Windows 10 must allow access to Android Apps to be successful on Tablets and Phones

[stephen_az]

I think being part of Windows 10 will ensure the OS features for Phones and Tablet devices will be on par with Android and IOS but unless people can get the APPS they want the lack of ecosystem will prevent growth above 5-10% worldwide... Windows has to find a way of running Android APPS!!

I recently upgraded from my Nokia 1020 to a Samsung Note 4 and while I miss many things about Windows Phone the number Apps and the quality is way beyond what is offered on Windows Phone. As a number of people have said even Microsoft Apps are better on Android.

If Microsoft had a store that supplied Android APPS as well as Windows Apps they could potentially get revenue from full Android devices using the Microsoft store in the same way I have the Amazon APP Store on my Note 4 in addition to the Google Play Store.

I don`t think Windows developers would be put off as they would be writing to target Desktop, Laptop and Xbox in addition Tablets and Phones.
I think the Windows APPS should be about original APPS for Windows not bad ports of Android and IOS APPS...

To be honest a number of people I persuaded to try Windows Phone 2 years ago are now going to Android and IOS as there is a lack of new flagship device plus missing games and APPS they want to use.

APPS is the number one issue holding Windows Phone and Tablets back Microsoft need to make the big decision as universal APPS on their own will not fix this issue. If Microsoft added this option I think they could get 25% of the Market within 2/3 years..

Maybe this run Android APPS option could be enabled on mid/high end Snapdragon and ATOM devices not the really cheap phones etc..

In spite of the fact that I do use Duos with Windows 8, I find this sort of Windows 10 "must" do something thread to be exceedingly annoying. No it really must not do anything unless you happen to be CEO or head of the development team. It is something you would like and nothing more. As far as it goes, if you feel you must have Android then buy an Android device, move on, and be happy. Building emulators into an OS is a bad joke that would cause bloat and inefficient resource utilization. It also would be a PR disaster and require either a licensing agreement with Google (never going to happen) or would result in perpetual litigation between the two companies over illegal side loading by users. Blackberry is so irrelevant a company, the side loading isn't worth Google's time. With respect to having an emulator in high end devices but not in low end ones, I don't think it requires an explanation as to why that would be a really bad idea - worse than an emulator itself.

BTW, hasn't the android emulator in BB10 has just done wonders for its market share? For that matter, look at the amazing growth of OSX since Bootcamp allowed dual booting of Windows. It is right at the heels of Windows. Yes, those are sarcasm. In the end, emulators (and even a virtual OS) get you absolutely nowhere. In fact, for most users, all they do is remind users that there is another OS that actually does what they want without hoops. Oh, as far as Microsoft apps being better on Android, that is an equally annoying claim. First, most are not better - neither are most IOS offerings. As for those that are better (one more time) the Office apps about which there has been such whining will be updated with the Windows 10 version of Windows Phone. They have not been updated because things were embedded in the WP 8.X OS. They have not been forgotten and the whole I want it now line is beyond tiresome. Give it a rest and wait a few months. The fact is WP8.X does not have the market share to justify the investment anyway (even Microsoft needs to consider that) and any half baked, stop gap, measure would have even more people (and biased self proclaimed experts) whining about how things just aren't as good as X or Microsoft sucks because of X.

The line about flagship devices is also quite old and has been addressed ad nauseam. It will not happen until the new OS and even then is not a path to success since growth in mostly in new adopters (i.e., entry level) not in going head to head with flagships that already have satisfied customer bases. Throw in carrier exclusives comments and you cold check off all the boxes - also something that is not going to change in carrier controlled markets.

If people want a flagship device with Android apps, they should save themselves some grief and choose the obvious solution. Buy an Android flagship device with Android and all will be right with your world.....

 

[noobchief]

Windows 10 needs Android app support to be successful????? You wot m8? I have enough apps already then I need m8

 

[Pivotgeeks]

Nope just no, there may be other ways..

 

[CliveSinclair]

More chance of iOS apps coming to WP. Google hate Microsoft, Apple hate Google, now amazon is falling out with Google.

Google are really pushing their luck.

 

[thesachd]

I think being part of Windows 10 will ensure the OS features for Phones and Tablet devices will be on par with Android and IOS but unless people can get the APPS they want the lack of ecosystem will prevent growth above 5-10% worldwide... Windows has to find a way of running Android APPS!!

