Things missing vs other platforms that keeps me from coming back

[Ten Four]

anyone who has not explored google play and the ios app store to comparison shop doesn't know what they're talking about.

Counterpoint. I decided to go Android for awhile to see what I was missing since I hadn't used it much in the last couple of years. Went for over a month and a half. Yes, there were some really nice apps, but there were also a bunch that didn't even work--I mean nada, nothing! Download the app, complete fail. I also couldn't find certain apps that I really liked from Windows, and the substitutes weren't as good. There are definitely more apps for Android but they aren't always better. Plus, the basic functions I use all day every day didn't work as well on Android: keyboard, email, phone, texts, contacts. Just answering the phone is hard on Android--which way do you swipe? By the way, I hate swipe gestures--just don't work for me--I want to push a button that tells me what is happening. The stupid hamburger menu is out of reach half the time. You have to get a top-end phone to get a decent camera equal to what you can find on low-end Windows phone. Anyway, for some of us there are lots of reasons to prefer Windows over Android, and the app gap is overblown.

 

[Ixolite]

Well, I think MS has tipped it over for me with abandoning 20 series from Win10 update... One of the things they strongly stressed that all 8.1 capable phones will get Win10 update and they backed out of this one as well. Really not happy with how things are turning out. I really like WP and I really want to use it but with all the hurdles they are throwing under my feet I just don't feel like I want to even try and put any effort in staying with the platform anymore...

 

[congthanhgiong]

It doesn't really matter now how you feel about the platform, it's been going down to the bottom, competition is very stiff in this industry. It can only go up as of now as long as Windows on desktop can reach to at least 500 million user base, so be back then to this thread

 

[cphd]

Things I think are missing
panorama photos that actually work well (my old Galaxy Nexus had this in the stock camera app in 2011)
snapchat (I'm in college)

I think that wp8.1 is a great OS, I really love(d) the facebook integration in the contacts and calendar app, and onedrive works well enough for me.
That being said I feel like what misses are apps that make a phone fun.
As mentioned above snapchat, msqrd, most of the game-apps that get hyped, ... . I certainly don't need these apps, but they are what keeps people engaged with their phones. Latest example might be the basketball mini-game in the facebook messenger: It's useless and probably annoying after a few days because you fill up your chats with scores, but it's nice to be able to play with it.
And if these apps eventually come to wp the hype usually is already gone.
I can't really say anything about banking or appy for local shops since banking for me is walking up to the atm, and the local shops always send paper versions of their coupons to everyone within 50 miles, so you can't really miss anything there

 

[loribinca]

It doesn't really matter now how you feel about the platform, it's been going down to the bottom, competition is very stiff in this industry. It can only go up as of now as long as Windows on desktop can reach to at least 500 million user base, so be back then to this thread

Any by hook or by crook they're going to get there by installing Windows 10 onto your computer whether you like it or not .. This strategy is going to backfire on them.

 

[jmerwin]

I completely feel you here. I've been with WP since it's move from Windows Mobile back in what .... 2007? My first WP being the Samsung Focus. I'm a self-proclaimed WP evangelist to my peers and love nearly everything about the platform. I found myself pretty satisfied with the 3rd party apps as most everything that I used on a regular basis was there. What finally turned me away was the consistently "broken" software. The ridiculous "loading" and "resuming" screens ... the various app hang-ups. The joke that is Groove. I could go on. After so many years, I became exhausted of trying to defend a platform that cannot seem to iron out kinks. I LOVE the UI and the look of WP. I love the phones themselves ... (though this last batch of Lumia left a bit to be desired). I would also like to return someday. I left AT&T and WP for Verizon and a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. So far I'm not disappointed at all. It is so refreshing to not have an "app gap" and for things to run so smoothly and without hiccup. I do indeed miss WP and will continue to follow it as a fan but as a customer, there needs to be a big shift, like you've described, for me to return.

