Microsoft, ship Duo in two versions for consumers!

[nate0]

Android has over 70% market share, iOS 25%.

How can you still ask yourself why Microsoft went with Android? Reason is 100% obvious and nothing else would make any kind of sense.

Smartphone market is getting harder and harder every year, especially App wise. Developers have to work hard to update their Apps to new form factors and screen sizes, there is 0 point in launching new phone OS right now.

Guys, you have to look at the truth. Even if we want, the term Surface is not as popular as we wish it would be, a Surface phone with Android is the only chance for Microsoft to get into the market.

I simply ask myself like I stated it in my post. That's how I ask myself. It's not in Microsoft's character to do something like that. Or maybe I'm dreaming of a utopia IT World... If I were them I would have explored the open source community and their own endeavors from their own source code etc before trying to contribute to one of their competitors...

 

[nate0]

I think you all are missing my real point here. Microsoft trying to do mobile is just not to make sales. So them wanting to succeed in sell loads of this thing is not why they did this. At least not fromy perspective.

 

[Dan12R]

We are in the time of a new Microsoft. For example, the idea of Microsoft contributing to open source software in the 1990's is laughable. They would have never done that. The idea of Microsoft making iOS and Android the prime experience for their apps instead of their own mobile OS (going back just a year or two) wouldn't have been considered 15 years ago.

Technically, Android isn't a competing product of Microsoft. Android is a mobile OS. Microsoft doesn't have a mobile OS. Additionally, Android is open source.

We often consider Android as a Google product due to something called Google Mobile Services (GMS). This is the suite of apps that OEMs often license when they put Android on a device and includes things like Chrome, GMail, and YouTube. The crown jewel though is the Google Play Store. Since that's how most people get Android apps, most OEMs include the whole GMS suite on their device. It's a package deal.

I do wonder how much Google will be in the Android on the Duo. Reportedly, the default browser will be Edge, the default mail app will be Outlook, and Microsoft Launcher is the default launcher. Reportedly the Google Play Store will be there as well. Finally, it's reported Microsoft worked with Google on this OS. So it does raise the question of how much Google will be in this version of Android.

While it's Android, this may still end up being a very Microsoft OS.

 

[nate0]

We are in the time of a new Microsoft. For example, the idea of Microsoft contributing to open source software in the 1990's is laughable. They would have never done that. The idea of Microsoft making iOS and Android the prime experience for their apps instead of their own mobile OS (going back just a year or two) wouldn't have been considered 15 years ago.

Technically, Android isn't a competing product of Microsoft. Android is a mobile OS. Microsoft doesn't have a mobile OS. Additionally, Android is open source.

We often consider Android as a Google product due to something called Google Mobile Services (GMS). This is the suite of apps that OEMs often license when they put Android on a device and includes things like Chrome, GMail, and YouTube. The crown jewel though is the Google Play Store. Since that's how most people get Android apps, most OEMs include the whole GMS suite on their device. It's a package deal.

I do wonder how much Google will be in the Android on the Duo. Reportedly, the default browser will be Edge, the default mail app will be Outlook, and Microsoft Launcher is the default launcher. Reportedly the Google Play Store will be there as well. Finally, it's reported Microsoft worked with Google on this OS. So it does raise the question of how much Google will be in this version of Android.

While it's Android, this may still end up being a very Microsoft OS.

Android is a competition. It's still under Google/Alphabet. I think that's plain to agree on. Or do you disagree on everything cloud hosted by Google too being not in competition or competing with office365.? Because last time I checked Google one was a subscription service available to both consumers and industry. It's also for Android and Chrome OS. Yes android/google/chrome and Microsoft are battling for users. I'm not saying Microsoft making an Android is insane I'm simply asking why. But I see some of what they are doing. Users who by this device will already be invested in Microsoft and be using their services...

 

[nate0]

Technically, Android isn't a competing product of Microsoft. Android is a mobile OS. Microsoft doesn't have a mobile OS. Additionally, Android is open source.

We often consider Android as a Google product due to something called Google Mobile Services (GMS). This is the suite of apps that OEMs often license when they put Android on a device and includes things like Chrome, GMail, and YouTube. The crown jewel though is the Google Play Store. Since that's how most people get Android apps, most OEMs include the whole GMS suite on their device. It's a package deal.

Android is almost completely developed by Google. Granted they collaborated initially to bring it commercially but most of what Google is today is literally sustained and innovated exponentially due to the Android OS. So I guess I'm unsure what you mean by this...

