Nine years ago today, we covered Microsoft’s attempt to reposition Universal Windows Platform apps by bringing them closer to traditional desktop software. At the time, Microsoft was trying to bridge two worlds by giving UWP developers more access to system‑level capabilities while still promoting the idea of a unified app model across devices. The piece captured a moment when Microsoft was still pushing hard to modernize Windows development and convince developers that UWP had a long‑term future.

Looking back, it serves as a snapshot of a strategy that never fully landed, but it also shows how Microsoft was already beginning to shift toward the more flexible, open approach that defines Windows app development today. — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief

The article below was originally published on May 1, 2017, by Daniel Rubino.

Microsoft's UWP is going to be a major focus at the forthcoming Build conference in two weeks. Expectations of new tools, improved Xamarin support, and cross-platform capabilities should be all at the forefront at the event.

Interestingly, Microsoft may change its messaging around UWP as well. With Windows 10 Mobile waning fast, here is why Microsoft could be looking to double down on the desktop.

Confusion about UWP

Microsoft's UWP has always created misunderstanding especially amongst consumers. Some have thought it meant that all apps built with the platform could just run anywhere – so the "universal" here is referring to the hardware endpoint.

That's not accurate, however.

Microsoft means "universal" to refer to the tools that let developers get their product to the Windows Store. That's why all apps listed in the Store are technically UWP yet not all of those apps can run on Mobile.

Universal also refers to non-consumer features like shared pricing structure, joint in-app purchases, the ability to install across multiple devices, and unified ad-units.

We can chalk this confusion up to Microsoft's bad naming and poor messaging. A familiar theme, no doubt.

It's not just consumers though that are having a tough time understanding UWP – at least conceptually.

Some developers also believe that that UWP is for creating simple phone apps that can run on your PC and not the other way around. I've written about this before as the "app model" is very phone-centric. Developers see UWP in the light of Microsoft's biggest failure to date. That's not good.

• If not phones, Microsoft needs another device category to ensure Windows success
• Really, what is an 'app' on Windows? Microsoft's Universal App Model answers that question

Microsoft sees UWP as someday displacing Win32 apps a.k.a. "classic" desktop programs. That time is still far off, as UWP is nowhere near as powerful as Win32, but for Microsoft, the goal is to edge towards that reality.

Each year that UWP grows, more features are added, and that goal is within reach. But developers are still reluctant to embrace UWP partially because of the stigma – yes, stigma – of Windows 10 Mobile.

Pivot away from phones

Microsoft's Q3 2017 earnings report solidified the company's intent to move away from phones – at least for now.

Part of that distancing in the consumer space may help Windows 10 and UWP. Here's how.

Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell us that developers were more receptive to UWP once mobile – and specifically phones – was dropped from the sell.

That result may seem surprising, but if UWP is meant to be a long-term replacement for Win32, having it appear analogous to tweaked phone apps is not the way to do it. And evidently that is the current perception: UWP creates phone apps for your PC.

Microsoft believes for UWP to be successful it needs to do a few things:

1. Win on the PC and desktop first.
2. Demonstrate how it will be better than Win32.
3. Convince developers that these are not just phone apps.

The first point about "winning" on the desktop refers to having successful apps and games appear in the Windows Store. Developers and consumers need to shift their perception of the Store from a collection of applets with semi-functionality of full desktop apps to true desktop alternatives.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 15, which uses the Project Centennial Bridge, is one example. Another is the recently released djay Pro, which was ported over from iOS using the Project Islandwood Bridge.

For gaming, high profile releases like Fallout Shelter, Minecraft, and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard represent what UWP is supposed to do.

UWP needs those types of releases for developers and consumers to see value in the platform and Store.

Those software achievements mentioned above demonstrate the power of UWP when done correctly.

The app djay Pro is a massively complicated release with support for location-aware Surface Dial functionality, complex UI elements, timed audio synchronicity and more. The company behind the Windows 10 version of djay Pro gushed about how amazing it was to be able to bring their app – no limitations – to Windows 10 without having to hire a whole new team.

These are the kind of stories Microsoft wants to highlight, and my gut tells me you'll see the company heavily promote such releases at BUILD and in advertising.

Succeed on the PC, then go to Mobile

If you think about it, the whole concept of UWP did come across as backward for developers. Windows phone was never a lucrative investment for developers despite Nokia doing their darndest to get it there.

It's the old "putting the cart before the horse" scenario, and it's biting Microsoft hard.

If, however, Microsoft can distance themselves for phones and make UWP successful on desktop things shift. Now, the model looks like you are taking powerful and robust desktop applications and magically getting them to run on mobile devices. Technically, that was always the truth, but it's an easier sell to everyone once you prove it.

This strategy is not speculation, either. Microsoft is going to position UWP first and foremost as an actual desktop development system for high-end games and apps going forward. This attempt is one reason why Phone is being deprecated for now.

If UWP can't be successful on the PC, Xbox, Mixed Reality, etc. it has no hope for mobile either.

This rationale differs from what I previously argued, which is UWP cannot succeed with phones. While Microsoft would be in a much better position had they not ineptly destroyed their phone business for the fourth time in a decade the situation is so bad that it was negatively affecting Windows 10 and UWP.

All of this, however, is just more unwelcome news for fans of Windows phones. Counterintuitively, instead of putting all their might behind the phone market, it is going to put all their effort into the desktop, tablets, Windows Mixed Reality, IoT, and other platforms. Bring on as many developers into the (currently) successful part of the business and then slowly bring back mobile once they have the hardware is ready and the apps are there for consumers.

As every analyst knows, even if Microsoft released a killer "Surface phone" tomorrow with mind-boggling innovation and design it still has the app-gap problem. It'll just fail. Microsoft needs to solve that, but they are not going to do it by releasing a dead-end phone. Instead, they will put all their effort into making UWP as powerful and as successful as they can and come back to a new device category once the all the pieces are in place.

Microsoft's new push into education is the right move — at the right time

None of this is really good news, but at this time I can't think of another approach either. Microsoft 100 percent needs UWP to succeed for the future of Windows.

Finally, creating more device categories and markets is important. Microsoft's announcement on May 2 will prove the company is serious about entering new segments like education with its full might. Doing so will also greatly benefit developers and the UWP model.

As we look ahead to Windows Central’s 20th anniversary in 2027, we’re taking time to revisit the stories that shaped our community. From Microsoft and Xbox to Windows and PC, these throwbacks remind us how far we’ve come together.

11 years ago, Microsoft unveiled Continuum for Windows 10 Mobile. It was a feature that promised to blur the line between smartphone and desktop PC. By connecting a phone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, users could run a desktop-like environment powered entirely by their pocket device. We’re reaching into the Windows Central vaults to revisit the moment Microsoft tried to change how we define a "computer. — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief

This breaking news article below was first published by Dan Thorp-Lancaster on April 29, 2015, during the Build 2015 keynote.

During its Build 2015 keynote today, Microsoft announced that Continuum will be built into Windows 10 for phones, allowing users with "select premium phones" to connect their phone to a keyboard, mouse, and external screen for a desktop-like experience.

When users connect their phone to an external monitor via HDMI, along with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, they'll essentially be working from a desktop environment. The UI will adapt to fit the larger display, start-menu and all. As far as apps are concerned, it looks like this is where the universal model is going to pay off. During the demo, Microsoft showed off Office running from a phone on an external screen, and it looked very much like the PC app.

Overall, this looks like an amazing use of Continuum, showing off the universality of Windows 10 across devices. Given the right equipment, you're basically carrying a PC in your pocket at all times. It is important to note, however, that Continuum for phones will be limited to "select premium phones." So it's unlikely to come to low-end Lumia devices.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

As we look ahead to Windows Central’s 20th anniversary in 2027, we’re taking time to revisit the stories that shaped our community. From Microsoft and Xbox to Windows and PC, these throwbacks remind us how far we’ve come together.

Interestingly, Microsoft did try to reinvent the phone with Surface Duo (2020) and Surface Duo 2 (2021), both of which pushed the boundaries and concepts of what a mobile device could be. However, both ran Android and were eventually terminated due to poor sales.

We also have more information about a "true" Surface phone circa 2014 that was in development, and we're trying to get approvals to publish that, so stay tuned.

The article below was first published on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. – Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief

Yesterday I wrote an analysis of Microsoft's seemingly great last quarter contrasted with a rather devastating quarter for Windows Phone. Of course, no one was surprised, and we all know the reasons. None of that was news, but it did quantify it, which was interesting. Instead, in that piece I wanted to lay out the landscape for Microsoft in mobile, what they had to do and discuss what their intentions were for the category.

After ruminating a bit on the topic, I figured I would try to answer my question: What's next? To be clear, I am speaking here purely in speculatory terms, but I do think it is grounded in precedent. Also, there are some obvious directions that Microsoft is likely to go in when you look at recent decisions.

Out with the old smartphone

A few weeks ago, I noted how Microsoft, and specifically Panos Panay, seemed less enthused about the new Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. I almost forgot to mention the Lumia 550, but then again, so didn't Microsoft at that October devices event.

The main argument I was making was that these Lumias do not entirely represent what Microsoft is doing these days. It should be clear that the Lumia 950 (Cityman) and Lumia 950 XL (Talkman) are carryovers from Nokia days. Even their codenames refer to the very first Nokia phones, in an a purposefully ironic choice.

Many pointed out to me that Microsoft picked up the Nokia mobile division. Therefore, those are their phones now. True, except that their development was still under Stephen Elop and his cadre including Jo Harlow. Both of those people were let go by Microsoft in late June. Terry Myerson took over for awhile before Panos Panay – famous for the Surface line – took over the engineering aspect for all hardware, including Windows Phone in late July.

That shakeup is a rather big one especially when you consider the old Lumia strategy, which clearly wasn't working. Meanwhile, Panay and his team are clearly knocking it out of the park with the Surface series. Now that Panay leads engineering for Windows Phone, Surface, Microsoft Band, and even Xbox there is a lot that can happen. Moreover, since this engineering team now works with the one Windows team under Myerson, there is a great deal more synergy with a single focus.

I suppose Microsoft could just kill off phones. However, that would make Nadella look bad. Not because killing mobile would be unpopular – quite the contrary, investors would applaud – but because Nadella had a chance when Elop and team were let go in June. Killing off mobile now would look bad because Nadella already did a re-org, and it makes his decision making look shortsighted. Why give the phone division to a new guy only to cancel it?

Plus, I still have not heard an argument about how the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) for Windows 10 has any meaning once you remove mobile from the equation. The whole thing just goes away.

Instead, I believe Microsoft has specific plans for mobile, which is why they gave it to Panay. However, I don't think they are just going to do a me-too flagship smartphone either.

The future of smartphone devices

Windows Phone, as we know it, is dead. It lost to Apple's iPhone and Android back in 2014 (some would say back in 2012, although for while things were looking up). In 2015, Windows Phone has been tenaciously hanging on as Windows 10 comes to fruition, but it is clear the old model is not working.

I said earlier that the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL "do not entirely represent what Microsoft is doing these days." I used the word entirely because undoubtedly Continuum is a Microsoft vision of the future along with all of Windows 10 as an OS. In that sense, these new Lumias do represent Microsoft as they will showcase all that Windows 10 can offer. I don't think Microsoft was lying when they said that.

Nonetheless, when you look at the history of what Microsoft has recently done in hardware, they don't completely fit either. Let me give some examples.

For a few years, Apple's iPad was dominating portable computing. People called for Microsoft to do something similar. What did we all want? An iPad hardware with Windows. They responded with the Surface. That was not what people were expecting, and it's something entirely different. Even in 2015, the Surface Pro 4 is no iPad Pro.

For years, MacBook Airs and Pros were crushing premium laptops. People called for Microsoft to make their own. Microsoft responded with the Surface Book. Once gain, they went beyond what was expected and created something entirely different.