 

[ckeledjian]

There's another huge reason why Windows Mobile is struggling: the way MS competitors and OEMs boycott Microsoft, while Microsoft does not boycott them. Google has refused to port any of their apps to Windows Mobile, Apple does not port anything to anybody, while Microsoft has graciously provided powerful apps like the Office suite to both Android and IOS, plus beautiful ports of Bing and Cortana. OEM's boycott Microsoft because MS does not let them fill the OS with bloatware or skins, which is form the good of the consumer, but for the OEM reduces their differentiating factor in a viciously competitive industry.
If people could choose Google Maps, Google Play in their Windows Phone, if there was a Samsung Edge for Windows and if we closed a bit more the app gap, Windows Mobile will prosper. That's why i'll stick with Windows and see, because with the success of Windows 10 desktop/tablet OS, we will get more and more universal apps which will run on Windows phones without any additional effort. That is the best approach and strategically it has the best chances to win, because Windows desktops and tablets are not going away any time soon, and all new and updated apps will likely be Universal. And the Universal scheme MS has done is not the gimmicky crap seen in other platforms where the phone app is just pixel-augmented, instead MS UApps adapt and redesign beautifully and functionally to the device's form factor.
Eventually, even vicious competitors such as Google and Apple will have to buy into the UApp scheme to support Windows desktops, and in the process will also support Windows Mobile. The strategy takes time, but I'm sure it'll pay off, and much of the people jumping to other platforms will return to Windows.

 

[Iain_S]

I'm a former WP enthusiast. I was very active here from March 2013 to February 2015 when I left WP for Android. I tried to come back last July but left again 4 months later.

I had grown extremely tired of the app situation. Everytime a new app comes out, it's not available for us on WP/WM10. That becomes quite frustrating. And I'm not even talking about the whole Google situation as when I'm on WP I don't use Google services. I'm not talking either about the awesome 3rd party apps that exist sometimes. I'm talking about basic stuff like a proper LinkedIn app, regularly updated Facebook/Twitter apps. Banking and newspaper apps.

Furthermore, how many popular services are dropping the platform? Even if I don't use those services (like Spotify for example) that makes me afraid to invest $300+ on a phone that risks either becoming irrelevant or simply frustrating because I can't get the things I want. There's just too many concessions to be made.

I'm sure I'm not the only one. So I thought I'd make this thread knowing that some people from Microsoft roam around here sometimes. I know some of my list do not concern MS directly. But they know how to pull strings. Also, I know some of the things I list are coming (like Instagram and Facebook). But it's a complete list.

To me, this is what would be necessary to go back to WM10

- Regularly updated Facebook app
- Regularly update Twitter app
- Proper Instagram app
- Proper LinkedIn app (the one we have dates of WP8)
- Sending emails from aliases in the Outlook app

Anyone else want to add to this?

Oh and I've been a member of this forum for 3 years. I know how some will want to react and treat me like a spoilt brat that should just remain with Android and shut up. I would ask those people to please refrain from answering. I want constructive comments. The point of this is just to create a list of things that keeps non-WP/WM10 users from coming to the platform in order to maybe make MS do something about it. Because I feel like they're passive and have been in the last 2 years.

I miss WP... I want back in... but I'm done making all the efforts...

- the facebook app will be going universal soon
- twitter app has gone universal.
- proper Instagram app in beta public release
- linkedin have no idea, don't use it
- haven't checked outlook for that.

 

[ArtSooby]

There's my list that will make me come back to Windows 10 Mobile:

1. STOP changing everything and kill the old phones support (that drive me crazy)
2. Make Microsoft Apps for the Windows platform first or at least in the same time than other OS
3. Have phones on carriers in Canada (that would be a good start)
4. Update apps as fast as the other platforms.

Then, I will probably come back to the platform.

 

[elitewolverine21]

I was little frustrated about twitter app because that one I use a lot! but now they updated it and made it W10 version! it is amazing!!! ^^ I myself don't use Instragram. All I want is official Youtube app! ^^ I will still stay with W10M because it is so amazing OS! I love #Tileart app it makes my start screen more fun! ^^

btw if you want to follow me on twitter: @TripaProducer

Tubecast is better imo than the official youtube app on any platform.

 

[elitewolverine21]

I completely feel you here. I've been with WP since it's move from Windows Mobile back in what .... 2007? My first WP being the Samsung Focus. I'm a self-proclaimed WP evangelist to my peers and love nearly everything about the platform. I found myself pretty satisfied with the 3rd party apps as most everything that I used on a regular basis was there. What finally turned me away was the consistently "broken" software. The ridiculous "loading" and "resuming" screens ... the various app hang-ups. The joke that is Groove. I could go on. After so many years, I became exhausted of trying to defend a platform that cannot seem to iron out kinks. I LOVE the UI and the look of WP. I love the phones themselves ... (though this last batch of Lumia left a bit to be desired). I would also like to return someday. I left AT&T and WP for Verizon and a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. So far I'm not disappointed at all. It is so refreshing to not have an "app gap" and for things to run so smoothly and without hiccup. I do indeed miss WP and will continue to follow it as a fan but as a customer, there needs to be a big shift, like you've described, for me to return.

