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

[TechFreak1]

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.

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.

Well, it was the missteps but that has been re-hashed adnauseam.

I've got so many thoughts about the points raised in this thread but even if I typed in a concise manner.... I'd end up typing a massive novel lol.

 

[TechFreak1]

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.

Actually, the app gap has been addressed and no. Android apps aren't the answer as that's already been tried and it didn't work. It's Win32 as these can be packaged and containerised. Banking apps can be installed as PWAs. Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Viber, Line, Wechat, TikTok etc already in the Windows Store. I'm using android apps with Sailfish X and it's native android app support not emulated. The experience is bloody terrible. The niche apps can be addressed using PWAs.

 

[Opinion]

When one writes something like "enormity of Microsoft's Windows Phone shut-down mistake", one should also explain exactly what their alternative fantasy world looks like. While Apple was charging a nice 30% through the app store, Microsoft was failing to get developers porting their apps to their platform even by paying them to do so...

It's OK to say "it's a pity" or whatever, but calling this a mistake shows a lack of understanding of the IT business. Apple and Google are not lacking their own shares of troubles and challenges, and why is that? Its not that Google globally dominates the desktop or Apple globally dominates the personal computing space, nor they seem to have the tools to achieve that.

Could that be that doing business at a certain scale is not as simple as throwing opinions on a blog? Companies stay in business by taking tough decisions and doing what creates value, not by losing money year after year on projects which don't demonstrate the ability to ever get even just to the break even phase.

Or you think Microsoft would be where it is today by pouring money non stop in every and each of the projects it cancelled?

 

[amits1024]

Microsoft should have Windows Phone 12 release alongwith Windows 12. Also launch a flagship Surface Phone with Windows Phone 12

App gap was never a problem and was overhyped as a problem. Main apps were always there and Windows Phone main market was in Europe and India which Microsoft ignored. Windows Phone just failed in USA and Microsoft gave up. In the new release focus more on Europe and India markets

Microsoft should have the full desktop version in Windows Phone. That can be done through Windows on ARM. UWP apps can end the app gap. Also with desktop version, Win32 apps (.EXE) can run on phones and the phone can be connected to mouse and keyboard and work as a proper PC, this will be something none of Android and I Phone offer and will be a unique feature of Windows Phones. Also Continuum will be there and full desktop version can run on bigger screens as well

Also some old flagship phones like Lumia 950, HP Elite X3, etc should get this Windows Phone 12 update when it comes

 

[Opinion]

App gap was never a problem and was overhyped as a problem.