The enormity of Microsoft's Windows Phone shut-down mistake is becoming increasingly clear in the AI era

[Windows Central]

Microsoft killed its Windows Phone platform a few years ago with little forethought or care. Now with new computing paradigms rolling into view with AI, Microsoft is set to be left out in the cold without a mobility platform to deliver it.

The enormity of Microsoft's Windows Phone shut-down mistake is becoming increasingly clear in the AI era : Read more

 

[Mattytwotimes]

Microsofts days of bold decisions are behind them I think. They'll likely try to ride the enterprise wave as always. Even when they are bold they lack commitment. Satya can't help but be boring

 

[CosmicTourist]

I don't think Microsoft has ever truly realized that the name of the game is "who controls the future." Unless Microsoft can be first to market with the most innovative technology, both in hardware and software, they are doomed to be following the lead of their rivals, who will set the agenda for the future and who will force Microsoft to make products that meet the standards established by Apple and Google. If Microsoft cannot set the standards themselves, playing catch-up is not a good corporate strategy.
I have opined before that Microsoft's previous ventures into the phone market were, at best, half-hearted, with virtually no marketing support and abandoned as soon as initial sales did not meet with what must have been unrealistic expectations. I purchased three Windows phones and thought there definitely was a place in the market for Windows Phone devices. Those devices were never going to dominate the market against Apple and Google's Android, but they could have established a viable market share that could, over time, become a major player if supported with the right marketing effort and appropriate upgrades to software and hardware. But Nadella caved and now here we are. I'm not optimistic that Microsoft has the cojones to get back into the phone market, notwithstanding their success with the Surface tablets and laptops. Redmond can create good hardware that people actually want to buy and use. They just need to add phones to that list.

 

[taynjack]

I've said this before, but Microsoft can't do phones with Satya at the helm. Too many people were burned with Windows Phone. The relentless bad press around those first efforts. Many blame the iPhone toting Satya for that sabotaged into failure event.

Microsoft would need a John Legere type of CEO or perhaps even Panos Panay to convince the public that they are serious about mobile. It would likely cost them double or triple the 30 billion dollar write down they already took. They would have to get more than Microsoft hardware on-board as Surface is still niche. They would have to convince Samsung, or OnePlus, or Motorola. They can't rely just on HP; a non-phone maker.
They would have to prove that they are really committed this time by producing compelling devices with fast upgrades and bug fixes. Stellar support and proof that they are listening to their customers and care about the user experience. Microsoft had a compelling product that was dogged by unfixed bugs and unfinished software, from a software company!
Finally, this will take years. Maybe even a decade to convince people that Microsoft is really committed to mobile again. They will need home run after home run to overcome the huge pile of mistakes that was Windows phone. Surface Duo is proof that Satya isn't even remotely the guy to lead that kind of effort.

 

[Nerdy Woman]

After 6+ years with an Android phone, I'd still go out tomorrow and buy a Windows Phone if I could. But the AI-first future is alarming. I just read an article about the resources consumed - water, electricity, minerals like lithium and cobalt - to create death star-sized data centers. While we're trying to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and big tech boasts about being carbon neutral, they're eating the planet to make devices smarter.

That said, Microsoft shareholders have always driven the decision-making. Shareholders want instant gratification and management at Microsoft has never been willing to invest time and resources in the future.

#1 failure at Microsoft? Certainly myopic, but also driven by profits first. And truly innovative designs and products are never overnight sensations. It takes time for consumers to understand why something is better than what they already have.

BTW, I have 3 Surface Pro 2-in-1s (one for work, one for personal, one for travel that I reset after every trip, especially after visiting mom whose virus problems are family lore). And last year, following a breach at the company where I work, they replaced all hardware. There were 7 users who had Surface Pros that were replaced with laptops. They still want their Surface Pros back.

 

[TechFreak1]

Some of us saw this coming years ago. Windows on ARM With Windows Mobile 10 UX is the way to go. The current UX of Windows 11 powered gaming devices due to Microsoft shortsightedness reminds me of the pocketpc era lol... oh the irony is too much, it's just too much.

I want a Windows on ARM powered mobile device with a Windows Mobile 10 UX with 3D live tiles geared around AI as nothing comes close to moving UX forward beyond the static grid of icons that've been using since well... Windows 3.1 or so... I wouldn't mind a Surface Duo with Windows on ARM to be honest.

Windows on ARM + Windows Mobile 10 UX + Continuum + Co-pilot / AI + mobile wallets with secure element on device for both consumer and merchant payments + on device inking.

If Microsoft released this device, I'd be getting one day one.

 

[Jcmg62]

Totally agree.

I posted similar thoughts on the Reddit surface page a couple of weeks ago ( Copilot is great on mobile, but Microsoft are gonna need some hardware to make it pop)

I'm a Duo 2 user. Back in early / mid May, Microsoft updated their launcher with new copilot features. I'm now using copilot all the time. I'm finding ways to integrate it into my phone usage, and it's great.

But I'm only using copilot because it's appeared as shortcuts all over my launcher.