For years, people were asking Microsoft to make (another) smartwatch. Android had theirs. Apple released the Watch. Fitbit is already crushing it. Now we have the Band 2, which in my opinion, is the best of everything. Again, it is their own niche.

You see where I am going with this. Microsoft is not about creating hardware for the sake of creating another thing. They only create hardware after consideration of where the market is going to be, not where it is now.

Microsoft canceled the Surface Mini because it was just a small Surface. It reportedly brought nothing new to the table. It wasn't going to disrupt the market; it was another me-too device.

Now we are asking for a Microsoft phone. We get the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL? It just doesn't fit. Those are nice phones; they are just not radical departures that challenge convention. Microsoft is now about challenging convention. Remember, out of the blue they announced holographic computing in the biggest "Whaaaaaa?!" moment in my career.

Apple used to be like this too. All they did was release another smartphone in 2007. We already had those, so what was different? Well, the whole philosophy behind it. No physical keys, large display, and complete control over the OS. Many of us, including myself, laughed it off. Many didn't even call it a smartphone since it had no app SDK ergo it was not a platform (remember, web apps?).

It's a legitimate question unless you believe the current app-phone model is going to go on forever. Are smartphones doomed to "Welp, we made the OS more complex and threw new hardware at it" system, or are they going to evolve? Where to we go from here?

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella even knows smartphones are about what is coming next, not what is here now. In an interview with Mary Jo Foley, Nadella said this about their smartphone strategy:

We already know smartphones are having an effect on computing. Tablet sales are in a slump as smartphones with large displays take over. Even Apple cannot escape that cannibalizing effect with their Plus phones and iPads. PC sales are also down and no, it's not because of Windows, but rather people have tablets, phones, TVs, and wearables competing for their processing time.

Remember when you used to check email on a desktop PC, not on your smartphone?

I bring this all up because if I had to guess, this is the question Microsoft is trying to answer. They know they can't win with the current system. Apple and Android are too dominant. So what you do is jump ahead and create a device for where people are going, not where they are. The Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL is where we are today in mobile tech. It's not different. Why else do we compare it to the iPhone or latest Android devices and go "oh yeah, not bad I guess".

For many a "Surface phone" would just be a metal phone with high-end specs and a Surface label. I always laugh at that since what Surface represents – transformation – is not that. That's just another smartphone with a brand name. Big deal.

Microsoft tried to kickoff modern PC development with the Surface. That was the whole point. What would such a program look like for phone if they wanted to re-invent that category?

Ditch platform specific programming, make universal hardware

Window Phone has always had one Achilles heel preventing mass adoption. Apps. This problem is even more pronounced in 2015 as we transition to Windows 10 and yet another software platform. The problem is not just Microsoft's. BlackBerry has this issue too and sorry to say, even Android. I still see commercials for new hit games and services that are iOS first with Android coming later.

It is not a trivial problem, but rather one that represents where computing is today. As a developer, you have to choose your target platform wisely. It is likely not an easy decision, especially now that Windows 10 is on 110 million PCs already. At some point, developers may find it tough to ignore an app on Windows 10, especially once the Xbox store opens later in 2016.

When you look at Windows 10 and its Universal Windows Platform, you get an idea of what Microsoft wants, which is agnostic software for hardware. Doesn't matter what device you are running you just install the thing you want, end of story.

There is only one problem. There are other operating systems out there that you need to compete with like iOS and Android and even old Win32 apps and games. So what you do is create tools to let devs just port over their creations. These are, of course, the Bridge Technologies Astoria, Islandwood, Centennial, Westminster that should streamline this process for Android, iOS, Wind32 and web apps, respectively.

Microsoft wants to get rid of software development not only targeting hardware but the OS itself. Apps and services are blending and if the future is to go forward something needs to give in this tug of war. This reasoning is what Nadella calls a "path dependent strategy":

The next piece of the puzzle is what does a phone look like in this system?

Microsoft is clearly playing around multi-OS booting systems as reflective of their patents. They got the Android runtime to run within Windows 10 Mobile. They have a patent on 3D Touch navigation. They also bought Ntrig, which helped with that new G5 processor for pen input in the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. They have this idea of Continuum for PC and mobile, which is the software side of what Surface hardware is about. They also have this thing called HoloLens on the horizon and other crazy innovations.

I do not think we have seen what Microsoft has planned for mobile, not entirely.

Certainly the idea behind Continuum, which is turning your phone into a PC, is a big part of their future. Indeed, I see pocket computing and the concept of running a software-agnostic platform as the goal. This yet to come world is going to be about screens and what is in your pocket.

I think whatever Microsoft does in mobile will attempt to be what Surface was to modern computing in solving the 'Tablet or PC?' problem.

Microsoft has been reportedly working on a 'metal phone' that runs Intel hardware, which is something even I have heard from sources. The one thing I know is this is an internal Microsoft-Intel project and had nothing to do with Nokia. What that all means is going to be the fun part, but I don't think it's going to be just another phone with specs. There will be something unique about it and hopefully something that was not anticipated.

If you were the Surface team, what would a truly transformative mobile phone be that you designed? Rattling off specs alone misses the point, folks. I am talking about ideas here, not numbers or whatever the latest Qualcomm chipset that is available.

As I said at the beginning, this is based on my speculation but also recent Microsoft decisions and even product announcements. To suggest their vision for mobile phones is just another smartphone I think would be shortsighted.

We know Microsoft can not only dream big but deliver too. Between Windows 10, HoloLens, the Surface Pro, and the new Surface Book we know Microsoft can create new hardware categories. That was just for 2015. Let's see what happens when they apply those ideas to mobile.

It's a widely known secret that Surface Duo started life as a Windows Phone, and thanks to new images, we finally have our best look yet at the now scrapped hardware and software that Microsoft was originally working on back in 2017.

Codenamed Andromeda, this dual-screen device was supposed to set the stage for a new era of Windows phones. It ran a custom version of the OS built from the ground up for this new form factor, but the project was unfortunately scrapped in 2018 after a myriad of issues and delays.

Microsoft would later tweak the hardware and recycle it as an Android device, which became the Surface Duo we know today. But the original design and vision for Andromeda was quite a bit different.

Andromeda was designed as a digital pocket notebook that could also replace your phone. It prioritized inking and pen use, differentiating it from the rest of the smartphone market considerably.

Up until now, we haven't ever seen Andromeda running the version of Windows it was designed to. We've seen the Andromeda hardware before, and we've also seen the OS it was supposed to run, but never both at the same time. That has finally changed thanks to these new images.

The images were discovered in listings on Chinese commerce platform GooFish, and includes a whole bunch of prototype Andromeda hardware from 2017 and 2018. The devices are in various states of disrepair, but some of them are in working order and do run the special version of Windows that Microsoft scrapped.

These images give us a close look at the Andromeda hardware, and confirm a number of differences compared to the Surface Duo that shipped. Andromeda had a back camera system, built-in wireless charging for the Surface Slim Pen, and a metal frame that gave it a more premium feel.

The original Surface Duo omitted all of these things. It wouldn't get a back camera system until Surface Duo 2, wireless charging for the pen only arrived via a detachable cover accessory, and the device simply never got the more premium metal frame that its older Andromeda sibling had.

My sources say that the reason for this was weight. Microsoft wanted Surface Duo to be light, and one way to shed weight was by replacing the metal frame with a plastic one. Unfortunately, plastic isn't as strong, and on a device as thin as Surface Duo, that resulted in the USB-C port cracking over time.

Andromeda also had smaller hinges, which were enlarged on Surface Duo to make them stiffer. I also understand that some Andromeda hardware had a secondary monochrome camera sensor, which was designed to help scan 3D objects. At the time, Microsoft was on a 3D kick with HoloLens and the Windows 10 Creators Update.

Interestingly, the listings on GooFish also reveal an even earlier Andromeda prototype (seen in the gallery above) that was a different shape than Surface Duo. These earlier models are slightly narrower and taller, with a home button underneath the displays and a fabric-like material on the outer shell, giving it more of a journal aesthetic.

The version of Windows that Microsoft was developing for this hardware was also fascinating. It was built on Microsoft's new at the time Windows Core OS, and featured a universal shell that was purpose built for the dual-screen form factor.

The "home screen" was a digital journal that was always ready to ink on, letting the user jot down notes or create reminders, sticky notes, and more. Apps would run above the journal, accessed via the Start menu which could be opened by swiping from the left on the left display.

Cortana was both your digital assistant and notification center, accessed via a swipe from the right hand side of the right display. The lock screen was also a digital inking canvas, ready to be written or drawn on with the Surface Pen.

The Andromeda OS effort was never finalized, so we don't really know what the final product would have been like. It's rough in a lot of areas even towards the end of the project, but at least we now know the vision behind Andromeda and its OS.

I first wrote about the Andromeda project all the way back in 2017, after teasing its codename on Twitter in 2016. It was probably the most interesting Surface device I've ever followed the development of, and its story is still yet to be told in full.

Not many people realize that the death of this device was the death of Windows Phone. While Microsoft did begin winding down the Windows 10 Mobile platform in 2017, it was supposed to be replaced with Andromeda and Windows Core OS in 2018, but that's a story for another time.

For now, let's just enjoy this last look at Microsoft's infamous Andromeda project. Do you think Andromeda would have succeeded in its original form? Let us know in the comments.

Windows Phone has been dead for half a decade at this point. Support ended in early 2020, so anything that continued to work after that point was potluck. Indeed, it appears that luck is starting to wear thin, as the Microsoft Store app has stopped working as of this week.

The Microsoft Store on Windows 10 Mobile has been a bit of a mess for a long time. Since Windows 11 launched, many of the apps that appear in there aren’t even compatible with the dead mobile platform. It’s also still using the old Windows 10 app store layout, which was web based and incredibly slow.

Naturally, this version of the store appears to be no longer be fully functional, resulting in a white screen whenever you try to access an app’s download page. It’s not like there were many apps left anyway, but now there’s no longer a working official storefront for grabbing the remaining few that still existed.

What's unfortunate is that all the behind the scenes plumbing for app downloads and updates still exists and is likely working fine, but because the front end is web based and is no longer online, the end user is no longer able to actually press download on an app.

You can still sideload apps, which is likely what people will have to do from now on if they intend to install any apps for Windows 10 Mobile. Of course, you’ll have to source the apps on your own, and since nobody is actively developing UWP apps these days, you’ll be looking for much older and outdated apps.

It’s somewhat admirable that the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 Mobile continued to function this long on a platform that the company abandoned over five years ago. Windows 10 Mobile hasn’t been viable as a daily use platform since before support even ended.

Other core apps such as Mail & Calendar have also stopped working in recent months, likely because the company has abandoned those apps on Windows desktop and replaced them with the terrible new Outlook app. OneDrive is a similar affair, with certain functions no longer working in the app, including uploading files and photos.

Honestly, if you are still using a Windows 10 Mobile device for whatever reason, it’s seriously time to move on. You can find new cheap Android phones that will function much faster and better than your aged Windows 10 Mobile device, and so it's probably time to consider one of those. Or an iPhone.

The best Windows phone experience in 2025 is one that's paired with Windows Phone Link, which is an excellent feature built-in to Windows 11 that lets you sync your Android or iPhone's notifications and photos. You can see all your recent text messages and notifications directly from your PC.

In recent years, Microsoft has attempted to re-enter the smartphone market with two Android devices, the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2. These devices were treated just like Windows Phone was, and were eventually abandoned just as the concept was picking up steam.

But at least with the Surface Duo, these devices will still be usable for a number of years to come, thanks to the open nature of Android. Even though Microsoft has abandoned support for these dual-screen phones, most, if not all modern Android apps are still fully supported on the Surface Duo, which came out five years ago this year.