I recently upgraded from my Nokia 1020 to a Samsung Note 4 and while I miss many things about Windows Phone the number Apps and the quality is way beyond what is offered on Windows Phone. As a number of people have said even Microsoft Apps are better on Android.

If Microsoft had a store that supplied Android APPS as well as Windows Apps they could potentially get revenue from full Android devices using the Microsoft store in the same way I have the Amazon APP Store on my Note 4 in addition to the Google Play Store.

I don`t think Windows developers would be put off as they would be writing to target Desktop, Laptop and Xbox in addition Tablets and Phones.
I think the Windows APPS should be about original APPS for Windows not bad ports of Android and IOS APPS...

To be honest a number of people I persuaded to try Windows Phone 2 years ago are now going to Android and IOS as there is a lack of new flagship device plus missing games and APPS they want to use.

APPS is the number one issue holding Windows Phone and Tablets back Microsoft need to make the big decision as universal APPS on their own will not fix this issue. If Microsoft added this option I think they could get 25% of the Market within 2/3 years..

Maybe this run Android APPS option could be enabled on mid/high end Snapdragon and ATOM devices not the really cheap phones etc..

At this point in time bringing over Android applications will do little for Windows Phone. What Windows Phone needs, is, tons and tons of miracles so that it could finally turn a profit and developers give a crap.

i nearly completely agree with you except when you said WP is locked down
i think its not locked down,its simply well balanced
see ,ios is too locked down and limited which often drives people away
android is too open and suffers from fragmentation,malware,poor performance etc
windows phone sits right in between ,it has no major issues
its both kinda open ,kinda closed, just right enough to give a great experience and no malware at the same time

Windows Phone is just as locked down as iOS is, and your definition of what closed and open is has very little to do with any of the issues you have mentioned.

Also there is nearly zero truth to your statement about people leaving iOS because it is too "closed." Apple's closed environment has more benefits than flaws, it allows Apple to maintain strict control over apps allowing for greater optimisation. Windows Phone has no balance compared to that, Microsoft has little to no control over Windows Phone developers.

And bashing Android in every single post with very little to no truth in your statements is something that I find highly irritating.

The thing is running apk on WP will be extremely slower than xap or appx one. I think there is no point having good apps if they run slowly lack of stability.

Don't worry about it. Next version of visual studio is an Android and WP IDE in my opinion since they work on same IDE it should make a huge jump on WP apps

Well the compatibility issues could be fixed with .apks but stability would be hit or miss, because if an app didn't work on your Lumia. Tough luck, because developers won't do much to help.

As far as Visual Studio goes, it is amazing IDE and I had a lot of fun using it to create small fun console applications (moving onto web and phone) but just because it had so many options didn't mean I used them.

Just because Visual Studio supports Android and Windows Phone, people will still likely ignore Windows Phone.

I mean if people wanted to develop for Windows Phone they would just do it, according to some research C#(the language used in Windows Phone app development) has a similar syntax to Java(Android app development) and yet no one really tries to do much for Windows Phone.

The app gap is slowly closing and Android devs are porting their apps to Windows Phone, but the quality of apps is still usually better on Android.

all we need now is apps ,more bells and whistles like USB OTG and a few more things imho and ofcourse bugfixes

Oh and you also need sales of Windows Phones. Yes, sales, are most important.

And no not the sales of those $50 or $100 low end Lumias, no company can survive with that. You'll need to get people to purchase high end Lumias, good luck doing what Microsoft and Nokia hasn't been able to do for the past 4 years.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Well this thing reared it's ugly head again. I wonder how many more will show up like the last time.

Aside from the technical issues do I think it's a good idea? No. I think MS should sort out it's store and do something to get both consumers and developers interested in the platform. Their hope currently is that W10 will do it but there's no way to know if that is true.

As for the app argument I've heard them all, quantity, quality blah blah blah... that's not the issue.

Anyone who hasn't used an Android device for a while should go take a look at how nice the apps are now. Sure it's not perfect but then, no ecosystem is, even Apples. Just as there's a lot of junk in the Play store, the same goes for WP and iOS, though apparently Apple plans to do a cleaning.

So what is the app issue with WP if it's not about quantity and quality? It's about having the latest and greatest or those supplied by popular places. At this moment if you see an ad for an app it's more likely to be iOS and Android, always. You run across one that has WP but rarely. Not saying that iOS doesn't get everything first and that Android doesn't have apps missing but you're more likely to get it before WP ever does.

