What would it take for you to come back to Windows Mobile?

[glenc]

only way back would be Windows running android apps & access to google play. Sorry MS you blew it with "phones".

 

[cmattau90]

I am still using Windows 10 Mobile. However, without a new phone on Verizon, I will likely be leaving later this year. So, that is what it will take to keep me. I would consider jumping ship from Verizon is there is a compelling enough reason to do so, but there hasn't been to this point. Although, I think without Verizon onboard, Windows on phones will never see a resurgence. Sad. I was hoping it would never come to this, where our only real options are iOS or Android.

This. I have a 735 on VZW, but there are no new phones I can buy. When it dies, I'll go with an iPhone since I don't like anything by Google/Alphabet. New upper-end hardware on Verizon would more than likely keep me.

 

[the_moesiah]

There's one very simple answer for the vast majority of us:

Apps.

What good is a smartphone if you can't do anything with it?

 

[Aredubu]

This. I have a 735 on VZW, but there are no new phones I can buy. When it dies, I'll go with an iPhone since I don't like anything by Google/Alphabet. New upper-end hardware on Verizon would more than likely keep me.

Is the 735 the extent of newer phones that will work on VZW?

 

[kwickone]

Agree with others on commitment from Microsoft, AND hardware partners. For me, this commitment would be 1) to come out with "phone sized" form factors that can run Windows 10, AND have cellular capability, and 2) to at least try to solve the app issue. Full Windows 10 on a small platform will solve some of the app issue, but viewing a full "program" on a really small screen is going to not be a great experience for all programs.

Oh and one more, ADVERTISE/MARKET the heck out of it!

 

[FearL0rd]

The system is very good to me. It just need premium APPS. This is the only reason for the failure. I have a lot of friends that bought one after see mine but they returned in a week because of APPS.

 

[jack69453]

A reliable upper midrange phone to buy from a reliable company.

 

[MJS9]

Apps, stylish premium hardware and a much evolved OS might bring me back to Windows. But it would still need to be better than what I'm using at the time.

 

[KickAssLumia]

Given that they have pretty much tried everything else in the book, I would only come back if the following is done:

1) Most used 1000 Apps from ios, including Google services.
2) Marketing the bejeezus out of Windows Mobile.

If #1 happens, everything else will simply follow.

 

[sip1995]

Give me the apps i want and i currently use and i'm in...that's all i'm asking nothing else. The apps should be up to date so they can match the android/ios versions.

 

[Great deal]

We all know what it will take....REAL announced commitment from Microsoft for the long term backed up by actions which are easily seen by the advertising and marketing investment.

Even today on my 1020 Windows 10 is great..its fast and fluid on old hardware...lagdroid is pathetic. However the mindset is cemented for many and only heavy investment can change that...Microsoft are not prepared to take that risk and hence if they cant be bothered why should anyone else?

The potential for a small Surface device is huge however running X86 apps on a small screen requires a lot of tweaking and they have to lure and incentivise the devs...so far the devs who invested have been left in the lurch...

Come on MS - you spent billions on Linkedin...spend billions on Mobile and shout about it so we have the faith.

 

[jeffreytz]

Great hardware with an awesome camera and Google's Chrome mobile browser.

 

[Curtis Webb]

Get the apps or get out of the business. The phones are fantastic and the OS is amazing. They need the apps.

 

[sip1995]

That's the main reason imo....the apps.

 

[TLRtheory]

I haven't yet 'left' the platform, but I get closer every day.

Almost skipped over this thread entirely, but I decided I will give my five cents, because I think my recent distaste for Windows Mobile is for quite a unique reason.

The app gap has always been around... and if we're judging strictly by that, I'd argue things have gotten better. Though people love to sensationalize the small handful of apps that leave or go web wrapper, our app gains are significantly greater than our losses.

While it’s a factor, the devoted WP people have never been tempted to leave in droves like this… and I think the reason is much deeper than the app gap: I think it has to do with the fact that Microsoft has forgotten why devoted Windows Phone fans were devoted.

Interface will likely be something many people overlook, but I think it’s a huge part of it. Microsoft used to be strongly devoted to the “metro” style that established so many Zune lovers. I fired up my Samsung Focus Flash and immediately went to fawning over how nice things used to be. It was snappy, beautiful, and had it’s own unique design language instead of the identity complexed 60% Windows/40% Android split we have now… and that’s not the only thing that Windows Mobile has inherited from Android… it’s also quite unstable as of W10. I bought the Lumia 950 at launch, then replaced it with a 950XL later (while also replacing the both of them over suspected hardware issues)… never in my time with the 950 family have I been able to freely toggle Bluetooth on and off more than twice in a row without it losing it’s mind and leaving it in a grayed-out lingo. Not when I bought it… and not today either.

But that’s not even what’s tempting me to leave… it’s the extreme, ever-present lack of any form of caring on Microsoft’s behalf and their complete inability to see something through.

Ex. 1 - Call-to-video conversion. I can’t pinpoint exactly which update caused this, but for a long time now I’ve been completely unable to convert a call to video even though I could before. Any attempt to do so will ask if I want to install Skype – and of course Skype is already installed. The app gap doesn’t even play a part here, Microsoft could fix this.

Ex. 2 – Call recording. There used to exist an integration between the phone app and voice recorder in which one could simply record a call. I love when a solution to a problem is native, and have had to put a lot of work into Androids to make this work, and it was effortless on Windows Mobile... and the feature’s just gone. The app gap doesn’t even play a part here, Microsoft could fix this.