Microsoft has abandoned a number of forward leaning projects in recent years, including Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens, as well as its streamlined mobile app platform known as UWP, and Android apps on Windows. The company has well and truly given up on mobile devices powered by Windows, and has pivoted to focusing on experiences designed to enhance traditional PC form factors.

• Microsoft's Windows Phone smartphone efforts ended in 2019.
• Many people miss the look and feel of Windows Phone.
• MrMobile recently showed how to replicate Windows Phone on Android.

Windows Phone appearing in two articles on the same day? What is it, 2015? While researching for my piece about Windows 11 being forced to run on a phone, I ran across the most recent video from my colleague MrMobile (aka Michael Fisher). In that video titled "I made My Phones Fun Again," MrMobile converted his Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra into a "Windows Phone."

Launcher 10 has been around for a while, but MrMobile's video serves as a great reminder of how versatile Android launchers are. The app allows you to customize the interface of your smartphone with pinpoint precision, including customizing columns and other finer details. If you want to make your Android phone look like a Windows Phone, Launcher 10 is one of the best ways to do it — as well as one of only a few reliable launchers with that goal.

Before he shows how Launcher 10 can customize an Android phone to look like a Windows Phone, MrMobile discussed Windows (Launcher 95), which replicates the look of a classic Windows PC. But if you're just interested in the Windows Phone-esque experience provided by Launcher 10, jump to the 2:40 mark of his video.

Windows Phone lives on... sort of

Since Microsoft abandoned Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile, fans of the operating systems have had to look for alternatives. While iOS is reliable and Android is versatile, neither completely replicates the magic formed by Windows Phone.

Even though Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admits pulling the plug on Windows Phone was a "strategic mistake," it seems unlikely Microsoft will bring back a dedicated mobile operating system. The company has even stopped its efforts to make mobile devices by killing Surface Duo. Microsoft also shifted away from Live Tiles with the release of Windows 11. The company's Android launcher, Microsoft Launcher, never featured Live Tiles.

I admit I have nostalgia for Windows Phone. I have a box of old Lumia devices I can't make myself recycle even though I never use them. Heck, the reason I work here is because I used to read Windows Phone Central articles to get the best experience from my Lumia 930 (known as the Lumia Icon in the United States). Finding third-party apps for my Windows Phone helped me form relationships with developers, which springboarded into reviewing apps for Windows 11 after Microsoft closed its doors on Windows 10 Mobile and our site became Windows Central.

I've used Launcher 10 in the past and similar apps, such as Square Home. I even wrote a guide on how to make your Android phone look like a Windows phone back in 2019.

I like the look of Live Tiles and the clean interface seen on Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile. I confess that I find interactive widgets more useful than Live Tiles, but the look of the Windows Phone home screen is unmatched. It's lovely to see MrMobile highlight the unique design of Windows Phone and show people how to replicate it in 2024.

What you need to know

• Windows Phone is dead and I won't let it go. 
• Microsoft killed Windows Phone in a tweet a few years back, throwing away years of developer work and billions of dollars in investment. 
• Microsoft dabbled with Android and the Surface Duo range, but that seems to be dead too, now. 
• Despite Microsoft's phone hardware efforts being dead, we can still dare to dream, proven by designer Proloy Karmakar. 

In an alternative universe: the year is 2024, Windows 11 Mobile just overtook Apple iOS in global market share, clinching 31% of the phone using masses. More affordable devices that don't compromise on overall quality proved incredibly popular with businesses, owing to seamless integration for device management via Azure Active Directory. The devices also became increasingly popular with the every day consumer, too, owing to superior AI-powered camera technology, alongside sleek but heavily customizable user interface. 

The app gap is no longer an issue, as progressive web apps became increasingly powerful, complete with direct hooks into the Windows 11 Mobile OS. Microsoft also just kick started a UWP 3.0 initiative, to help developers take advantages of synergies between Windows 11 Mobile, Windows 11, and Windows on Arm, starting with the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Phone 4. 

It's fun to dream. Perhaps fun is the wrong word, but in any case, Windows Phone is dead dead dead, and never coming back. Even still, it's fun to imagine what could have been. An excellent graphic designer by the name of Proloy Karmakar just posted a series of concept images for what "Windows 11 Mobile" might have looked like, and it's a gut punch reminder of what Microsoft potentially sacrificed. 

Using fluent sign elements, Windows 11 3D design philosophies, and layered acrylic glass-like textures, Proloy deftly offers a glimpse at what Windows 11 Mobile might have looked like. 

It's funny, because it's ironically not far removed from the latest version of iOS, which is becoming increasingly "Windows Phone-like" in recent years. Apple apps on iOS devices can now be expanded from being simple icons, growing out into live tile-like widgets. Apple's iPhone now also features various other Windows Phone features that are more than a decade old, including always-on displays. 

I bet Microsoft wishes it had Windows Phone in 2024

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed in a recent interview that one of his biggest regrets is killing Windows Phone. That fact must sting ever harder in the AI world, given that Microsoft no longer has any control over the direction of mobile computing. There was a time when Windows had a dominating "smartphone" position with its stylus-heavy pocket PC range. It allowed Apple and Google both sweep in and create a more intuitive human-computer interface, and now, Microsoft can only eat scraps from both of these platforms, which lock Microsoft out of the equation. 

Related: The enormity of Microsoft's Windows Phone shut-down mistake is becoming increasingly apparent

Without a mobile platform of its own to speak of, companies like Google and OpenAI have swept in and added their own AI services as the "default" on iOS and Android. Very few people will actively switch away from whatever is set to "default" on these devices. As such, Microsoft has no foot in the door to proliferate its own AI services like Windows Copilot, its Microsoft Edge browser, Bing search, or even things like Xbox cloud gaming. At least Microsoft stands to make profits as the "IT department" for OpenAI, though. 

The short sightedness over Windows Phone will cost Microsoft future computing paradigms as a result, but it doesn't have to be this way. The rise of Qualcomm as a serious player in the Windows PC space could eventually lead to laptops that have phone-like telephony features, without having to connect your own existing device. What if those devices got smaller and more phone like? It's certainly a reach. But hey, it's fun to dream. 

Be sure to check out Proloy's full thread of Windows 11 Mobile concepts here, and let us know in the comments what you think.  

Our beloved Windows Phone OS is gone, but not forgotten. Unceremoniously wound down a few years ago, Windows 10 Mobile was Microsoft's last-ditch effort to make its own phone ecosystem. Lack of investment, repeated reboots, and mishandling of developer relationships led to a downward spiral of low quality OS builds and missing apps. Windows Phone 8.1 looked like it had a real chance for a time, actually beating iOS for market share in some countries owing to impressive and incredibly affordable handsets like the Lumia 5xx and 6xx lines. Sadly, it was not meant to be. 

Fast forward to now, and a lot of Microsoft's current issues with its platform might've been solved it had its own operating system. Our senior editor Zac Bowden recently wrote about how the Android-based Surface Duo is facing difficulty getting support from Google, whose monopoly on mobile operating systems has created a completely unlevel playing field. Without its own mobile OS, Microsoft can't grow Xbox Cloud Gaming effectively, since its business model is being hindered by Google, and outright blocked by Apple. Microsoft also faces a battle getting market share for some of its other apps and services on mobile, which competes with pre-installed versions on Android and iOS. What would the landscape look like if Microsoft still had a Windows mobile OS? 

Shared by Lukastaves on the Windows Central Discord server, this great concept video from AR 4789 offers a glimpse at a Windows 11 Mobile that could've been. 

Following the Windows 11 fluent design language very closely, the concept imagines what typical Windows features like File Explorer, Widgets, and others might look like on a modern handset. 

Right now, Microsoft's only presence in mobile hardware is with the Surface Duo line. The dual-screen foldable is has proven to be a decent effort from the company, but much like Windows 10 Mobile, an unpolished OS and unclear support from Microsoft itself has dogged the platform in recent months. The Surface Duo 2 doesn't have the latest Android security updates, which is a major lapse for the device, and has all but ceased getting updates even from Microsoft's first-party apps, which often require special versions. While we haven't gotten confirmation that the Surface Duo 3 is dead, Microsoft's half-hearted approach to this stuff doesn't exactly inspire confidence. It's not without difficulty, though, since Microsoft obviously cannot monetize Android as effectively as Google, given that they have no mobile app store of their own. 

This may change, however. Rumors suggest that Microsoft has been exploring an Android app store of its own, much akin to Samsung's Galaxy Store. The Galaxy Store has a far better deal for developers, giving them a bigger cut of revenues, while also avoiding some of Google Play's draconian rules over in-app purchases and custom payment methods. Fortnite was blocked by Google for the crime of wanting to use its own payment service, for example. 

Microsoft revealed that its purchase of Activision-Blizzard-King was supposed to support this effort, but sadly, the UK regulatory commission blocked the acquisition on spurious grounds. There may still yet be a future for Microsoft in mobility, if it manages to land Activision, which would give it command of powerful franchises like Call of Duty: Mobile, Diablo Immortal, Hearthstone, and Candy Crush Saga. I can't help but feel like they might've been able to achieve this without spending $69 billion on Activision if it had invested half as much into Windows 10 Mobile. Oh well. 

In any case, have a great weekend folks, and be sure to take a look at the video above, and let us know what you think in the comments! 

What you need to know

• On October 21, 2010, Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7 globally
• The official US launch was a few weeks later, on November 8
• Windows Phone 7 borrowed a lot from the Zune media player and stood out from the crowd

Windows Phone 7 goes down as one of the iconic moments for Microsoft’s mobile ambitions. Until then, the company was riding on fumes with Windows Mobile 6.5 with previous rumors of a ‘Photon OS,’ aka Windows Mobile 7, to replace it.

But instead of continuing with a new era of Windows Mobile design, the company chose the very bold path of Windows Phone 7 Series (Microsoft, thankfully, later dropped ‘Series’ from the name).

Windows Phone 7 was an entirely new way of thinking about an operating system. The UI borrowed a lot from the Zune series of music players, which borrowed from Windows Media Center, and found inspiration from the Swiss Movement in the 1960′s. Steeped in fonts like Helvetica and later Segoe WP, Microsoft’s “modern and clean” design language had a philosophy behind it and even a clever name – Metro UI – as the layout was like road signs: Clear, iconic, and text-driven.

Metro UI later evolved to a generic “Windows 8 user interface” due to a trademark claim by German multinational corp Metro AG. That didn’t stop many apps, like MetroTube, from embracing the philosophy, which Windows Phone fans embraced as a badge of honor.

Of course, what made Windows Phone 7 so fun at the time was how unique it was compared to iOS and Android. Microsoft’s design relied on a pure white or black “theme,” with no wallpaper and bold Live Tiles that showcased photos, app updates, and whatever developers came up with.

Live Tiles evolved to Windows 8, which, regrettably, was rejected by the public as too radical of a change from the classic desktop. Xbox also embraced a Tile-like design for many years as the company sought to align its design philosophy across brands.

Despite Microsoft’s very forward-looking and radical reconceptualization of what a modern UI should look like, many people found the phone OS too stark or even confusing from afar versus the more familiar app icons on a desktop approach of iOS and Android.

Basically, you either “got” Metro UI, or you didn’t.

But let’s face it, Microsoft’s Metro UI flat design language, which rejected skeuomorphism, was practically art. Its look still resonates with people who grabbed Windows Phone 7 launch devices like Samsung Focus, HTC HD7, Dell Venue Pro, LG Quantum, HTC Surround, and LG Optimus 7 daily.

Was Microsoft ahead of its time, or simply too late to the party?

The answer is both, of course. Windows Phone 7 came too late to the market, having to play catchup since its inception. But Microsoft, and the talented people behind the Windows Phone 7 OS, deserve all the credit for making the bold choice to create an OS that is still fondly discussed 12 years later.