When we move into what WP has, let speak reality. WP, even when it gets an app finally, it's usually far behind what's available on other platforms and updates are either sluggish or non existent. Having a constant Beta label doesn't look good on popular apps.

This is the real issue with WP apps. No, 3rd party apps are not a solution. They should only be seen as an option. Nor is a web app.

This doesn't apply of course if you're happy with what's on offer. In which case enjoy your WP. This is not directed at you.

 

[thesachd]

Well this thing reared it's ugly head again. I wonder how many more will show up like the last time.

Aside from the technical issues do I think it's a good idea? No. I think MS should sort out it's store and do something to get both consumers and developers interested in the platform. Their hope currently is that W10 will do it but there's no way to know if that is true.

As for the app argument I've heard them all, quantity, quality blah blah blah... that's not the issue.

Anyone who hasn't used an Android device for a while should go take a look at how nice the apps are now. Sure it's not perfect but then, no ecosystem is, even Apples. Just as there's a lot of junk in the Play store, the same goes for WP and iOS, though apparently Apple plans to do a cleaning.

So what is the app issue with WP if it's not about quantity and quality? It's about having the latest and greatest or those supplied by popular places. At this moment if you see an ad for an app it's more likely to be iOS and Android, always. You run across one that has WP but rarely. Not saying that iOS doesn't get everything first and that Android doesn't have apps missing but you're more likely to get it before WP ever does.

When we move into what WP has, let speak reality. WP, even when it gets an app finally, it's usually far behind what's available on other platforms and updates are either sluggish or non existent. Having a constant Beta label doesn't look good on popular apps.

This is the real issue with WP apps. No, 3rd party apps are not a solution. They should only be seen as an option. Nor is a web app.

This doesn't apply of course if you're happy with what's on offer. In which case enjoy your WP. This is not directed at you.

This is probably the most logical post on this whole thread.

I am highly sickened about threads where Android (or iOS) is brought up that people spread misinformation just to hide Windows Phone and it's flaws.

Apps are an issue with Windows Phone, Joe Belfiore thought it would be solved by this year:



And sadly Windows Phone is nearly at the same place it was an year ago. Sure some apps have come, but the quality just doesn't match competition.

And no Android apps will not help, in the least.

 

[Stefan Holder]

This is probably the most logical post on this whole thread.

I am highly sickened about threads where Android (or iOS) is brought up that people spread misinformation just to hide Windows Phone and it's flaws.

Apps are an issue with Windows Phone, Joe Belfiore thought it would be solved by this year:

View attachment 91088

And sadly Windows Phone is nearly at the same place it was an year ago. Sure some apps have come, but the quality just doesn't match competition.

And no Android apps will not help, in the least.

Gotta agree here.... . I really wish folks will stop trying to suggest bringjng Android apps to WP. That is not the solution. Blackberry tried it and failed. And for crissakes, it's been said to death...if Microsoft allows Android apps to run on WP that will be the last blow to every developer or potential developer that supports native WP apps. There will be native support from devs. It will inadvertently kill WP Store. The app situation needs to be fixed according to native support. Not bowing to allow a competitors apps to run. If that's the plan MS is considering, then they might as well kill the entire platform now and start making Android devices.

 

[chris722]

Apps are overrated. So you want Windows 10 to turn into something like BlackBerry? That would fix the WP phone problem at the low end, because the majority of users on low end Android devices ultimately move over to WP, as I did, but high end Android users aren't coming to WP, regardless of whether their apps are compatible or not.

The precedent has already been set, and it did not work for BlackBerry.

 

[tanya shah1]

Oh and you also need sales of Windows Phones. Yes, sales, are most important.

And no not the sales of those $50 or $100 low end Lumias, no company can survive with that. You'll need to get people to purchase high end Lumias, good luck doing what Microsoft and Nokia hasn't been able to do for the past 4 years.

ok so fragmentation and security and optimisation of the os as a whole arent necessary is what you want to say(sarcasm)
android lacks all 3 despite high sales
FYI mid range Lumias sell best nowadays ,which is exactly whats needed for marketshare not high end
how many flagships are sold and how many mid rangers are sold? get my point-mid rangers sell better than flagships in ANY market
not everyone wants to end up with a budget handset and miss out on features
not everyone wants to spend $1000 on a flagship when its not necessary and they are scared of rough use or the phone getting lost

At this point in time bringing over Android applications will do little for Windows Phone. What Windows Phone needs, is, tons and tons of miracles so that it could finally turn a profit and developers give a crap.