Ex. 3 – Microsoft Band. I’ll be the first to admit to being a bit on the extreme side with Microsoft fandom. I’ve bought every available entry in the Surface lineup, countless Windows Phones, my main gaming machines are an Xbox 360 and an Xbox One, my “Chromecast” is actually a Lenovo IdeaStick 300 that brings Windows 10 to the bedroom for all those fantastic streaming apps… I’ve assured that Microsoft is everywhere in my life… so when I saw that Microsoft would be getting into wearables I geeked. Bought the MS Band day one, and the MS Band 2 day one… the latter of which was a catastrophic situation of Microsoft simply not giving any ****s. Battery issues arose, the social element was only ever half-baked, the fresh new UI never dropped, and instead of refining it, they simply jumped ship and pushed us to the competition by giving us vouchers towards the competing Fitbits (which are NOT as smart or as good). The app gap doesn’t even play a part here, Microsoft could fix this.

Ex. 4 – Skype as a share context item. I can send a picture, link or whatever directly to messaging or email… but not the Skype app they want to be our iMessage/Hangouts? I was the first to light a fire under some asses to get SMS Relay, so I was also naturally onboard as soon as the feature hit. But there’s no option whatsoever to simply send a webpage/picture/etc to the Skype app, I have to copy a link over to it or select a picture from within the app… making it kind of a step down from the Messaging+Skype integration we had in beta prior. The app gap doesn’t even play a part here, Microsoft could fix this.

Ex. 5 – Contextually aware Cortana. While user-comprehension hit an all-time low with Windows 8, there was a lot about it that was really, really neat. Namely the contextually aware search. Accessing search from charms (or with Win+Q) within the Windows Store would search the Windows Store for any given app. It’s absolutely criminal that single-tapping Cortana doesn’t simply trigger a search within whatever app is currently open because there’s so much potential for convenience there. The app gap doesn’t even play a part here, Microsoft could fix this.

Ex. 6 – Half-baked Cortana features. In an ideal world, losing iTecture’s Package Tracker or GasBuddy shouldn’t do jack to us. Simply asking Cortana “What’s the best price on gas around here?” should yield the best prices on gas. The package tracker’s an enormous disappointment as well. I can’t just pin the Cortana Notebook item pertaining to package tracking for quick access, I get no toast notifications when package status updates, it doesn’t seem to work with ANYTHING but USPS, UPS, DHL and FedEx… and what little detail you can get from the packages card within Cortana is far too little detail to be sufficient. The app gap doesn’t even play a part here, Microsoft could fix this.

I’m purposely being repetitive because these are all big problems that Microsoft is 100% in control of. This got a whole lot longer than I anticipated… but being such a devoted user has made me passionate about it. I feel like there’s many users that were willing to overlook the “app gap” to have that smooth, fluid, stable and stylish Windows Phone we used to know.

I have a Xiaomi Mi Mix showing up this Friday that I plan to evaluate as a daily driver… if Microsoft doesn’t shape up, it may just end up being my new daily driver.

 

[Felix Wong]

I hate to say it, but at this point, I'd come back to a 'Windows Mobile' (I say that loosely), if it were a real MS developed live tile skin on top of an Android device.

I would like Microsoft to do the same too. In the meantime, there is the free SquareHome launcher which makes my Moto G4's UI look and feel very similar to my Windows phones. Except the "live tiles" using SquareHome are actually a lot more robust and configurable than with Windows 10 Mobile. (E.g., you can make any tile whatever color you want with any transparency, and notifications on the tiles get cleared when you clear them from the notification center. And you can turn individual live tiles "off.")

Here's a pic of my "Microsoft Edition" Moto G4... have to say I am liking it a lot. The tiles even flip with full notifications like in Windows 10.

It took a while to configure it so that it looks and works like my Lumia 640 XL. Therefore, it would great if Microsoft did the skinning itself in the future.

 

[hedrek]

My Lumia 928 finally died this week (no ringer volume, like my first 928), so I'm finally getting to fulfill my promise to dump Verizon. I have a Lumia 640 on T-Mobile. I'll never go back to Verizon, even if I do have worse connectivity on T-Mobile. I just bought an 8" Android tablet because the Babbel app on my RT is not really functional. It's OK, I have a tiles interface that is pretty nice and Windows like. Next phone Android, next computer a Chromebook. I really like W10 mobile (though it needs some apps before I can use it) and desktop but I'm 64 years old, I'll be dead by the time MS figures this out. Time to move on.

 

[mbrdev]

Quite simple for me, they just need to release a high end device that's available on EE in the UK. Doesn't matter if it's a Surface Phone or something else, just need a brilliant camera, sleek design and decent battery life. Then to keep me and others on the platform they need to do that every year without fail. That's been a huge issue with MS, not just on phone but stuff like Band as well, people need to be assured that an updated device in the same family will be available by the time their current device is getting old.

 

[meattray]

Optimize battery life with edge. It should be a great browser that allows us to do everything we do on desktop browser without killing my battery in like an hour

 

[Martin Oscar Caballero Sartor]

I'm using a Lumia 535 (and loving it) as my only phone. My next phone will be an Android device, but that's just because there are no Windows-powered phones available here anymore. No Alcatel Idol 4S, no HP Elite X3, nothing (I could never afford an Elite X3 anyway).

I've been using the 535 since one year ago now and I couldn't care less about the app gap. But sadly it seems to be the first and last Windows Mobile phone for me because of the lack of available models. So sad. I would stay if I could.