Windows Phone was the greatest mobile platform that ever existed, we all know that. Apparently, Marvel Studios also knows, placing a classic Nokia slap bang in the middle of the new Black Widow movie!

Black Widow is an agent working for S.H.I.E.L.D., who supports the Marvel universe superheroes in their exploits against the various intergalactic enemies threatening earth. The Black Widow movie follows the events of Civil War. Without spoiling the movie, she uses a Nokia Lumia to trick some pursuers into thinking they found her. She then subsequently tosses the Windows Phone off a boat, clearly knowing all about Nokia phone's superior ability to withstand damage. I think. Maybe.

It's somewhat hilarious to see a Nokia Lumia in a modern movie. Typically phones that feature in movies are the result of a paid product placement, although I can't imagine Nokia or Microsoft would've paid for this one.

Maybe the director is simply a huge fan of the good ol' days of superior mobile phone operating systems. Perhaps the director even reads Windows Central, and may even see this post. If she does, I would hope that she continues placing Windows phones in future movies, so we can educate the masses on the superiority of Windows Phone and all that encompasses it. Or maybe I just drank too much on Friday night, maybe.

The last time I wrote about a Lumia product placement was for Microsoft and Remedy's game Quantum Break, so this is somewhat nostalgic for me. Microsoft often places Surface devices into movies as part of sponsorship deals, although I'm not sure we ever saw the Surface Duo break cover. Perhaps Microsoft is waiting to fully nail the experience before ramping up the marketing with that one. Maybe we'll see the Surface Duo 2 in the next big Marvel movie instead.

You can catch Black Widow in movie theatres or on Disney+, which is also available on Windows 10 and Windows 11!

Thanks to @thomasthomaslai for the tip!

What you need to know

• "Piny - Pinterest with love" is a third-party Pinterest app for Windows.
• Piny just received a Windows 10 Mobile update.
• No, seriously.

As spotted by All About Windows Phone, there is a Windows 10 Mobile Pinterest client that's still receiving updates and love in 2021. Its name is Piny (full name: Piny - Pinterest with love).

Not many developers bother with Universal Windows Platform (UWP) initiatives for Windows 10 Mobile in 2021, so the few that do are noteworthy simply because of how rare they are. In this case, credit is due to Chococode, the developer behind Piny, for keeping the wholesome Pinterest-fueled fun alive on Windows 10 Mobile.

According to All About Windows Phone, Piny UWP offers the option to pay £4 to get rid of ads if you're so inclined. Though many people are inherently opposed to in-app purchases of any kind, it might be worth considering in the case of Chococode. After all, who else is giving Windows 10 Mobile users the time of day?

This isn't the only recent news circulating about Pinterest. In late February, it became possible to place Pinterest pins inside OneNote and Word. And there was also a report in February claiming that Microsoft had tried to acquire Pinterest at one point.

Though there's not much to say about Windows 10 Mobile at the moment outside of Chococode's impressive dedication to Piny, there's still plenty to say about Windows 10 apps in general. If you're curious, here are some of the best Windows 10 apps of 2021.

What you need to know

• Minecraft is available on a huge number of platforms, and even still receives updates on older platforms like Windows 10 Mobile.
• This is about to change, with older iOS, Android, and Windows devices, as well as Windows 10 Mobile and Gear VR beign cut off from future updates.
• Support will end in October, 2020, with players on iOS and Android devices still able to use multiplayer and Realms for a limited time.
• This move isn't surprising at all, but is another mark of the passing of Windows 10 Mobile.

If you're a fan of Minecraft, you'll already know that the global hit is available on a colossal number of devices, from Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PS4, Android, and iOS. This means you can play anywhere, with anyone, and always enjoy the latest features from Minecraft, like with the Nether Update that recently came out. For a handful of people still on older devices, however, this is about to change.

Announced in a blog post on their website, Mojang Studios is officially cutting off several older platforms and devices from receiving any future support or updates for Minecraft. The affected platforms include:

• iOS devices running iOS 10 or below.
• Android devices with 768MB of RAM or less.
• Windows GPU's that only support DirectX 10.1 or below.
• Gear VR.
• And Windows 10 Mobile.

These changes are perfectly reasonable, as these platforms will continue to struggle supporting newer features, and will only hold Mojang Studios back. This is especially true when a tiny number of Minecraft's overall players continue playing on these platforms. However, fans of Windows phones tend to be awfully nostalgic, so they may remorse the loss of even more support for Windows 10 Mobile, years after Microsoft stopped caring about the platform. If you haven't moved on already (for some reason), Mojang Studios is giving you another reason to.

That's not to say Minecraft will simply cease to work on these devices. Starting in October 2020, these devices won't receive any further updates or support for Minecraft. Players can continue enjoying Minecraft, their worlds, and all their purchases exactly as they were when support ended, and can backup their worlds to move them to new devices. If you're playing on an unsupported Android or iOS device, you can even still play multiplayer, as long as the person you're playing with is on the same version (which won't last long with Minecraft).

Finally, if this decision pushes you to finally vacate whichever platform personally affects you, as long as your purchases are synced with a Microsoft / Xbox Live Account, your purchases and any Realm subscriptions will continue to work on supported platforms.

Were you still playing on one of these older platforms? Will you be replacing your aging device with something more modern? Let us know in the comments below!

What you need to know

• The Windows Phone Store shuts down today
• After the shutdown, you will no longer be able to download apps through the store.
• Windows 10 Mobile recently received an extension of its support.

The Windows Phone Store officially shuts down today (via Neowin). Following the shutdown, you will no longer be able to download apps from the store. Windows Phone 8.1 has been out of official support for well over a year, but the shut down of the Windows Phone Store kills the operating system off even more. Devices running Windows Phone 8.1 will still run after today, as will apps currently installed on them, but you won't be able to add any new apps to the devices.

It's important to note that the Windows Phone Store is shutting down, not the Windows 10 Mobile Store, which is on a different schedule. There is a bit of news regarding Windows 10 Mobile, though. Instead of Windows 10 Mobile reaching end of support last week, Microsoft extended its support until January 14, 2020 (via Windows Latest). That change makes January a busy month for Windows users, as it officially marks the end of Windows 10 Mobile and Windows 7.

If you're still using Windows Phone 8.1, you'll need to upgrade your device to Windows 10 Mobile to download more apps, but with Windows 10 Mobile out of support next month, you'll likely have to move away from the device in the future.

What you need to know

• Windows 10 Mobile support officially ends today.
• Going forward, the operating system will receive no more security updates.
• Backend services will phase out over time as well.

Windows 10 Mobile officially reached end of support today. The operating system will receive no more security updates going forward. Additionally, backend services will phase out over time. The end of support date has been known for a long time, but today is the official cutoff point. Microsoft has an FAQ page that answers many questions about what end of support means and what Windows 10 Mobile users can do.

Windows 10 Mobile and its predecessor Windows Phone 8/8.1 were loved by many but ultimately failed to compete with Android and iOS. Many debate what caused the death of Windows 10 Mobile and Windows Phone, but the reality is that Microsoft has moved on, including moving on from supporting the operating system.

What is the best Lumia of all time? (poll)

Instead, Microsoft pushed its mobile efforts towards Android and iOS. This year, Microsoft announced a major partnership with Samsung, greatly enhanced the capabilities of the Your Phone app, launched the preview version of Project xCloud on Android, and announced the Surface Duo.

How do you remember Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile? Let us know in the comments below.

What you need to know

• The Windows 10 Mobile Office apps will reach their end-of-support date on January 12, 2021.
• Windows 10 Mobile itself loses support on December 10, 2019.
• After they lose support, the apps will no longer receive technical support, bug fixes, or security fixes.

Microsoft announced today that it will drop support for the Office apps on Windows 10 Mobile on January 12, 2021. While that's still more than a year away, it comes after Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 Mobile on December 10, 2019.

"On [January 12, 2021], app users will no longer receive security updates, non-security hotfixes, free assisted support options or online technical content updates from Microsoft," Microsoft said in a blog post. "This decision follows the earlier announcement that support for Windows 10 Mobile ends on December 10, 2019."

In lieu of the WIndows 10 Mobile Office apps, Microsoft says that it will continue supporting the iOS and Android apps.

After the apps lose support on Windows 10 Mobile, you'll no longer be able to receive technical support for any issues you have, and the apps will no longer receive bug and security fixes. The apps will continue to work after the support end date, but a lack of updates means they'll be insecure and open to the introduction of new bugs.

Microsoft also announced today that the Wunderlist apps will shut down next year in favor of Microsoft To Do.

What you need to know

• Bill Gates says a US Justice Department antitrust investigation contributed to the failure of Windows Mobile.
• Gates admits that he "screwed that up because of the distraction."
• Gates also mentioned a missed opportunity involving a Motorola device.

Bill Gates spoke about the downfall of Windows Mobile at The New York Times DealBook Conference. Gates shared how his own distraction and an investigation by the US Justice Department hurt Microsoft's mobile efforts. He also revealed that Microsoft almost launched Windows Mobile on a Motorola headset, but missed by a few months.

Gates points towards a US Justice Department antitrust investigation as a contributing factor to Windows Mobile losing to Android in the mobile market space, "If it hadn't been for the antitrust case... we were so close, I was just too distracted. I screwed that up because of the distraction." He also stated, "There's no doubt that the antitrust lawsuit was bad for Microsoft, and we would have been more focused on creating the phone operating system, and so instead of using Android today, you would be using Windows Mobile."

The transition from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone had several issues and cleared the path for Android to contend for mobile market share. In the early days of Android, the success of certain devices helped push Android forward, but Gates says that things could have gone differently, "We were just three months too late on a release Motorola would have used on a phone, so yes it's a winner takes all game."

It's impossible to say how different things would have been for Windows Mobile if certain Motorola devices ran it instead of Android. It's also worth noting that this is likely a simplication of events and that many factors led to the failure of Windows Mobile. Gates did not specify which Motoraa phone almost ran Windows Mobile. The Verge points out that the Droid range of Android phones was a success around the same time as Gates' story.

Gates also spoke about the "winner-take-all" nature of the mobile phone market in June when he stated that ceding the mobile market to Android was his "greatest mistake ever."

I can already hear the wider tech press groaning at this title. I HEAR YOU, tech press, and guess what, I don't care.

I gave up my Lumia 950 XL, moved onto Android, begrudgingly, when Twitter UWP became a crash-fest. Deep down, though, I always believed. One day, Windows on phones would rise again like a phoenix from the ashes, to reclaim its place as the greatest mobile OS above all. And it would be glorious.

Okay, that's a bit dramatic, maybe, but hear me out. It's pretty apt that the Windows 10X-powered folding tablet is called "Neo." While most are probably fawning over the Android-powered Surface phone-like "Duo," it's Matrix-monikered Neo that could prove itself to be the one for Windows Phone fans. And here's why.

Windows 10X is the path of Neo

Neo, previously known to us by its codename, Centaurus, is Microsoft's upcoming dual-screen folding tablet, powered by an all-new Windows 10X operating system. This new OS experience is based on Windows 10 itself, complete with Win32 programs that PC users know and love. It will additionally come with a different type of user experience, designed first for touch and dual-screen experiences.

Duo conversely is powered by raw Android, complete with Google Play support. It's not Android on top of Windows, as some have speculated/hoped, it is just literally Android, complete with the same developer environment, and Google's ultimate control. It will bridge between Windows-like no other phone in existence, thanks to Microsoft tools like Your Phone and OneDrive. However, like Samsung and Huawei have noticed over the years, Google ultimately has final control over the environment. Regulatory pressures thankfully will stop Google interfering in Microsoft's efforts too much. However, even with Your Phone and other cloud-based Android-to-Windows experiences, it's still never going to feel as integrated as a full Windows OS.