Windows Phone is just as locked down as iOS is, and your definition of what closed and open is has very little to do with any of the issues you have mentioned.

Also there is nearly zero truth to your statement about people leaving iOS because it is too "closed." Apple's closed environment has more benefits than flaws, it allows Apple to maintain strict control over apps allowing for greater optimisation. Windows Phone has no balance compared to that, Microsoft has little to no control over Windows Phone developers.

And bashing Android in every single post with very little to no truth in your statements is something that I find highly irritating.



Well the compatibility issues could be fixed with .apks but stability would be hit or miss, because if an app didn't work on your Lumia. Tough luck, because developers won't do much to help.

As far as Visual Studio goes, it is amazing IDE and I had a lot of fun using it to create small fun console applications (moving onto web and phone) but just because it had so many options didn't mean I used them.

Just because Visual Studio supports Android and Windows Phone, people will still likely ignore Windows Phone.

I mean if people wanted to develop for Windows Phone they would just do it, according to some research C#(the language used in Windows Phone app development) has a similar syntax to Java(Android app development) and yet no one really tries to do much for Windows Phone.

The app gap is slowly closing and Android devs are porting their apps to Windows Phone, but the quality of apps is still usually better on Android.

lol looks like you dont know much about android then
ive used all platforms and have owned more androids than any other os's phone
Visual studio will help bridge the gap and bring forth more ports and easier optimisation
remember when ios and android first came-"ohh my java phone has bluetooth and a file manager,why would i want an iphone"
"android?? never heard of it until google took it over,heard its still buggy and lacks proper updates" were the types of exclaimations people would give
so its very easy to bash windows phone like that but like it or not,windows 10 points the future
ios has OSX,Windows Phone has W10,android and Bb10 will be left out in this race-QNX(for desktop not embedded) and chrome os arent gonna catch up that soon
ios has a better chance of reaching the "unification goal" and beating windows 10 than android,but ios is still limited and lacks basic functionality and OSX still has low marketshare compared to windows
all things taken into account-microsoft windows as a whole has more marketshare than ANY Unix and Linux forms of mobile and desktop operating systems put together

Windows Phone is just as locked down as iOS is, and your definition of what closed and open is has very little to do with any of the issues you have mentioned.

android is plagued with malware and ios is too locked down but windows phone doesnt allow xaps to be deployed easily resulting in lesser piracy and malware and achieves this with bluetooth,file manager etc still intact and usable within the os
so i dont see much truth in your statements

 

[three_thoughts]

The windows ecosystem needs more high end hardware more often. Much more than it needs Android apps.

Without Hero devices, you lose the evangelists who can persuade others to join the platform. If the 930 / Icon hadn't been such a poor successor to the 920, if they had put ALL the features in it that it needed rather than trying to keep the costs down, there wouldn't be as much negativity around Windows phone at the moment.

The other thing MS needs to do is show commitment to the platform. By allowing apps on other platforms to be better and released quicker than on windows, it sends such a negative signal to manufacturers, developers and consumers. If MS isn't fully committed to Windows, why the heck should anyone else be?

MS has no one to blame but themselves, they are not giving anyone any reasons to stick with WP.

 

[gadgetebz]

I agree people who buy lumia 520s do not change their phones every 2 years they are like my mum who has zero interest in smartphones.

 

[realwarder]

Its just not going to happen. Next...

 

[KhawarNadeem]

Cackling at this thread being such a mess of all kinds of random thoughts and ideas.

Android isn't SO bad. I got a Nexus 5 as a secondary phone, and I have to say Lollipop, with all it's flatness and colours, looks a lot more polished now. Certainly not in WP territory in terms of design uniformity, but it's a step in the right direction.

And that is why, my friends, Windows Phone is in even worse trouble than it was before. I still prefer my Lumia 925, for the vastly better camera and display and looks, but the N5 has not once stuttered no matter how heavily I use it. The runtime change is a huge boon, and besides a few additions here and there, devs don't even need to tweak their apps much.

I repeat, WP is in trouble. WP has looks and smoothness and ease of use going for it, but in a few years Android phones WILL be at that level as well, while having more apps.

I am seriously hoping at this point that Windows 10 fixes all the bugs and issues WP has been accumulating in the last year, because if that doesn't work then (and I hate to say it), the single digit marketshare is likely to stay that way.

