Hello everyone! I wanted to get a discussion started about Windows 10 Mobile in light of Dan Rubino's statement in his Build 10166 review:
"at this stage Windows 10 Mobile is mostly feature locked"
This got quite a bit of attention in the comments, but I think it would be helpful for the community to have a place to put forth logical arguments and discussions about our opinions on this. So here is the question:
If Windows 10 Mobile only receives bug fixes and polish from now until the general release, will you upgrade from 8.1 at the time of release?
For now, let's exclude discussion of buying new flagship lumias (and therefore, continuum for phones)
My humble opinion follows, but you don't need to read it as it is just a personal response to the question:
I think it is highly beneficial to look back to the 8->8.1 upgrade to examine why anyone would update a phone in the first place. For me, and I assume, many others, the 8.1 update was an obvious choice; there were so many new features and improvements that even though I had a few very minor pet peeves, features like Cortana, Action Center, and tile transparency to vastly outweighed my concerns, leading me to run the DP as soon as I could. I mean, this update was so badly wanted by the VZW WP community that there was discussion of getting the FCC involved (or even pursuing a class action lawsuit!) to pressure Big Red into pushing out the update. So why were people so keen on getting the 8.1 update? Something tells me there was more to it than eye candy; there was so much additional functionality that made the OS popular among the WP community.
So is this still the case with Windows 10 Mobile? What, at the end of the day, do you really gain by upgrading? And does that make it worth dealing with your pet peeves? If I were to take a crack at those questions, I would sadly come to the conclusion that there is currently no reason for me to upgrade assuming the OS receives no new features. That really bugs me because I am a huge WP / MSFT enthusiast. But what is the gain? Edge? Gif support? Don't get me wrong: I love the UI in 10, but we all know how transient novelties are. Eventually, I won't notice / care how my tiles fly into the start screen. And the few minor additions aren't enough to convince me to upgrade from 8.1, an OS that I don't have any issues with. I do have pet peeves with 10, though, such as lack of support for "Show artist on lock screen" and the way the date and time float higher on the lock screen then they did in 8.1. I know those are tiny concerns, but the philosophy stands: why would I upgrade to 10, which I have small issues with, from 8.1, which I am happy with? I don't see the gain today. But that is just me.
So if Windows 10 Mobile really is feature locked, then I have difficulty seeing myself upgrading for any reason other than being on the forefront of what Microsoft is offering. Let's hope the Windows Mobile team has several exciting features to add in before the final release.
"at this stage Windows 10 Mobile is mostly feature locked"
This got quite a bit of attention in the comments, but I think it would be helpful for the community to have a place to put forth logical arguments and discussions about our opinions on this. So here is the question:
If Windows 10 Mobile only receives bug fixes and polish from now until the general release, will you upgrade from 8.1 at the time of release?
For now, let's exclude discussion of buying new flagship lumias (and therefore, continuum for phones)
My humble opinion follows, but you don't need to read it as it is just a personal response to the question:
I think it is highly beneficial to look back to the 8->8.1 upgrade to examine why anyone would update a phone in the first place. For me, and I assume, many others, the 8.1 update was an obvious choice; there were so many new features and improvements that even though I had a few very minor pet peeves, features like Cortana, Action Center, and tile transparency to vastly outweighed my concerns, leading me to run the DP as soon as I could. I mean, this update was so badly wanted by the VZW WP community that there was discussion of getting the FCC involved (or even pursuing a class action lawsuit!) to pressure Big Red into pushing out the update. So why were people so keen on getting the 8.1 update? Something tells me there was more to it than eye candy; there was so much additional functionality that made the OS popular among the WP community.
So is this still the case with Windows 10 Mobile? What, at the end of the day, do you really gain by upgrading? And does that make it worth dealing with your pet peeves? If I were to take a crack at those questions, I would sadly come to the conclusion that there is currently no reason for me to upgrade assuming the OS receives no new features. That really bugs me because I am a huge WP / MSFT enthusiast. But what is the gain? Edge? Gif support? Don't get me wrong: I love the UI in 10, but we all know how transient novelties are. Eventually, I won't notice / care how my tiles fly into the start screen. And the few minor additions aren't enough to convince me to upgrade from 8.1, an OS that I don't have any issues with. I do have pet peeves with 10, though, such as lack of support for "Show artist on lock screen" and the way the date and time float higher on the lock screen then they did in 8.1. I know those are tiny concerns, but the philosophy stands: why would I upgrade to 10, which I have small issues with, from 8.1, which I am happy with? I don't see the gain today. But that is just me.
So if Windows 10 Mobile really is feature locked, then I have difficulty seeing myself upgrading for any reason other than being on the forefront of what Microsoft is offering. Let's hope the Windows Mobile team has several exciting features to add in before the final release.