That's where Windows 10X comes in. This lighter version of Windows still has the power to run Win32 PC apps, but it also comes with a touch-optimized experience for mobile-like devices. In this incarnation, Windows 10X powers the Neo tablet, and presumably other OEM tablets that will likely make themselves known at a later date. A lot of the apps Microsoft demonstrated during its showcase were explicitly built for this platform, however, using the full suite of UWP APIs that are ARM-friendly. And thus, phone friendly.

With Windows 10X, I'm starting to believe

If Windows 10X truly takes off with developers, it could finally be the catalyst Microsoft needs to get app developers interested in building touch-optimized experiences that are fully compliant with a mobile use-case on Windows.

As of right now, Windows 10's tablet mode is in a sad, sorry state. And perhaps, now we know why. Instead of trying to beef up Windows 10's tablet mode, they've simply been spending their resources on 10X instead. The lack of touch-optimization in Windows 10 led to a lack of interest in tablet-optimized apps and services for Windows 10 devices, which in turn, has led to a fairly anemic market for pure Windows 10 tablets. Generally, any Windows 10 device with a touch screen is a 2-in-1, since you'll want to run away screaming from tablet mode as soon as you're finished with the task at hand.

10X will hopefully change all of that. We won't know for sure until it ships in its final form in 2020, but if it's anything like what was demonstrated on stage at the Surface event, it looks like a big step up above what we have now.

Inspiring consumers to buy will hopefully kick off more interest from developers and companies whose apps arbitrarily sidestep Windows. You don't have to look far to find examples of staple apps that are painfully absent on Windows, that flourish on iOS and Android's more touch-friendly platforms. Instagram on Windows hasn't been updated in 5 billion years (disclaimer: possible exaggeration), and we've seen more significant companies leave Windows than arrive. The lack of a mobile endpoint is, in my opinion, to blame for all of that. 10X won't be a silver bullet, but it's a crucial step forward.

As Windows 10X grows, it could also shrink

Therein lies the obvious endgame. If Microsoft and its OEM PC partners can make Windows 10X a success where RT, Windows 10 Mobile, and other touch-oriented efforts have failed, there's no reason to envisage a world where Neo could shrink down, and fit into your pocket.

All the APIs for telephony and LTE are there already. It just needs those damn apps. Win32 is a huge boon, but so much of the modern consumer computing and entertainment experience lives elsewhere.

There's a world where both the Android-powered Duo phone and Windows-powered Neo can perfectly co-exist, too, of course. Many people may just prefer Android, even if Microsoft manages to entice significant apps and services over to Windows. As long as you're using Microsoft services, Redmond is ultimately happy.

If you're a fan of the concept of Windows on phones, however, Neo is the path back to that reality. Will it happen, though? If 10X takes off, I'd say it is inevitable.

Related: Everything Microsoft announced at its Surface event

What you need to know

• If you have an old Windows Phone lying around, you can now hack it to run (some) Android apps.
• The method involves loading your phone with Project Astoria, Microsoft's abandoned project that was meant to bring Android apps to Windows 10 Mobile.
• The process only works with select Windows Phones, and you'll likely run into compatibility issues with modern versions of apps.

If you're looking for a potentially fun (or frustrating) weekend project and have an old Windows Phone lying around, you can now modify it to run Android apps. Well, sort of. There are a lot of steps involved here, along with some major caveats.

As reported by Windows United, two developers, Fadil Fadz and one who goes by Tourniquet, have released a tool for getting Microsoft's abandoned Project Astoria to run on Windows Phones. Project Astoria was the companion to Project Islandwood, which were meant to give Android and iOS developers a way to easily get their apps up and running on Windows Phones.

There are some major things worth considering with this process, however. First, it only works with a specific set of Windows Phones across two Windows 10 Mobile builds (10166 and 10536). There are several supported phones, however, ranging from the Lumia 640 to the Lumia 1520, along with the HTC One m8 and two Samsung Ativ models.

Second, you'll likely run into some app compatibility issues because Project Astoria was built with Android version 4.4 as a base. Modern Android apps largely no longer support this version of Android, not to mention you'll have to download and sideload the APKs for apps you want to try.

Finally, the process of getting your device into a state where you can start tinkering with Project Astoria is long and convoluted. You'll have to make sure you're on the right OS version, unlock it with Windows Phone Internals, and manually load files via a command line. It's not for the faint of heart.

There's little value in doing this sort of thing now, as Windows 10 Mobile has been dead and buried for some time now. But, if you've got the time and want to expend the effort, you can check out the full list of instructions at Windows United.

What you need to know

• Sonca Lite is now available for free on Windows 10 Mobile.
• Sonca Lite also gained licensed movies in several regions on all devices.
• Sonca is a media streaming app that works with OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more.

Sonca Lite is now available for Windows 10 Mobile users. Sonca is an attractive media app that allows users to stream content from Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and more. Sonca Lite is the free version of Sonca, and a solid choice for people looking to stream media that they own and store on the cloud. In addition to Sonca Lite becoming available for Windows 10 Mobile, Sonca Lite now has licensed movies available in several regions.

In our review of the paid version of Sonca, the app earned high marks for its design and versatility. Sonca Lite has many of the same features while remaining free. Sonca Lite supports compact overlay mode, Continuum, Windows Timeline, and many other features specific to Windows 10.

The addition of licensed content gives viewers more options, though it is notably restricted to specific regions. The supported regions for licensed films are Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The makers of Sonca state that "The list of countries in the future will be expanded."

The HP Elite x3 is considered by many to be the ultimate Windows Phone. It was undoubtedly the most powerful, with the best screen and longest battery life, but with a weak camera for a flagship. The Elite x3 was a smartphone built with the enterprise in mind, featuring an expensive desktop dock in the box, enterprise-grade software such as the HP Workspace, and an entire ecosystem of accessories for all kinds of workers.

Because of this, the HP Elite x3 was priced rather high. Launching in 2016 for $800, it was too expensive for your average consumer. The HP Elite x3 wasn't the only Windows 10 Mobile handset the company was working on, however, with plans to launch a more consumer-focused variant a year later. Known as the HP Pro x3, this handset was designed to be more approachable thanks to a lower price tag, more premium build, and many of the enterprise-grade additions removed. But it never reached the market. (More on why coming up.)

HP Pro x3 tech specs

Specs-wise, the HP Pro x3 was just as much of a flagship as the Elite x3. The only downgrades here are with the display resolution, internal storage, speakers, and battery capacity, but not by much. Either way, battery life is excellent, thanks to the lower-resolution screen.

About that display ... it's still great. It's not as sharp as the Elite x3 when compared side-by-side, and colors don't pop as much, but this would have been more than fine for most people. Just like how the iPhone XR display is fine for most people, even with the iPhone XS having a better screen.

Other differences with the HP Pro x3 that stand out compared to the Elite x3 include the positioning of the speakers. It's been downgraded to a single-firing down-facing speaker. It's OK, but it doesn't hold a candle to the front-facing B&O tuned speakers on the Elite x3. Around the back, the five-pins designed for external enterprise-grade accessories has been removed, meaning it wouldn't support any specific accessories that required those pins. It would have still supported the same desktop dock and lapdock and all the enterprise software found on the Elite x3.

Also around the back is the fingerprint reader, which is somewhat smaller but just as accurate. On the inside, the Pro x3 and the Elite x3 share the same processor along with 4GB RAM. The cameras on the Pro x3 are identical to the Elite x3, too, so if you weren't impressed with the camera performance on there, you would've hated them on the Pro x3 just as much. The only difference is the flash has been upgraded to a dual-tone LED instead of single.

Surprisingly, the display on the Pro x3 is a tiny bit larger than the Elite x3, but it's not by much. It's fair to say that both devices are six-inch phones. Performance of the biometric authentication methods are unchanged from the Elite x3, but it is nice to see both still here. Finally, because of the metal body, wireless charging is not supported.

HP Pro x3 hardware and design

The HP Pro x3 would have been one of the more premium Windows phones when it comes to design. HP swapped out the polycarbonate body of the Elite x3 with an aluminum body, featuring a metal frame around all four sides of the device that makes it look and feel great. It's cold to the touch and is one of very few Windows phones to feature a metal chassis.

The Pro x3 feels more premium than the Elite x3 did, and that's thanks to the chassis. In addition, the metal frame is cut in a way that makes it fade a little better into the front glass, further adding to the overall quality of this design. The glass on the front spans the entire face, unlike on the Elite x3, which had a metal grill along the bottom for the front-facing speakers.

Regarding the front design, the Pro x3 features dark gray accents along the top and bottom of the display and super thin side bezels. While the device still has a relatively large "chin" and "forehead," all four bezels are much thinner than what was present on the Elite x3. Because of this, even though the Pro x3 technically has a bigger screen, the device is overall smaller in hand.

It's thinner, too. But it's also slightly heavier than the Elite x3. I think this adds to the premium feel of the device, but I know many people prefer their smartphones to feel light in the pocket. There are three buttons on the right side of the device (lock, volume up, and volume down) that are positioned in the exact same place as on the Elite x3.

Because this device was more consumer-focused and less enterprise orientated, it used the old-school rounded HP logo on the back instead of the premium stylized logo found on the Elite x3 and other premium HP products.

So what happened to the HP Pro x3?

This device was briefly spotted during Mobile World Congress 2017 at HP's booth but was swiftly removed from the show floor once images got out. It's unclear how the unannounced device ended up on display, but it was obvious that it wasn't supposed to be there.

I'm told HP was planning to launch the Pro x3 around the middle of 2017, which unfortunately means the Pro x3 was the victim of poor timing. Microsoft had already made the decision internally to begin winding down development of Windows 10 Mobile after the Creators Update, which launched in March 2017.

Microsoft had started communicating this with partners, and it's likely that is what killed the Pro x3. Why release a new flagship smartphone with a mobile platform that isn't going to be around for much longer? This also plays into why there were rumors that HP was working on an Android version of the Elite x3 in late 2017. HP was attempting to load Android onto the Pro x3 since Windows 10 Mobile was going away. The company soon gave up on this idea, and the Pro x3 was laid to rest.

So, in short, the reason the Pro x3 never shipped is basically on Microsoft. I'm sure other factors play into this, including market performance of the Elite x3, but the primary source for the cancellation of this device can be traced back to Windows 10 Mobile being killed off.

Final thoughts on the HP Pro x3

As a Windows Phone fan, I'm upset that this never shipped. It's the phone I would've been using if I had the choice between the Elite x3 and Pro x3, mainly because of the premium build quality. I really like the metal back and sides of the device, and the thinner bezels around the front. It's easier to handle and would've been cheaper.

Unfortunately, as with all great things with Windows Phone, it's dead now. It would have been interesting to see HP successfully ship the Pro x3 with Android, but I'm not sure how many consumers out there are interested in an Android smartphone from HP. Either way, the Pro x3 would have been an excellent addition to HP's Windows 10 Mobile lineup.

Pros:

• Premium build quality.
• Cheaper.
• Flagship processor.

Cons:

• Was never released.
• IPS display.
• Single down facing speaker.

Interested in other unreleased products?

We've been collecting and reviewing all kinds of unreleased devices. Check out some of our other reviews:

• Nokia McLaren Review
• Nokia Lumia 2020 Review
• Unreleased "Bezel Free" Lumia Review
• Microsoft Band 3 Review
• Microsoft Lumia 650 XL Review

Cheap PC accessories we love

Take a gander at these awesome PC accessories, all of which will enhance your Windows experience.

Anker 4 port USB 3.0 hub ($10 at Amazon)

Whether on a desktop or laptop PC, you always need more ports to connect things to. This hub gives you an additional four USB 3.0 Type A ports.

