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Microsoft says they’re officially killing Windows 10 Mobile, says to switch to iOS and Android to use Microsoft apps/services

Rychu

Rychu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,263
Utah, USA
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/18/mic...-mobile-says-switch-to-iphone-or-android.html

TLDR:
  • Microsoft says that if you use Windows 10 Mobile, switch to iOS or Android ASAP.
  • Microsoft will pull the plug on Windows 10 Mobile in December 2019.
  • Going forward all Microsoft apps and services will be available on all platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS and Linux) and will go with you wherever you go on any device.
"With the Windows 10 Mobile OS end of support, we recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device," Microsoft said. "Microsoft's mission statement to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, compels us to support our Mobile apps on those platforms and devices."
 

Deleted member 8860

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,525
It's effectively been dead for two+ years (no devices for sale, no new OS versions, no new major software). There's just been a security patch or two.
 

Deleted member 5764

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,574
I'm honestly surprised that they held out this long. They've essentially said as much for a few years now. Glad they're starting to zero in on what they're successful with.
 
AlexBasch

AlexBasch

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,312
I really loved using my Lumia 520. :( It had a lot of third party apps and the supported ones never updated but the thing was so pretty. :(
 
NineConsonants

NineConsonants

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,210
Remember those windows phone commercials that would mock how everybody at the wedding except for 2 people were using either an iPhone or Android?
 
Zulith

Zulith

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,751
West Coast, USA
This is why I could never get excited about the dreams of a Surface phone many people have. MS will just abandon and trash it way before its time should be up. It's tough competing against the iOS and Android goliaths, but if MS really wants to do it it has to be perfect.
 
BocoDragon

BocoDragon

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,207
NineConsonants said:
Remember those windows phone commercials that would mock how everybody at the wedding except for 2 people were using either an iPhone or Android?
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When phones rely on having an app ecosystem, having a "unique" phone is just not a good thing.


Zulith said:
This is why I could never get excited about the dreams of a Surface phone many people have. MS will just abandon and trash it way before its time should be up. It's tough competing against the iOS and Android goliaths, but if MS really wants to do it it has to be perfect.
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I feel like a Surface phone would just run Android, no? I can't imagine they'll make any phone at this point, really...
 
lunarworks

lunarworks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,169
Toronto
dFdHJao.jpg


Never gets old.
 
jelly

jelly

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
33,841
I enjoyed it Nokia and Windows Phone but yeah, it went nowhere in the end. Shame. Maybe they will try again in many many years.
 
Kthulhu

Kthulhu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,670
Too bad they could never get it off the ground. They kinda screwed themselves though.
 
Johnny Blaze

Johnny Blaze

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
4,165
DE
They tried to hard to be so different than iOS and Android and also way too late to the party, but still, the interface was so weird.
 
Aranjah

Aranjah

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,185
At least they finally said it outright instead of continuing the ghosting they were doing.
Sad, though. Finally switched to Android in November once I broke the screen on my Lumia 1520, since the writing on the wall was pretty clear, and I still miss the W10M OS (and the phone design; every Android phone, even the high-end ones, looks like a cheap iPhone knock-off). The hardware was good, the OS was good. All it needed was the app support. :(
 
jelly

jelly

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
33,841
The OS was decent but I don't think it really mixed well with loads of apps, live tiles were unique and quite cool but perhaps too unusual for people, notifications killed the live aspect too so it was just noise.
 
Air

Air

User-Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,262
It sucks as more competition would be good, but Microsoft was super late and missed the boat. I'd definitely be interested in getting more Microsoft apps on my phone if I had more memory though
 
BocoDragon

BocoDragon

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,207
Dirt McGirt said:
They tried to hard to be so different than iOS and Android and also way too late to the party, but still, the interface was so weird.
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I feel like its UI wasn't that weird... it's just that the phone market can only support 2 devices, and those devices' UI are iOS and the iOS-inspired Android.

There's nothing innate about a smartphone UI that needs to be a grid of icons.. that's just what we stumbled into with the iPhone leading the way.
 
lunarworks

lunarworks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,169
Toronto
Dirt McGirt said:
They tried to hard to be so different than iOS and Android and also way too late to the party, but still, the interface was so weird.
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Not only were they late to the party, they rebooted development twice, leaving old hardware owners in the cold.

My wife's Lumia 710 was rendered obsolete when Windows Phone 8 was announced to be incompatible with existing devices, and then her Lumia 1020 was promised an upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile, but Microsoft reneged on that too.
 
jelly

jelly

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
33,841
Yamajian said:
I really thought Windows Continuum was going to be revolutionary. Maybe Android / Chrome OS will be able to do something similar soon?
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Yeah that was cool. The guy who showed it off at MS conferences sold it very well. It's probably one aspect I see phones maybe going in the future, Microsoft perhaps once again ahead of the curve but don't have the product to make the leap.
 