Don't hold your breath just yet on the s7 Edge, I work in a carrier, so far I see daily S7 Edge problems. I love the phone, I have one actually. But 'smooth' 100% of the time it is not, in fact our phone has 0 user installed apps and it has 'lagged' a few times. Is it fast? It better, be its freaking a week old kind of thing. App gap, cant argue there. But it is pretty crazy that my 1520 with beta software is just as 'smooth' as the S7 with finished software. However, with all that said, have fun with the camera, that thing focus so freaking fast...I wont say anything about its 'picture quality' because so far my 1520 imo and pulling the dng's has matched it. I do recommend the S7 Edge especially to android upgraders, it is a sweet phone, imo a better leap than their last 2 phones when talking about generational leaps.

 

[Kar98]

So far I'm not aware of any app that I want that is missing from windows 10 mobile.

Nook, my bank, an updated Kindle app that actually works. I mean, OK, I can make it work or just suck it up and live with what I've got, I'm not too excited with the prospect of going with Google, and iOS is right out. But damn, it feels not so nice to be always told "soon!", or "never!"

 

[hey_joe]

I am using Lumia 640 LTE, but I'm missing EAP/TTLS-PAP support. I cannot connect to the network of my faculty. I also miss USB-tethering very much. I want to connect my laptop and surf using my mobile data plan. I don't want to use Wi-Fi tethering because it drains my battery. These features are available on Android and iOS for years, and even W10 Mobile doesn't seem to change anything about it. This is just INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

 

[snakebitten]

The app-gap IS an issue for many. Not an issue for some. (I'm a "some")
But needing the best "Work Phone" driving someone to leave Microsoft platform?

Wow, must be something very specific. Because "work" is what KEEPS me on Microsoft.
In fact, it's the one environment I can continuously cause phone-envy moments with the suits that are IPhone sheep. (I don't consider every IPhone user "sheep" It IS the right phone for many folks)
Especially with the most recent tools and features. And W10mobile has barely gotten out of the gate.

The app-gap in the workforce is not normally what I think the app-gap discussion is about. I'm surprised.
In fact, in our Enterprise it's the other way around. Our recently released W10 Universal Corporate Apps have the IT guys catching heat from the suits when they ask how can they get that loaded on their IPhone? (They're shown they can only run it on their Surface Pro or W10 laptop\desktop)

 

[GMC262]

But it is pretty crazy that my 1520 with beta software is just as 'smooth' as the S7 with finished software..

I don't think it's that crazy, considering the length of time MS has been working towards an official build of Windows 10 mobile for phones; meanwhile, there is discussion of Android N arriving this summer. None of the platforms (iOS Android or Windows) is perfect but as others have observed, Windows could definitely be more timely in delivering new software and hardware.

 

[charlie2128]

There's another huge reason why Windows Mobile is struggling: the way MS competitors and OEMs boycott Microsoft, while Microsoft does not boycott them. Google has refused to port any of their apps to Windows Mobile, Apple does not port anything to anybody, while Microsoft has graciously provided powerful apps like the Office suite to both Android and IOS, plus beautiful ports of Bing and Cortana. OEM's boycott Microsoft because MS does not let them fill the OS with bloatware or skins, which is form the good of the consumer, but for the OEM reduces their differentiating factor in a viciously competitive industry.
If people could choose Google Maps, Google Play in their Windows Phone, if there was a Samsung Edge for Windows and if we closed a bit more the app gap, Windows Mobile will prosper. That's why i'll stick with Windows and see, because with the success of Windows 10 desktop/tablet OS, we will get more and more universal apps which will run on Windows phones without any additional effort. That is the best approach and strategically it has the best chances to win, because Windows desktops and tablets are not going away any time soon, and all new and updated apps will likely be Universal. And the Universal scheme MS has done is not the gimmicky crap seen in other platforms where the phone app is just pixel-augmented, instead MS UApps adapt and redesign beautifully and functionally to the device's form factor.
Eventually, even vicious competitors such as Google and Apple will have to buy into the UApp scheme to support Windows desktops, and in the process will also support Windows Mobile. The strategy takes time, but I'm sure it'll pay off, and much of the people jumping to other platforms will return to Windows.

I totally agree, MS is working hard to close the app gap with Uapp and it is a long game not a quick fix. I'm fed up with android, it's just an all right OS with all the apps you need. If it weren't for the apps, I don't think android would be as big as it is today. W10 is the best OS out there, bring in some new "surface" phones and a few big names in the app world with Uapp, W10 will flourish.