Ikea Fixa Cable Management System ($11 at Amazon)

This IKEA cable management kit is your ticket to a clean setup. It's simple and functional.

NZXT Puck ($20 at Amazon)

This clever little accessory has powerful magnets on the rear to make it stick to any of the metal panels on your PC case or anything else. It's great for hanging accessories like headsets.

What you need to know

• Windows 10 Mobile received an update through this month's "Patch Tuesday."
• The update includes some of the same fixes that shipped to Windows 10 this week.
• Windows 10 Mobile is losing official support in December 2019.

Windows 10 Mobile received an update this week as part of Microsoft's "Patch Tuesday" (via OnMSFT). The update includes some bug fixes that also shipped to Windows 10 devices this week.

The update brings Windows 10 Mobile's build to 15254.575. That build number is significantly lower than Windows 10, which has builds as high as 18362.239. Here is what the Windows 10 Mobile Update includes:

• Addresses an issue that may cause BitLocker to go into recovery mode if BitLocker is being provisioned at the same time as updates are being installed.
• Security updates to Windows Wireless Networking, Windows Server, Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Microsoft Graphics Component, Internet Explorer, Windows Input and Composition, Windows Virtualization, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Kernel, Microsoft Edge, and Windows Cryptography.

Windows 10 Mobile is officially losing support on December 10, 2019 according to Microsoft's Update Lifecycle page. While Windows 10 Mobile has been mostly abandoned for a while now, there are still some users using it on their primary phones.

Portable (and affordable) power accessories we love

Each and every one of these charging gadgets will keep your favorite gear and gadgets going for longer, and none of them costs more than $30.

VisionTek 8,000 mAh micro-USB power bank ($13 at Dell)

This compact dual-output powerbank can speedily recharge any and all your devices, thanks to a two-amp "fast charge feature," using its micro-USB out port. Its simple design includes an LED indicator, and it costs about as much as a single ticket to the movies.

Panasonic eneloop AA batteries (From $13 at Dell)

Panasonic's rechargeable batteries are among the best available, and just a couple of them will keep your favorite remote, mice or other peripherals powered up when you need them. They're also eco. And the company's affordable charger fits and charges both AA and AAA batteries at the same time.

Belkin Qi Wireless Charging Pad ($30 at Dell)

This unobtrusive Qi wireless charging pad looks good (and kind of like a UFO …) and easily charges all your Qi-compatible device up to 5W. Its LED indicator lights up when you're charging. And it costs just $30.

What you need to know

• Bill Gates says that his biggest mistake at Microsoft was losing the mobile space to Android.
• Gates saw the non-Apple standard for the mobile market as a "natural thing for Microsoft to win."
• While Gates sees Microsoft as a leading company right now, he believes it could be the leading company had it got mobile right.

In a candid new interview, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that ceding the mobile market to Android was his "greatest mistake ever." Speaking at an event with venture capital firm Village Global (via The Verge), Gates touched on the subject as part of a larger discussion on some of the most important choices he made at Microsoft.

From Gates:

Gates undoubtedly shares some of the blame with Steve Ballmer, who was Microsoft's CEO when the iPhone and Android entered into the mobile race. In fact, when asked about the iPhone launch, Ballmer laughed, stating that its lack of a keyboard would make it a no-go for business users.

Microsoft was arguably in a position to make more of a splash given its Windows Mobile efforts, but the company never made a commercially successful transition to the touch era. By the time Android started to take off, Microsoft was playing catch-up with its Windows Phone efforts and never managed to close the gap.

However, despite its mobile stumbles, Microsoft has managed to maintain momentum under the watch of CEO Satya Nadella, largely thanks to its more open approach to software and the backing of its cloud business. After its latest earnings report, the company surged past a $1 trillion market cap. Gates sees Microsoft's other assets, like Windows and Office, as "still very strong." But the former CEO admits that a mobile win would have made Microsoft "the leading company" instead of "a leading company."

You can check out Gates' full comments in the video below.

Cheap PC accessories we love

Take a gander at these awesome PC accessories, all of which will enhance your Windows experience.

Anker 4 port USB 3.0 hub ($10 at Amazon)

Whether on a desktop or laptop PC, you always need more ports to connect things to. This hub gives you an additional four USB 3.0 Type A ports.

Ikea Fixa Cable Management System ($11 at Amazon)

This IKEA cable management kit is your ticket to a clean setup. It's simple and functional.

NZXT Puck ($20 at Amazon)

This clever little accessory has powerful magnets on the rear to make it stick to any of the metal panels on your PC case or anything else. It's great for hanging accessories like headsets.

While many Microsoft services are available on Android and iOS, the look and feel of Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile is missed by many users. While there's no way to make an exact replicate of the now-dead mobile operating system, you can make your Android phone look like a Windows Phone in a few different ways.

Products used in this guide

• Nova Launcher Prime ($5)
• Nova Launcher (Free)
• KLWP Pro ($5)
• KLWP Live Wallpaper Maker (Free)
• KLWP Backup File (Free)
• Pix Pie Icon Pack ($2)
• Windows 10 Icons (Free)
• Windows 10 wallpaper (Free)
• Launcher 10 (Free)
• Squarehome 3 (Free)

How to add install a custom Live Wallpaper onto your Android phone

One option is to use a launcher designed to look like Windows 10 Mobile, but if you want complete customization and the ability to make your phone look like a miniature Windows 10 PC, you'll need to use multiple pieces of software. The customizable option was originally shared by Reddit user DrDisagree.

The Live Wallpaper has quite a few steps and requires customization. If you want a simpler solution, scroll down to the guides for SquareHome 3 and Launcher 10.

1. Install Nova Launcher from the Google Play Store.
2. Install Nova Launcher Prime.
3. Install KLWP.
4. Install KLWP Pro.
5. Install Pix Pie Icon pack.
6. Download Windows 10 Wallpaper (or any wallpaper you'd like as a background).
7. Make Nova Launcher your default launcher by opening settings, default apps, and selecting Nova Launcher.
8. Open Nova Launcher's Settings.
9. Select Home Screen.

10. Select Dock.
11. Toggle on/off switch to disable the dock.
12. Clear any icons on your home screen by pressing and holding the icon and selecting remove or the x icon.

13. Download KLWP Backup files from Google Drive. This process can vary depending on your Android device.
14. Tap the ellipsis menu in the upper right-hand corner of the download screen.
15. Select download.
16. Once downloaded you should be taken to a screen with the option to import. Select import.
17. Press **OK*.
18. Open KLWP.
19. Tap the hamburger menu.
20. Select Load Preset.

21. Tap the Exported tab.
22. Tap the wallpaper within the tab labeled Windows X.
23. Grant KLWP permissions by selecting Fix Now* and **Allow each time you are prompted to.

24. Swipe the bottom of the screen to get to the Globals menu.
25. Toggle navbar to on.
26. Tap save icon at the top of KLWP.
27. Select fix.
28. Select Set as Wallpaper.
29. Select Home screen.

How to customize shortcuts

The Live Wallpaper should now be running on your phone. Following these steps will create a copy of what DrDisagree made on Reddit. That means that all the shortcuts that were set up are intact. You can change any of these shortcuts in KLWP's menu.

1. Tap the *Start button** in the lower left-hand corner of your home screen.
2. Select KLWP.
3. Tap any shortcut on the screen you'd like to change and select edit.

How to customize the live wallpaper

You can also change the look and icons of the wallpaper, though this can require quite a few steps depending on what you'd like to edit. Generally speaking, you can edit them through the menus on the bottom of KLWP.

1. Make sure you're in the Items tab.
2. Tap on the element you want to edit (toggling the check marks on and off will show which element you're editing).
3. When finished making edits select the save icon.

As an example, I used these steps to change the Gmail icon to an Outlook icon and changed the background of that square to blue. You can see the result above.

How to add install a launcher that looks like Windows 10 Mobile

1. Install Launcher 10 or SquareHome 3 from the Google Play Store.
2. Set the launcher of your choice as the default home screen app on your phone.

Our top equipment picks

While nothing can exactly replicate Windows 10 Mobile, there are various options that come close to the look. The launchers are an easy option whereas the custom live wallpaper is complex but customizable.

SquareHome 3 is a fan-favorite when it comes to replicating the look of Windows 10 Mobile. It supports transparent tiles, Lives Tiles, widgets, and more to give you a Windows feel on your Android device without much work.

This setup takes multiple paid apps and a thorough study of the interface of KLWP to get the look that you'd like. But the end result is a phone with a Start Menu clone that feels like a miniature PC in the palm of your hand. You need a few apps to complete this look, though KLWP is the main app that makes this setup possible.

Additional Equipment

You need a couple other apps to complete the custom wallpaper setup.

Nova Launcher Prime ($5 at Google Play)

This highly customizable launcher is great for any Android setup and also allows the live wallpaper setup to work.

Pixel Pie Icon Pack ($2 at Google Play)

This icon pack provides the rounded icons needed in the live wallpaper look and also looks great on other launchers.

Microsoft has updated its FAQ page regarding the end of support date for Windows 10 Mobile, which has been known for sometime now as December 10, 2019. A few days ago, the company added further detail explaining why Windows 10 Mobile support is being ended, what customers can do, and what will happen to those who do not move from Windows 10 Mobile once support officially ends.

According to Microsoft, those who are planning on sticking with a Windows 10 Mobile device can continue to use their handset as normal, but after December 10, those devices will no longer be serviced by Microsoft with security updates and bug fixes. Users will still be able to create automatic or manual backups of apps and settings until March 10, 2020. After that, there is no guarantee that those features will continue to work.

In addition, features such as automatic photo upload and restoring from a backup may stop working within 12 months after March 10, 2020. In regards to app updates, Microsoft says app support may end at anytime, as it is up to the discretion of the developer building apps that still support Windows 10 Mobile. It sounds like the Microsoft Store will continue to function after the end of support date on December 10, but there's no guarantee as to how long that will last.

If you're a Windows 10 Mobile user currently, Microsoft says you should switch ton an iOS or Android device to continue using Microsoft's mobile software and services. Microsoft's says the reason it is ending support for Windows 10 Mobile is because other mobile platforms have evolved further, meaning Windows 10 Mobile no longer meets the expectations of many:

Anyone who has been following Windows 10 Mobile over the last year should already been well accustomed to the end of support date, and what it means for Windows 10 Mobile as a whole. 2019 is the last year of official "support" for Microsoft's abandoned Mobile platform, as the company has focused its mobile efforts entirely over to iOS and Android, as well as Windows 10 on laptops and tablets.

via The Verge

Windows 10 Mobile isn't exactly what you'd call alive nowadays, but for those who are still sticking around, there's a new media player in town. Sonca, a universal media player released by Finebits in October, now supports Windows 10 Mobile, making it truly universal across all Windows 10 platforms.

Sonca works with any local music, movies, clips, and audiobooks you have stored on your phone or PC, automatically organizing your tracks and information. In addition to local storage, however, Sonca can connect to cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive, where you might have more of your media stored.

The app supports Windows Timeline and Continuum, and supports PCs. For devices, HoloLens, Surface Hub, Xbox One, and, now, Windows 10 Mobile are all supported.

Sonca is currently on sale for $2, down from its usual $8 price tag. Finebits has also provided a limited set of promotional codes for Windows Central readers to snag the app for free.

See at Microsoft

For the longest time, I was a Windows phone user. I used Windows Mobile devices, and I used Windows Phone devices. I flirted with iOS and Android devices through the years, but at the end of the day, I'd always return to a Windows-based phone. That was, until, Microsoft announced that it was no longer planning to continue work on its mobile platform.

The mobile device you choose to carry is a significant choice in modern life. It's the bit of tech you choose to bring with you everywhere you go; that you trust will keep you connected and safe, and is there for you if you get lost, stranded, or worse.