Consequence

Consequence

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,975
Loved my Dell Venue Pro. Well, the build quality was actually kind of bad and it had a funky touchscreen but I loved it anyway.
 
Jerm

Jerm

The Fallen
Oct 31, 2017
5,775
So what makes this phone unpopular? Late to the market or shoddy relative to other offerings?
 
BocoDragon

BocoDragon

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,207
The Real Jeremy said:
So what makes this phone unpopular? Late to the market or shoddy relative to other offerings?
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Late to the market for sure. Anyone entering after 2008 was just too late. iOS and Android had taken the full share of the pie, and their app ecosystems were sufficiently robust that it was always a bad idea to go with anyone else.
 
Jonnax

Jonnax

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,921
The Real Jeremy said:
So what makes this phone unpopular? Late to the market or shoddy relative to other offerings?
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Late to the market.
They also reinvented it a couple of times, which required rewrites of the applications, which for an OS that's trying to grow it's developers was a stupid move.

Google also didn't make apps for the OS and then blocked Microsoft from making a YouTube app that used their API. (This was pretty anticompetitive)

I'd also argue it was bit shit. I used a Lumia 950 for a short while.
 
Krakatoa

Krakatoa

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,092
Such a shame the live tiles are far superior to anything IOS or Android have delivered.
 
Remark

Remark

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,561
Windows Phone was the best mobile OS out of the 3 but it just never got that app ecosystem sadly :(

Surprised they held off so long to discontinue seeing as it's been dead for over two years now.
 
Johnny Blaze

Johnny Blaze

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
4,165
DE
BocoDragon said:
I feel like its UI wasn't that weird... it's just that the phone market can only support 2 devices, and those devices' UI are iOS and the iOS-inspired Android.

There's nothing innate about a smartphone UI that needs to be a grid of icons.. that's just what we stumbled into with the iPhone leading the way.
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Well it felt weird compared to the grid style. And people don't wanna get used to new layouts, especially since it came out when everyone got used to grids and switching from iOS to Android is not that tedious compared to WP especially since early Android phones mostly tried to copy iOS as much as possible. You can't disrupt the market so quickly after someone else did it a couple of years earlier. You have more success with riding the wave.

lunarworks said:
Not only were they late to the party, they rebooted development twice, leaving old hardware owners in the cold.

My wife's Lumia 710 was rendered obsolete when Windows Phone 8 was announced to be incompatible with existing devices, and then her Lumia 1020 was promised an upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile, but Microsoft reneged on that too.
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True. On top of being so different, they never seemed to put in the work required. An half baked "let's just try and see where it goes" attempt won't work.
 
lunarworks

lunarworks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,169
Toronto
The Real Jeremy said:
So what makes this phone unpopular? Late to the market or shoddy relative to other offerings?
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In addition to the other stuff mentioned, Microsoft required an expensive licence ($40?) for each device sold. Android, on the other hand, was free. That's one of the reasons hardware manufacturers never fully committed to it, and Microsoft had to buy Nokia just to have an actual WP product range.
 
hordak

hordak

Member
Oct 31, 2017
2,540
Anaheim, CA
heres a brief history of the windows phone and why it failed. apparently they were too strict with the requirements, and they charged licensing fees. So phone manufacturers jump ship to Android to google cause it was free and had far less restrictions on hardware. Then they bought Nokia and screwed what partners they had left.
 
NSA

NSA

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
3,892
#sad

I loved my Nokia 1520. The 950XL wasn't terrible either.

I switched to a Note 8 (and now a Note 9) and the Microsoft apps for Android actually work better than they did on Windows phone. I use the Microsoft android launcher too and it's all nicely integrated. Just wish they'd port over live tiles.
 
TarpitCarnivore

TarpitCarnivore

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,229
Going to be really interesting to see how Ballmers history is discussed given Windows phone 7/8 and the Nokia deal.
 
jroc74

jroc74

Member
Oct 27, 2017
28,996
Well, cant say many of us didnt see it coming way back when Windows Phone launched. I said recently they were right there with the HTC HD2, and just missed it.

I also said they tried too hard to be like both the iPhone and Android when they should have just picked one and stuck with it. Looking at the old Win Mo, and the HTC HD2....they shoulda have went the Android route.

MS also trying to phase out the Nokia name for branding was a bad idea IMO. Nokia name alone got them in the spotlight again.
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
I think people don't like windows phones because they spend 8 hours a day looking at windows at work, when they pick up their phone they don't want to see all the same shit. Variety is nice, and I think Microsoft could one day be a contender.

But I needs to be rebranded as something else. Windows Phone is a dead on arrival name.
 
SlickShoesRUCRazy

SlickShoesRUCRazy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,036
I really enjoyed my time with windows phone. Had a samsung focus, then a lumia 900, then a lumia 920.

I really like the OS.
 
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