Android apps on WP is *not* the way forward. It would butcher the entire philosophy of having a unique platform like this. I wish these threads would stop popping up like weeds. WE DO NOT NEED ANDROID APPS HERE.

What we need is Microsoft to update the ENTIRE x40 series Lumias at the exact same time: announce all phones from 1040 through 540, make it a huge event like Apple does, introduce as many new things at once as possible, instead of announcing a new low-end Lumia every 3 months. Imagine the appeal if MS does what Apple does! Overwhelm the media with a huge announcement and make the devices available ASAP. That gets people talking, it gets them interested. Focus on the cameras, throw PureView into every phone no matter how cheap (it's just software FFS!), focus on the design, on high quality audio and video capabilities, offer maps worldwide like Google does, offer Cortana worldwide in English (if not too many languages).

It's all about presentation and marketing. WP doesn't actually *lack* anything all that badly, what it lacks is public interest. THAT can only come through doing outrageous things, both in hardware, software, and marketing. Offer something for everyone. That is what is actually holding WP back, not some (real or imaginary) app gap.

 

[chris722]

OP one thing you're not getting is that even with low margin phones, which is what also occurs on Android the low end phones that prepaid carriers sell are wildly successful, particularly the Samsung phones, is that Microsoft can still make a lot of money on services, and that developers can still make a lot of money through ad networks. Microsoft is not hurting for money, lol; they may not make money off of free services in the way that Google does but trust that they're still making money when they give you something for "free".

Why do you think OneDrive, Outlook.com, and Office Web Apps are free? Why do you think the Android apps are free, or why Hulu is free on Android? No one gives away anything for free without an end game, and trust that there is an end game with all of these $30 phones Microsoft is selling with a free Windows Phone license. Spotify said that the real money was in a "freemium" model, and Microsoft and Google, and the carriers, are doing the same thing with cheap, $.01, or free phones, either on contract or off contract. Most people transition from the budget phones to the mid-range, on both Android and Windows. With iOS, people get an old iPhone for free, $.01, or $50, and then upgrade to a $200 (w/ contract) phone when their first contract expires if they love the phone. The same people either break their contract and pay the ETF, or buy an iPhone off the street for $800 and go off contract.

 

[gadgetebz]

Gotta agree here.... . I really wish folks will stop trying to suggest bringjng Android apps to WP. That is not the solution. Blackberry tried it and failed. And for crissakes, it's been said to death...if Microsoft allows Android apps to run on WP that will be the last blow to every developer or potential developer that supports native WP apps. There will be native support from devs. It will inadvertently kill WP Store. The app situation needs to be fixed according to native support. Not bowing to allow a competitors apps to run. If that's the plan MS is considering, then they might as well kill the entire platform now and start making Android devices.

Guys please stop coming up with the same old rubbish that Microsoft will get it right with universal APPS blah blah blah.. Windows Phone is drowning and a radical solution is needed.. Android are selling over 45 million units per month and Windows Phone are at less than 3 million units a month so a vast difference..Now in my view the only reason people are not buying Windows Phones in bigger numbers is due to the APPS situation.

If by fixing the APP gap using Android APPS Windows Phone could sell 9 million units per month it would make a big difference...

With a bigger user base Windows developers would continue to support Windows Phone in even larger numbers with more resources. Android and IOS developers would then see a viable platform with large enough consumer base to allocate resources to port as native Windows APPS as this would best showcase their services and games etc...

Now people have said it is not technically possible but if Windows 10 is coded to support Android APPS then why should there be an issue as Android runs on ARM and ATOM is it really as impossible as people are saying???

Lastly if you don`t need to run the official Games, Banking APPS or Social APPS that are missing simply ignore them no need to whinge about how you will leave the Windows platform because that just sounds stupid...

 

[Roddie Toney]

Ok I give it to Android for apps and better browser for internet. Now the true downfall to android and ios.
Try to download pics to pc from an Apple 6 what a nightmare.
8 gb storage unless you lease it and you don't own it.
Android closed storage and lots are 4 gb up to 16 gb but if you get enough storage then you lease one not own.
Have to USB debug to download to PC.
Have to root to use micro SD card.
Windows Phone
Affordable
Easy transfers to PC. Oh wait no need since I have one drive and everything I have is backed up to my Microsoft account. I have to reset phone or replace just log onto my account and everything is there.
Storage. This low cost 635 has 8 gb storage and I was able to put in micro SD card. Phone software manages it for me no more click and move to SD drive.
As for as apps I go to banks website which has link for mobile desktop which I bookmark. Done
More games coming if that is your thing. Candy Crush is here.
Needs a better browser to search or maybe the other sites need to get with today standards of HTML5 which is why Windows phone is short. Not behind Android or IOS but ahead of them.