The mobile platform I chose was put to bed last year, with no new hardware or software features planned. As such, when Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Windows 10, Joe Belfiore, confirmed that Windows 10 Mobile was no longer of "focus" to Microsoft, I threw in the towel. I've used both iOS and Android devices since then, and I can't say I've found my new home yet. Nothing I've used has been a full-time replacement for my Windows phones.

So, after over a year of hunting for my next true mobile companion, I've temporarily given up the search to go back "home." I jokingly called this Windows 10 Mobile's last voyage, but in a funny way, it's true. Outside of security updates, Windows 10 Mobile is no longer being maintained, meaning there are some issues that are starting to arise.

Returning to Windows 10 Mobile

I was initially planning to return to Windows 10 Mobile with Microsoft's first, and last, smartphone flagship: the Lumia 950 XL. Released in 2015, the Lumia 950 XL is a 5.7-inch phone with a Snapdragon 810, 3GB RAM, and a 20MP camera, which was excellent. These specs were more than fine for a 2015 flagship, but in 2018, it's ... not.

The reason I didn't stick with the Lumia 950 XL on my final voyage was because of the battery. I'm not sure when it happened, but one of the cumulative updates for Windows 10 Mobile released in the last year has severely degraded battery life on the platform as a whole. Everything from the Wileyfox Pro to the Alcatel Idol 4 Pro is suffering from terrible battery life for me.

The Lumia 950 XL wasn't able to get me through a day. I ordered a new battery to see if that'd fix the problem, but it didn't. The Wileyfox Pro, which I assume was manufactured within the last year, also suffers from poor battery life. So it's not aging batteries that are causing these battery issues.

If I was going to be relying on this phone as my primary device, I needed it to last a full day. So, I switched on the HP Elite x3. Now, when we first reviewed this Windows phone back in 2016, it was a two-day phone. In 2018, it's a one day phone, thanks to these apparent battery issues going on with Windows 10 Mobile.

HP Elite x3 in 2018

I honestly forgot how great a phone the HP Elite x3 is. When it launched in 2016, it did so with many issues surrounding its not so great camera, and a Windows 10 Mobile that was still pretty buggy. It wasn't until the Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update that the HP Elite x3 became a usable phone. It was a true flagship with everything to offer.

Featuring a 6-inch 1440p OLED display, a massive 4000mAh battery, a Snapdragon 820 processor, both fingerprint and iris recognition for security, and front-facing speakers, this was a 2016 flagship in its truest form. Most of what the Elite x3 offered in 2016 still holds up today in 2018. Its screen is absolutely gorgeous, rivaling that of most flagship displays available in 2018.

Even little stuff like its haptic feedback motor is fantastic. It's the tightest, cleanest vibration motor on a Windows phone and is even better than most Android phones I've tried in the last year. But it's still nowhere near as good as the iPhone.

Some things just don't hold up in 2018, however, mainly with that camera. In the last two years, smartphone cameras have improved two-fold, and the HP Elite x3's camera was not superb even when it launched. It takes OK photos in ideal scenarios, but low-light photography is a rough time, and the camera app itself is just slow compared to the latest iPhone and Android devices.

The fingerprint and iris scanner are also two parts of the phone that don't hold up in 2018. The fingerprint reader especially is the slowest fingerprint reader that has ever existed on a smartphone. The fingerprint module is no different from what other flagship makers were using in 2016, but for some reason, the OS is just so slow at picking it up and logging you in.

Overall, I think for the most part the Elite x3 still holds up for me in 2018. I love its design and hardware, and while the Snapdragon 820 is a little old now, it's still competent.

Windows 10 Mobile in 2018

I've been using the HP Elite x3 and Windows 10 Mobile for a few weeks now, and I'm happy I went back. It's been awesome coming back to this platform and remembering why I chose it. The Start Screen is still a fresh take on what phone home screens can be, and it's super awesome being able to use the same apps on your PC directly on your phone.

I'm already using many universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps on my PC, and it's great to able to use those same apps on the go too. Outlook Mail, Microsoft To-Do, Edge, even Twitter, are the same across PC and phone. The Microsoft Store has also been updated with the new design on phones that lets you install apps on your other devices, so when I'm out I can tell the Store to install an app on my PC or vice versa.

There are some issues, but overall, I've been loving going back to using UWP apps on the go with Windows 10 Mobile. Using your Microsoft Account, many apps will sync your sign-in data from your PC to your phone, meaning apps like myTube and Readit won't ask you to log in again if you've already done it before.

I also really like how Cortana still syncs your notifications to your PC, meaning I don't have to look at my phone every time a notification comes through. For some reason, Microsoft is removing this feature from the Cortana app on Android and iOS, and it's something I really miss.

The Insider Program is still active, and while it doesn't provide new Insider Preview builds anymore, it does give you access to Insider versions of UWP apps in the Store, assuming they still run on Windows 10 Mobile.

The Office Mobile apps are still excellent lightweight versions of Office for mobile phones. I even use these apps on my PCs. OneNote is still fantastic and remains up to date, as does Microsoft's new To Do app which has an excellent UWP app that works just fine on mobile.

It's not all roses

Windows 10 Mobile in 2018 is by no means a perfect experience, and I'd argue it's gotten worse since last year. Windows 10 Mobile is now in a state where no one is really maintaining it. Microsoft is only servicing Windows 10 Mobile with security updates, meaning it's rare to see any actual Windows 10 Mobile-specific bugs be fixed in the monthly patches.

I've also noticed that some of Microsoft's UWP apps now aren't always focused on ensuring that experience works well on Mobile. The most notable of which is the new Microsoft Store app, which now requires you to tap on an arrow to navigate through categories, rather than swiping through them, which is much more natural. It's also worth noting that any app that uses any real Fluent Design effects is usually pretty laggy.

A bigger issue with Windows 10 Mobile in 2018 is the lack of apps, which is only going to get worse as old Windows Phone 8 apps are pulled or stop working, and as UWP apps move on to support newer versions of Windows 10. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) do run on Windows 10 Mobile, albeit very poorly. This is because Microsoft's implementation of PWA support on Windows 10 Mobile was never finished.

PWA also doesn't support service workers on mobile, meaning things like push notifications don't work on the platform. As such, apps like Twitter won't inform you when you receive a new tweet or message. PWAs on mobile also eat battery life like no other app I've ever seen, meaning if you're a heavy user of Twitter, Windows 10 Mobile is a rough place to be now.

Spotify is dog-awful and shouldn't be used at all. It's a slow mess that isn't even supported technically. It still works but is very buggy. On the flipside-ish, Slack is an app on Windows 10 Mobile that still works great, is fast, smooth, and functions as it should. Slack has abandoned its Windows Phone app too, but at least their app works well. Unlike Spotify.

The Instagram app on Windows 10 Mobile is a very mixed bag. It's a perfectly capable app if you don't use Instagram Stories, but the Instagram Stories feature itself is a total mess. It's laggy, slow, and basically unusable.

Edge is still pretty great, but it's not without some really frustrating issues; primarily the issue which sees the keyboard stop working when tapping on text boxes like the Google Search box.

Cortana on Windows 10 Mobile has more or less been left behind. It's still using the old Notebook design and hasn't been updated with any of the Timeline specific features added in the recent Windows 10 updates on PCs.

Final thoughts on my final voyage

I'm delighted that I went back to Windows 10 Mobile these last few weeks. I've loved every minute of it. It's been great to experience that Start Screen and UWP apps on the go again, reminding me of what it would've been like had Microsoft been successful in its push for true universal apps. I still believe there is a future for universal apps on Windows because the proof is in the pudding. The good UWP apps work great on both PC and phones, including Microsoft To Do, Outlook Mail, Fitbit, myTube, Readit, and OneNote.

However, Microsoft's abandonment of Windows 10 Mobile is very apparent in 2018. When compared with Android and iOS, Windows 10 Mobile is just so slow and is starting to miss out on new features that other platforms are introducing. While I personally enjoyed my time back on the platform, I can't say it's an overall "enjoyable" experience anymore.

Weirdly, using Windows 10 Mobile in 2018 feels a little like digital detoxing. Apps are slower, and apps like Twitter don't even work with notifications anymore, meaning I'm much less inclined to pick up my phone and use it. So I was using my phone less, which felt pretty good actually.

Android and iOS are much better choices for me in 2018 than Windows 10 Mobile is, and that's to be expected. When I left Windows 10 Mobile in 2017, it was still basically on par with iOS and Android, but that's no longer the case in 2018. I'm going to be picking up the OnePlus 6T next week, with plans to make it my primary phone with all of Microsoft's Android apps onboard.

Windows 10 Mobile, it's been emotional. And it's time for me to say goodbye, for real this time. But I hope Microsoft returns to making mobile devices with Windows one day, and I'll be first in line if it does.

Windows Phone Internals, a tool built to help gain root access on Lumia devices, is now open source. The tool's developer, Rene Lergner, has released the source code for Windows Phone Internals on GitHub, turning it over to the remaining Windows Phone community for further development.

As Lergner explains on his website (via MSPU), the impetus for open sourcing Windows Phone Internals is that he no longer has the time to pursue active development himself. From Lergner:

Earlier in 2018, Windows Phone Internals got its first update since 2015, allowing it to work on all Windows Phone 8 and Windows 10 Mobile-based Lumia devices.

The tool itself basically automates the processes required to unlock the bootloader on any Lumia, disabling security features that would normally prevent you from gaining root access. Once root access has been achieved, you can do things like flash custom ROMs, create full device backups, and use your Lumia in Mass Storage Mode. The tool has also opened up space for developers to cook up some interesting (if questionably useful) hacks, like getting Windows 10 on ARM working on Lumia devices.

Interested developers can check out the full source code for Windows Phone Internals at GitHub now.

For most of us, Windows 10 Mobile died in 2017 when Microsoft announced that it was no longer "focused" on its own mobile platform, opting to bring its experiences to iOS and Android instead. Even so, that didn't stop one hardware maker from pursuing its dream of having a Windows 10 Mobile device on the market for people to buy and use. First released late last year, and re-released a month or so ago, the Wileyfox Pro is considered by many to be the last Windows phone.

When the Wileyfox Pro first launched, it went on sale for close to £200 ($260), which was absolute robbery. With its recent re-release, however, it's now on sale for around £80, which, for what the Wileyfox Pro is, is a much better price. So, I recently picked up one to see what it was all about and to try and figure out why Wileyfox has put its Windows 10 Mobile handset back on sale, even though the state of Windows 10 Mobile hasn't improved.

Before we begin, Wileyfox says the Wileyfox Pro is a business phone. It's not designed for consumers, so keep that mind.

What you'll love about the Wileyfox Pro

Honestly, there's really not much you'll love about this device. Everything is, at most, fine. There's not a single thing about this phone that will make you love it unless Windows 10 Mobile itself does that for you.

I do like the capacitive buttons below the screen for back, start, and search. Most Windows 10 Mobile device makers opted to have on-screen keys for navigation, but not Wileyfox. Having the buttons below the screen gives a reason for a large "chin" to exist, and it also means more content can be displayed on the five-inch display.

On that subject, I'm really liking the size of this device. I've been using six-inch phones for the better part of 2018, so when I switched to the Wileyfox Pro, it was refreshing to have a phone that I could use with one-hand again. I can do everything from swiping down the notification center to reaching across from one side of the screen to reach a hamburger menu button, all with one hand.

The build quality of the phone is not terrible. It's all plastic with a glass front, but for £80 (around $104) you're getting a well built little device. It also has a removable back cover, which gains you access to the removable battery, microSD card slot, and Micro SIM slot. The back cover is made of soft-textured plastic, which feels pretty nice.

The volume controls and power button on the side are also nice. They're firm and do their job well. They're not the clickiest of buttons, but you can definitely feel them and can tell when they've been successfully pressed.