 

[Dan12R]

Android is a competition. It's still under Google/Alphabet. I think that's plain to agree on. Or do you disagree on everything cloud hosted by Google too being not in competition or competing with office365.? Because last time I checked Google one was a subscription service available to both consumers and industry. It's also for Android and Chrome OS. Yes android/google/chrome and Microsoft are battling for users. I'm not saying Microsoft making an Android is insane I'm simply asking why. But I see some of what they are doing. Users who by this device will already be invested in Microsoft and be using their services...

I'm going to disagree on this. Just because two companies have some competing products doesn't mean that every product from company A is a competing product for company B.

For example, both Ferrari and Ford make vehicles. For Ferrari, the Ford GT could be viewed as a competing product. However, the Ford F-150 can't. Ferrari doesn't make trucks. Another example is Ducati and BMW. Both make motorcycles. However, Ducati doesn't make cars. So a BMW 3-series isn't a competing product because that's a car.

If anything, this should be viewed as an attempt to further advance Microsoft's other products. One of the critiques of Cortana is that it wasn't default on any phones (following the death of Windows 10 Mobile). This phone helps give Office 365 a solid mobile platform. That helps in the competition against Google's office-style solutions.

 

[nate0]

I'm going to disagree on this. Just because two companies have some competing products doesn't mean that every product from company A is a competing product for company B.

For example, both Ferrari and Ford make vehicles. For Ferrari, the Ford GT could be viewed as a competing product. However, the Ford F-150 can't. Ferrari doesn't make trucks. Another example is Ducati and BMW. Both make motorcycles. However, Ducati doesn't make cars. So a BMW 3-series isn't a competing product because that's a car.

If anything, this should be viewed as an attempt to further advance Microsoft's other products. One of the critiques of Cortana is that it wasn't default on any phones (following the death of Windows 10 Mobile). This phone helps give Office 365 a solid mobile platform. That helps in the competition against Google's office-style solutions.

They are not competing against each other. They are competing for users...

 

[nate0]

Believe me I know both sides of each. I've owned my own domain on Google and had access to their exchange-like email with paid access. I've used Microsoft forever, I now have office365 since I get a discount through my employer but honestly there are benefits to both platforms/hw and services. So it is a good thing they both offer the same or similar services on both. Gives a choice and offers more of an opportunity for any type of user just about.

I found Google services when I used it over 5yrs ago was brilliantly designed for the developer and general user both. Even at its infancy sheets and Google's version of ifttt were all easily used together with native Java support and outside integration plus they had the advantage already of being entirely cloud based.

Microsoft finally caught up to the times and they did for many reasons one being to keep a tight hold of their user base count... With out users you have no reason to use RnD therefore you can't innovate. If you cannot innovate you cannot grow. So whether we like it or not it's all a battle out there...

 

[mtf1380]

I think that MS finally figured out that getting mobile consumers to Microsoft's Services is a much shorter route through Android than to try and get them to switch from Android. They tried for years to try it the other way (Windows Phone to Android apps) with no success.

 

[Nathan Sokalski]

My exact thoughts from the very beginning. Yes, I did buy the Surface Duo, but mostly because my previous phone (Windows Phone - Lumia 920) was starting to have hardware problems due to old age, so I didn't have much choice other than to switch to Android. As a UWP app developer, I would love more than anything to have a Surface Duo with Windows 10X. If you feel the same way, let the world know at http://chng.it/c5h9YY5b7h

 

[h4mm3r tyme]

Just got my Surface Duo. And the biggest issue is it runs Android and doesn't run a clean Microsoft experience. At the end of the day, that's what I need and want. I could care less about the actual OS although I would prefer W!)X on this device as well.

 

[Ryujingt3]

MS has been burnt too many times by Windows in any form on a mobile device. They know this.

The Duo's future is Android only.

 

[Polychrome]

The way I see it, the UEFI leaves an opening for fans who want to do this themselves.

Keep an eye on people who make ROMs for phones.

 

[Chad Welsh1]

I am still trying to figure out the real reason why Microsoft went Android...

Because they wanted a phone that is not to be called a phone. If they did not want it to be called a phone they would have used Windows 10X. They are just playing reverse psychology to help the sheeple make an easy decision for them.

 

[Chad Welsh1]

That is only because sheeple drive the decision, if people would inform themselves and not just go with every tech pundit or phone store saleman (knows just about as much as we all know Best Buy salesmen do about computers) to make their decision for them we would have secure OS's and OS's that are not controlled by a 30% cut of profit off the top.

And the future is only good as long a Google and M$ do not have lovers spats.

MS has been burnt too many times by Windows in any form on a mobile device. They know this.

The Duo's future is Android only.

 

[nate0]

The way I see it, the UEFI leaves an opening for fans who want to do this themselves.

Keep an eye on people who make ROMs for phones.

The WoA for Lumia project devs will be hacking this thing at some point. You can count on that. Am sure many other Android enthusiasts will take a shot too.