What happens when my Duo 2 dies?

I guess I could download Microsoft launcher to whatever next phone I get, but will I?

Probably not. I think people tend to stick with the launcher that came pre installed. I'm not even sure that an average user would know that they're are alternatives to the stock launcher.

Bottom line, this isn't flight of fancy stuff. Microsoft need to be present in mobile hardware. They need to take all this windows-on-arm progress, build out a mobile windows platform and stick it on a solid bit of kit.

But most of all, and I cannot emphasise this enough, THEY NEED TO STICK WITH IT.

They need to grind it out, accept that they're coming to the party 15 years after the fact, and just grind and grind and grind until they find an audience.

They have the money and the means. Heck, they still have idiots like me, buying their mobile hardware, seven years after they abandoned WP. The fan base is there. It's small, but it's there.

 

[Jcmg62]

Some of us saw this coming years ago. Windows on ARM With Windows Mobile 10 UX is the way to go. The current UX of Windows 11 powered gaming devices due to Microsoft shortsightedness reminds me of the pocketpc era lol... oh the irony is too much, it's just too much.

I want a Windows on ARM powered mobile device with a Windows Mobile 10 UX with 3D live tiles geared around AI as nothing comes close to moving UX forward beyond the static grid of icons that've been using since well... Windows 3.1 or so... I wouldn't mind a Surface Duo with Windows on ARM to be honest.

Windows on ARM + Windows Mobile 10 UX + Continuum + Co-pilot / AI + mobile wallets with secure element on device for both consumer and merchant payments + on device inking.

If Microsoft released this device, I'd be getting one day one.

"Windows on ARM + Windows Mobile 10 UX + Continuum + Co-pilot / AI + mobile wallets with secure element on device for both consumer and merchant payments + on device inking."

This all day long if Microsoft brought out a device like this, I'd be at the front of the queue.

 

[ShavedMonkey]

Not this old chestnut again. Billions of dollars were thrown at Windows Phone and it never budged beyond low single digit market share. I owned many but accept it was a niche product. The market didn't like tiles, simple as that.

 

[TechFreak1]

Not this old chestnut again. Billions of dollars were thrown at Windows Phone and it never budged beyond low single digit market share. I owned many but accept it was a niche product. The market didn't like tiles, simple as that.

You seriously want to be stuck using UX that's been in use for decades that is wholly inefficient?

As someone who used to write contracts on the go and had over 20+ email accounts pinned on my phone, live tiles were a revelation. The current outlook app cannot handle more than 4 accounts at once as anymore battery life takes a beating and don't get me started on the b.s that is "focused" inbox. Like it or not, the world is mobile driven and efficient relay of information is critical. Why do you think Apple had relented and added "widgets". Beyond this there is no other UX design that moves ease of use and efficiency of information forward beyond live tiles.

 

[MPetrozio]

Every time I think about Windows Phone, I hate my Android a little more.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Att this point MS should team up with Sony, who seems to still have a phone division. Sony hardware is good, weird in some ways, but good. Neither will be industry leading but they could carve out a solid niche.

But....the rancor over PSN & XBL could be too great. Who knows. But imagine a phone with PSN & XBL services baked in.

 

[Cmndr_Bytes]

After 6+ years with an Android phone, I'd still go out tomorrow and buy a Windows Phone if I could. But the AI-first future is alarming. I just read an article about the resources consumed - water, electricity, minerals like lithium and cobalt - to create death star-sized data centers. While we're trying to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and big tech boasts about being carbon neutral, they're eating the planet to make devices smarter.

That said, Microsoft shareholders have always driven the decision-making. Shareholders want instant gratification and management at Microsoft has never been willing to invest time and resources in the future.

#1 failure at Microsoft? Certainly myopic, but also driven by profits first. And truly innovative designs and products are never overnight sensations. It takes time for consumers to understand why something is better than what they already have.

BTW, I have 3 Surface Pro 2-in-1s (one for work, one for personal, one for travel that I reset after every trip, especially after visiting mom whose virus problems are family lore). And last year, following a breach at the company where I work, they replaced all hardware. There were 7 users who had Surface Pros that were replaced with laptops. They still want their Surface Pros back.

"After 6+ years with an Android phone, I'd still go out tomorrow and buy a Windows Phone if I could."
I will add iPhone to that too.
Loved my Windows phones.
Bring them back and build Cortana to do AI (Copilot) work. I would be a very happy person.

 

[Cosmocronos]

Some of us saw this coming years ago. Windows on ARM With Windows Mobile 10 UX is the way to go. The current UX of Windows 11 powered gaming devices due to Microsoft shortsightedness reminds me of the pocketpc era lol... oh the irony is too much, it's just too much.

I want a Windows on ARM powered mobile device with a Windows Mobile 10 UX with 3D live tiles geared around AI as nothing comes close to moving UX forward beyond the static grid of icons that've been using since well... Windows 3.1 or so... I wouldn't mind a Surface Duo with Windows on ARM to be honest.