 

[gadgetebz]

OP one thing you're not getting is that even with low margin phones, which is what also occurs on Android the low end phones that prepaid carriers sell are wildly successful, particularly the Samsung phones, is that Microsoft can still make a lot of money on services, and that developers can still make a lot of money through ad networks. Microsoft is not hurting for money, lol; they may not make money off of free services in the way that Google does but trust that they're still making money when they give you something for "free".

Why do you think OneDrive, Outlook.com, and Office Web Apps are free? Why do you think the Android apps are free, or why Hulu is free on Android? No one gives away anything for free without an end game, and trust that there is an end game with all of these $30 phones Microsoft is selling with a free Windows Phone license. Spotify said that the real money was in a "freemium" model, and Microsoft and Google, and the carriers, are doing the same thing with cheap, $.01, or free phones, either on contract or off contract. Most people transition from the budget phones to the mid-range, on both Android and Windows. With iOS, people get an old iPhone for free, $.01, or $50, and then upgrade to a $200 (w/ contract) phone when their first contract expires if they love the phone. The same people either break their contract and pay the ETF, or buy an iPhone off the street for $800 and go off contract.

I see your point of making money out of Services but if you think about it do Microsoft really care if those services run Android or IOS?

In fact due to the number of users Microsoft probably considers the users on those platforms more important than Windows Phone users!!

By increasing the number of Windows Phone and Tablet users you will by definition make the platform more important to all developers not just the ones who currently create for windows phone.

 

[chris722]

OS/2? An old timer like myself I take it, lol. Man; you must have had that one on standby was just waiting to pull it out and use it.

If, Windows Phone ran Android apps better than Android it might be an interesting proposal for low-end users. That might have been what BlackBerry was betting on, and it would be interesting to hear from some BB users that ran Android apps to see what that experience was, and how it actually played out. Then at least WP could make the argument that it does Android better than Android (if that were true), but at this point in the game it would not push me back to Android, and I probably would run those Android apps on WP, at the same time it would only solidify my confidence in WP hardware, which at this point I believe to be better than Android (on the low-end).

I see your point of making money out of Services but if you think about it do Microsoft really care if those services run Android or IOS?

In fact due to the number of users Microsoft probably considers the users on those platforms more important than Windows Phone users!!

By increasing the number of Windows Phone and Tablet users you will by definition make the platform more important to all developers not just the ones who currently create for windows phone.

Microsoft needs to differentiate their services on their own platform over those on other platforms. Everyone else seems to do this, and i'm not sure why Microsoft has not done so. I honestly believe that WP is a loss leader, with the end game to get people to purchase Windows 8.1 computers. The money for WP has to come from somewhere, and you just don't discount phones the way that Microsoft has to write off a loss or dump inventory.

Now I could be wrong, and if so I really don't know what to say, but I hope that I'm right.

There is no one single answer. Windows Phone does have good hardware. It has good software too, although no one would know that because everyone is focused on Google apps, which IMHO all have web apps that can be accessed in the browser via HTML 5, or, they're focused on third party apps for services outside of any one ecosystem, like Pinterest or Whatsapp.

Personally, I came for MixRadio. I was sick of downloading and maintaining my own music library.

Windows Phone is suffering from the kitchen sink phenomenon. Too many people think that they need a device to do 99% of what they'll never attempt to do, not just on their phone, but in general. So the perceived ROI is low in their minds. I fell into that trap, only to use .01% of what Android had to offer, because I couldn't access most apps, and what apps I could not access, I couldn't do it well. It is even worse on Apple, where you more or less do whatever they tell you the phone is capable of doing, and you pay a lot more. Then you leave and get an Android or a WP and realize that you can't send text messages anymore because your phone got caught up in all of that iMessage BS.

 

[colinkiama]

Think about the long term effects. No play services meaning no snapchat, no push notifications. Security will be affected too. What Microsoft needs is great PR so people see windows in a good way. The truth is that windows 8 is actually what made windows phone look bad from 2012. Make people talk about it in a good light so more developers know about it and are aware that they can develop for it, leading to an increase in apps. If we get android apps, WP would just be a dumbed down android with a fancy launcher, do you really want that?