Windows 10 for phone - a step back from Windows Phone vision?

[nilchak]

Have been following the Windows 10 on phones discussions and the OS changes and increasingly it feels to me that what made Windows Phone 7and 8.1 so special and different is now gone.

It looks and feels like any other common Mobile OS. That special something that WP 7had and continued a bit in WP 8 seems to be missing.

In fact Paul Thurrott a long time fan and critic of Windows Phone sums it up pretty well
https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/win...later-full-retreat-made-windows-phone-special.

A few of the original WP 7 ideas now gone...
- from a single interface you could post to multiple online services all at once
- when you tapped the People tile, you would see the Recent view, which was a group of tiles representing recently-accessed contacts
- In Windows Phone 7, search was context-sensitive. That is, when you pressed the hardware Search button, you would search within whatever app or experience you were currently using.
- With Windows Phone 7 Series, all of your photos?from your phone, PC and the web?would be ?organized in one place,? the Photos hub.
- ?hardware consistency is key? and that the only differentiation in Windows Phone would occur ?via apps.?

Many of the changes are welcome changes as it felt like shortcomings on WP 7, but some very basic essence of WP has also changes and that takes away from the OS 's standout features. Now it increasingly feels and does what iOS or Android have been doing.

 

[eusty]

- With Windows Phone 7 Series, all of your photos?from your phone, PC and the web?would be ?organized in one place,? the Photos hub.

I thought this was one of the 'new' features of W10, the photo hub pulls all your photos together (phone, OneDrive etc)?

 

[nilchak]

Yes, Phone and OneDrive only. If you recall WP7 photo hum bought photos from Facebook as well, and I think also had a Flickr 'contract'.

 

[extrikate]

I agree that Windows Phone has lost some of the "spark." Unfortunately, those unique features were also a hindrance to a wider adoption of the OS. Being different works best when you are trying to set yourself apart in a competitive NEW market. In an established market, it is difficult to hai mass appeal if you require people to adjust their habits and methods.

Windows Phone is in a similar position as Linux. There are devoted followers who dislike that it is following UI trends set by Microsoft and Apple. It is a great OS but lacks some of the applications that people desire, even though there are alternatives. Unlike the Linux variants, WP is working to gain momentum with the masses sooner rather than later.

I foresee the possibility of WP returning to some of those unique features in the future if it gains significant market share. Then it would be easier to influence the app developers to leverage those features and preserve API's to prevent loss of functionality for things like the social hubs.