Then add your own touch to make it better is the approach that Microsoft has done with 8.1. While still keeping the metro theme, I believe it has become a true competitor amongst the bug two. Plus there are so many hidden features that make me enjoy Windows Phone better now.

For example the ability to link my design theme between my Lumia 925 & my Surface RT. If I want to change my theme on my phone, it changes it on my Surface. I can also view webpages that I browsed on my phone on my surface and vice versa. For me that's phenomenal because sometimes you want to share a webpage on a larger screen and not on a phone.

I especially love the new WordFlow keyboard as it is faster for texting and typing for me versus tapping away at each letter. Overall, Windows Phone 8.1 is going with Microsoft's new "One Theme" and does closely bring it with its Windows & Windows RT brethren giving you the same experience and I for one love it. I consider myself to be a power user and Windows Phone/mobile has always been a handheld computer with so much to offer.

 

[Roderick Aspiras]

They make it like Android so it's easier to convince people to switch.