Windows on ARM + Windows Mobile 10 UX + Continuum + Co-pilot / AI + mobile wallets with secure element on device for both consumer and merchant payments + on device inking.

If Microsoft released this device, I'd be getting one day one.

I totally agree; I used MS powered phones since the time of Motorola MPX 200 until the 950XL. Yes, I had also the Duo 1 and 2 but software wise the experience was not the same.
MS would not even have to reinvent the wheel as far as the GUI is the subject: browse YouTube and watch the MS demo of the “Interactive tiles”, it would still be a winning paradigm nowadays.

 

[Ron-F]

One thing Microsoft could learn from Apple's playbook is the importance of controlling the key technologies of your products or service. Copilot has good branding, but Microsoft is not in control of the tech behind it. Also, the iPhone revolutionized how people interact with computers and Microsoft was left without any control of the distribution platform, leaving Apple and Google in an advantageous position.

 

[dharmababa]

Not this old chestnut again. Billions of dollars were thrown at Windows Phone and it never budged beyond low single digit market share. I owned many but accept it was a niche product. The market didn't like tiles, simple as that.

I was with you until the last sentence. The problem wasn't the tiles, it was the ecosystem forces and being third to market. The problem with Windows Phone was that they were never going to have all the apps if developers had to write a 3rd (or 4th if you count web) version of their app. Some never make it off iOS even with Android's share. You can't compete on mobile without an app store and no amount of investment was going to change that.

Now the one way that Windows Phone could be reborn is as an Android skin. Basically take the Samsung playbook and build a "Windows" shell analogous to OneUI. They already have Microsoft launcher and have played a similar strategy with Edge re-platforming onto Chromium. Of course there was Surface Duo but that was a unique hardware play that didn't have enough broad appeal. They could retry that with a common slab form factor but then it's unclear what it gains on top of the partnerships that they already have, with Samsung no less, to bundle Microsoft apps, cloud services, etc.

 

[Geoff-37]

Microsoft killed its Windows Phone platform a few years ago with little forethought or care. Now with new computing paradigms rolling into view with AI, Microsoft is set to be left out in the cold without a mobility platform to deliver it.

The enormity of Microsoft's Windows Phone shut-down mistake is becoming increasingly clear in the AI era : Read more

I've said exactly this since the Android subsystem for Windows was released.

How will a Windows Phone get that one 'must have' App that the user wants? Simple, they'll bring that App over, as-is, from Android and keep using it. Perhaps a wizard could do it automatically. And, of course, PWA would cover most Apps now anyway.

This 'App Gap' was the downfall of Windows Phone. Microsoft has a solution for it now.

And, while they're at it, make it a secure and privacy focused phone - TOTALLY FREE of tracking and profiling and 'advertising personalization'. Enterprise users would love a phone like that. Google, especially, would be seriously hurt if a Windows Phone genuinely gets this right.

It does need a great camera too, or else no one will buy it. Luminas were always excellent in that regard, but the Duo, surprisingly, was not.

I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[Jcmg62]

Surely Microsoft know they need a plan for mobile. Surely

I think that most ex-windows phone users broadly agree that the app gap, and, latterly, the quality of hardware and general lack of support from Microsoft killed WP.

The app gap was out of thier control, but the lacklustre hardware and Microsoft losing interest...that stupidity is entirely on them.

But things could be different this time round...

1. The Surface brand is well established. The Duo may not be for everyone, but it's unique, and it's a starting point for Microsoft to refine their mobile hardware.

2. PWA's are well established. The app gap is no longer an abyss. I'm not a software guy, so this is a best guess, but I think quite a lot of travel, news, social media, banking, etc apps in the Google store are PWA's. They certainly look like enhanced websites.

3. The windows store. It ain't great, but it has stuff in it. Ex WP users will remember the great Snapchat calamity, when they refused to build an app for windows phone. Well, it's in the store now. I'm not a user myself, but it's there.

4. Games. Microsoft have been hoovering up game developers, and there's talk of creating a mobile gaming store and a handheld xbox device. Surely there's space in all of that to develop a mobile strategy?

5. Windows on Arm. If the tech journalists are to be believed, WoA has reached its defining moment.

So what could go wrong? I think it's the wetware... The people at the top. For all the positive steps Microsoft have made, and all the potential they have, the people at the top are the same ones who bailed on WP less than a year after saying they were all in on it.

 

[tom bae 2023]

Microsoft should release Windows phone 12 with Windows 12 mobile , it could be some foldable phones and some conventional phones . 3 kinds , I mean , a low end, a mid range , and a high end devices.

 

[dharmababa]

2. PWA's are well established. The app gap is no longer an abyss. I'm not a software guy, so this is a best guess, but I think quite a lot of travel, news, social media, banking, etc apps in the Google store are PWA's. They certainly look like enhanced websites.

Sadly this is not even close to true. PWAs might be a decent stand-in for fringe apps but the vast majority of heavy use apps are native on iOS/Android. Snapchat is a rare exception. The "wetware" at MS understand this better than anyone. The app gap on mobile is very much alive and the market is much too well established for anyone to change that without building on top of Android in some form.