Android and OEM only support the latest phones, anything replaced get left behind.

By the end of the year I'll be back on W10.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Diamondx_8]

There's another huge reason why Windows Mobile is struggling: the way MS competitors and OEMs boycott Microsoft, while Microsoft does not boycott them. Google has refused to port any of their apps to Windows Mobile, Apple does not port anything to anybody, while Microsoft has graciously provided powerful apps like the Office suite to both Android and IOS, plus beautiful ports of Bing and Cortana. OEM's boycott Microsoft because MS does not let them fill the OS with bloatware or skins, which is form the good of the consumer, but for the OEM reduces their differentiating factor in a viciously competitive industry.
If people could choose Google Maps, Google Play in their Windows Phone, if there was a Samsung Edge for Windows and if we closed a bit more the app gap, Windows Mobile will prosper. That's why i'll stick with Windows and see, because with the success of Windows 10 desktop/tablet OS, we will get more and more universal apps which will run on Windows phones without any additional effort. That is the best approach and strategically it has the best chances to win, because Windows desktops and tablets are not going away any time soon, and all new and updated apps will likely be Universal. And the Universal scheme MS has done is not the gimmicky crap seen in other platforms where the phone app is just pixel-augmented, instead MS UApps adapt and redesign beautifully and functionally to the device's form factor.
Eventually, even vicious competitors such as Google and Apple will have to buy into the UApp scheme to support Windows desktops, and in the process will also support Windows Mobile. The strategy takes time, but I'm sure it'll pay off, and much of the people jumping to other platforms will return to Windows.

I understand where you are coming from and will not buy Google stock for that very same reason. However, there is nothing altruistic about Microsoft putting its apps on other platforms. It was either that or die off. It was an admission that they could no longer ignore the market share realities. I am a Windows Phone owner. At one time, I had three 1520s in my home. My son's 1520 died and I bought him an iPhone. My wife and I are due for phones now but I am conflicted on which way I will go. I don't use a lot of app but is that because apps have no utility or is that because none are available. More than likely it is the latter. I can't bring myself to buy an Android, however, I had to drop slightly over a grand on my son's 6S. That just seems like too much for a phone. More than likely I will end up with a Windows Phone but I am really getting sick of the shortcomings, the loading/resuming thing, and just the overall low quality of the software available. For example, why is it that Bing apps crash the way they do? That is just inexcusable.

 

[trivor]

One statement on the app gap. I am not denying it is real, but I bet 95% of people only use basic apps 95% of the time: calendar, alarm, phone, messaging, email, browser, maps, weather, news, and camera would cover most of what I see being done on phones every day. Heck, if we had to most of us could exist just fine with nothing on a phone but the ability to make calls, texts, and emails--I bet that covers at least 75% of all smartphone usage I see.

I think most people's point is we shouldn't have to: The significant gap in "everyday" apps like news, sports, banking, rewards cards (like grocery stores, other retailers, etc.) is the major reason people leave WP and also the primary reason people don't come to WP in the first place. As far as I'm concerned WP right now is in the same place as WebOS was a few years ago. WP is on the way to being a footnote in market share as "Other" and at this point there is nothing MS can do about it.

 

[groady-ho baluzy]

I think most people's point is we shouldn't have to: The significant gap in "everyday" apps like news, sports, banking, rewards cards (like grocery stores, other retailers, etc.) is the major reason people leave WP and also the primary reason people don't come to WP in the first place. As far as I'm concerned WP right now is in the same place as WebOS was a few years ago. WP is on the way to being a footnote in market share as "Other" and at this point there is nothing MS can do about it.

I saw on my computer tonite there's a Bing rewards app available on apple, android and amazon kindle. Doesn't Microsoft own Bing?

 

[phlamethrowre]

One statement on the app gap. I am not denying it is real, but I bet 95% of people only use basic apps 95% of the time: calendar, alarm, phone, messaging, email, browser, maps, weather, news, and camera would cover most of what I see being done on phones every day. Heck, if we had to most of us could exist just fine with nothing on a phone but the ability to make calls, texts, and emails--I bet that covers at least 75% of all smartphone usage I see.

You're pulling those numbers out of your rear. Just because you "bet" it doesn't make it true.

The reality is that technology is becoming a larger part of our everyday lives. Smart home security systems, smart thermostats, banking apps, payroll and hr apps, car systems with apps on your phone and the list goes on and on and gets longer all the time. If you want to be a part of the technological revolution you need at least an Android but preferably an iPhone.