The front of the device features Gorilla Glass 3, which should keep you safe from light scratches and even some drops. It also comes with two years warranty, which should protect you from many problems your phone may have after you buy it. Again, this phone costs £80, which is pretty much nothing. It's super cheap, making it a great choice as a backup phone.

It's also fully supported by Microsoft, meaning if you're looking for a device that will be supported until Microsoft drops Windows 10 Mobile altogether, this is the device for you. It will continue to receive security updates until late next year.

What you'll hate about the Wileyfox Pro

Micro USB is ancient and bad, and anybody using it in 2018 should feel bad. This is not a fast-charging phone, meaning if you forget to put it on charge overnight, you're going to be in trouble the next morning. The washed out 720p display is also not good, with bad viewing angles unless you're looking at it straight on.

The biggest offender, however, isn't the hardware, but the software. Windows Phone used to be famous for how well it operated on low-end hardware, but the same cannot be said for Windows 10 Mobile in 2018. On the inside, we're rocking a Snapdragon 210, with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. The experience is not great. It took around two hours for me to fully set up the device once I logged in with my Microsoft Account. It needed to download updated apps and update the phone itself to the latest cumulative patch.

During this time, the phone depleted its battery to almost zero. I had to plug it in to keep it alive as it was downloading updates. What's more, when I finally loaded up the phone with all the apps I'd be using on it, I quickly found that the phone was struggling to keep up with my workload.

For example, I wanted to listen to some music using Spotify while browsing Twitter and pasting links into a Word document using the Word Mobile app, all while answering conversations in Slack. This is a typical workload for me on a phone, but the Wileyfox Pro couldn't do it. Or rather, it could but incredibly poorly. The music stuttered and stopped when switching between apps, and the dreaded "Loading..." screen would pop up almost every time.

The Twitter app on Windows 10 Mobile is now a Progressive Web App (PWA), which is pretty heavy on the system thanks to Windows 10 Mobile's incomplete PWA support, and also eats battery life like crazy. Because of this, this phone is not a device that will get you through the day easily.

The camera is awful. Photos in lit environments are passable, but low-light photography basically doesn't (or rather, shouldn't) exist on this thing.

Should you buy the Wileyfox Pro?

No. At least not as a replacement for your primary phone. If you're a Windows 10 Mobile user who refuses to leave the platform, I suggest looking into used higher-end models rather than buying the Wileyfox Pro. It's just not a great phone. It struggles to handle simple workloads, the camera is atrocious, and battery life leaves something to be desired.

Now, if you're buying one as a backup phone for work, with plans on only using it for stuff like SMS, email, Cortana, and other Microsoft services, then sure. For £80, this is probably the cheapest you can go while still getting a new Windows phone to do it. But I worry that anyone trying to use this device as their only phone is going to run into problems very quickly. I guess that's why Wileyfox is selling this device as a business phone, not a consumer one.

If you're a business in need of Windows 10 Mobile devices for your employees, this is probably your only option at this point. Just don't force them to use it as their only phone. Oh, and make sure your employees are using Micro-SIM cards and not nano-SIM cards. I had to buy an adapter to get my nano SIM card to fit in the Wileyfox Pro.

I'd recommend looking around for a used Lumia 650 if you need to stick to a similar price range of the Wileyfox Pro. If you want to spend a bit more, I'd look for a used HP Elite x3 as that's the best Windows Phone you can buy today.

Microsoft's secret Andromeda project is something that everyone is thinking about, but what should the software look like? Since the device is rumoured to be a dual-screened handset, what kind of UI experience is best suited for that kind of setup?

Some people have suggested that Microsoft should just reuse the Windows 10 Mobile UI, kind of like in the video of CShell that we leaked back in 2017. As far as we know, however, that is not the case. Andromeda features a brand new UI that's build from the ground up for this form factor.

So we know that it won't feature the Windows 10 Mobile UI, but should it? It will have live tiles, and a Start menu, but due to the form factor of the device, it isn't a direct port of the Windows 10 Mobile experience.

We want to know your thoughts, so make sure you let us know in the comments!

The Windows Insider Program has been designed to allow developers and enthusiasts to get early access to upcoming features and improvements to provide feedback to help shape the future of Windows 10.

The program includes three levels of readiness known as "rings," including Fast, Slow, and Release Preview. Usually, the Fast ring is the readiness level you want to use when planning to test new features as soon as they're ready (roughly every two weeks). However, preview builds available in this ring are known to include significant bugs and problems.

On the other hand, the Slow ring also offers early access to the latest features, but with previews that are less risky. The only caveat using this readiness level is that builds are not available as frequent as in the Fast ring.

The Release Preview is the third ring designed to get only the latest fixes, drivers, and apps, but because every new version of Windows 10 has to pass through every ring, as soon as a new release is complete and stable, it'll also be available in this ring. Typically, pre-releases will be available in this ring several days before the final version becomes available to the public.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to join the Windows Insider Program to test upcoming features and improvements. Also, we even show you the steps to opt-out of the program.

• How to join the Windows Insider Program
• How to opt-out of the Windows Insider Program

How to join the Windows Insider Program

The process to join your device in the Windows Insider Program is simple, follow these steps:

Warning: This is a friendly reminder that during an upgrade things can always go wrong. It's recommended to make a full backup of your PC before making significant changes to your installation in case you need to rollback.

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Update & security.
3. Click on Windows Insider program.
4. Click the Get started button.

5. Click the Link an account option.

6. Select your Microsoft account, and click the Continue button.

7. On the "What kind of content would you like to receive?" page, use the drop-down menu, and select one of the following:
   • Just fixes, apps, and drivers: Enrolls your device in the Release preview ring without getting preview builds. However, pre-releases will be available in this ring as soon as the new version is considered complete.
   • Active development of Windows: (Recommended) Enrolls your device in the program to get preview builds regularly depending on the pace you want to receive them. (See step No. 9.)

8. Click the Confirm button.
9. On the "What pace do you want to receive preview builds?" page, use the drop-down menu, and select:
   • Slow: Gets preview builds with the latest features and changes with minimal risks of coming across bugs and significant problems.
   • Fast: (Recommended) Gets preview builds with the latest features and changes but using these updates you're likely to come across bugs, errors, features may not work, and other issues.

10. Click the Confirm button.
11. Click the Confirm button again to agree to the terms.

12. Click the Restart Now button.

Once you've completed the steps, your device will be enrolled in the Windows Insider Program, and it'll start receiving preview builds as soon as they become available depending on the cadence you have selected.

After joining the program, new builds will download and install automatically, but you can always go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and click the Check for Updates button to force the download, just note that it could take up to 24 hours before you can start downloading builds.

How to opt-out of the Windows Insider Program

If you no longer want to participate in the Windows Insider Program, you can unenroll your device using the following steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Update & Security.
3. Click on Windows Insider Program.
4. Click the Stop Insider Preview builds button.

5. Select the option that you want to use to opt-out of the program:
   • Roll me back to the latest Windows release: Opens the Settings app on the Recovery page to use the rollback option to go back to the previous version. However, this option is only available within the first ten days you installed the first test preview of Windows 10.
   • Keep giving me builds until the next Windows release: (Recommended) This is the option to gracefully opt-out of the program without having to reinstall Windows 10. You'll continue to receive test previews but until the new version becomes available. Once the final version releases, it'll download and install automatically, and then your device will no longer download pre-releases of Windows 10.

6. Click the Confirm button.

After completing the steps, you'll no longer be able to test upcoming features, but your device will be back to the most stable release.

If you're looking to opt-out of the program immediately, and the option to rollback isn't available in the Settings app, you can either use the full backup that you created before joining the Windows Insider Program to restore your device. Or you can wipe out your computer's hard drive and start fresh with a clean installation with the latest public release of Windows 10.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

• Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you need to know
• Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
• Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

If you're still holding on to your Windows 10 Mobile phone, whether for posterity or as a daily driver, Instagram is rolling out a slate of new features for the platform. Initially spotted by All About Windows Phone (via OnMSFT), the Instagram app for Windows 10 Mobile now includes a new type mode for stories, along with the ability to allow friends to remix your disappearing photos, adding to a feature first introduced last year.

When sending a disappearing photo or video, you can set the option to allow friends to only view it once, or allow replays. If you set it to allow replays, friends can then "remix" photos and videos by adding stickers, text, or drawings and send them back. Think Snapchat, but with a little more back-and-forth.

The type mode feature is rather bland by comparison, allowing you to simply add a bit of text to a colorful background for sharing with others.

The app's store text describes this as Instagram for tablets, which is wording that has been present for some time. However, that could hint that this update and future ones are primarily geared more toward future Windows 10 on ARM devices rather than the dead Windows 10 Mobile platform. That could explain the bugginess of some of the new features on Windows 10 Mobile handsets, but it's just speculation.

In any case, the latest update for Instagram is available via the Microsoft Store now.

See at Microsoft Store

Windows 10 Mobile hasn't been in the best state for recent years – far from it. Despite Microsoft's efforts to scale its mobile platform, its products have since embraced iOS and Android as third-party services. A sizeable number of Windows phone users still remain, despite a dwindling app library and limited future updates.

Even entering its final days, there still are various gems within the Microsoft Store. One Windows Central forum user has asked for your top picks from the storefront as one of the many still holding on.

As always, we want to hear from you. What are your top Windows 10 Mobile app picks in 2018? Which apps should be avoided with their limited support? Drop into the forum thread linked below with your favorites.

• From the forums: Which apps are you using for W10M?
• The 3 best Androids for former Windows Phone users

This week's episode of #AskDanWindows I field questions from users about why open-sourcing Windows 10 Mobile won't work (and why it's a bad idea), how does Microsoft Office run on Windows 10 on ARM, should Microsoft released a tethered HoloLens and more!

Audience questions Episode 49

• Should Microsoft open-source the Windows 10 Mile platform? - ASM Khen
• Is it possible for Microsoft to release a tethered AR headset, i.e. HoloLens but wired, so that it can be set at a lower price point for consumers? - Maxwell F
• You intrigued me with the HP Envy x2 review. What about Microsoft Office for Windows on ARM? Is it there? How's the performance? - @atlan1504
• How is the recent refocus on Cortana any different from Windows Mobile? - constantreader16

Thanks to everyone for the questions!

Email me!

Don't use Twitter? After much feedback, we are happy to announce you can forward your questions to AskDan@WindowsCentral.com to submit your requests!

AskDan forums!

Hate using email? Join me on our #AskDan Forums at Windows Central! I'll occasionally jump in there to try and answer questions or take ideas for new episodes of our web series.

Ask Dan Forums at Windows Central

You can also find previous episodes of #AskDanWindows here on the main landing page.

• Watch the #AskDanWindows playlist on Youtube
• Subscribe to #AskDanWindows in podcast format (RSS)

Twitter has today updated its app on Windows 10 Mobile to the new PWA version that recently launched on Windows 10 desktop. Unfortunately, this means Windows 10 Mobile users will no longer receive things like push notifications, as notifications from the Twitter PWA rely on service workers to function, and Windows 10 Mobile does not support service workers.

The new Twitter PWA, while excellent on Windows 10 desktop, is less excellent on Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft left Windows 10 Mobile behind at Redstone 2 when it switched to the feature2 branch, and has such does not have any of the new improvements to PWA support that Redstone 4 introduced on PC. This means that while the Twitter PWA works, it does not have many tie-ins with the OS.

For example, the Twitter PWA on Mobile no longer has a live tile, and as already mentioned, does not have push notification support. This means those on Windows 10 Mobile won't get notifications when someone sends you a message or retweets you on Twitter. It also has no dark mode. Notifications work on PC because Windows 10 desktop supports these service workers included with Redstone 4.

On the plus side, the new Twitter PWA brings with it all the updated Twitter changes, including the increased character support, the ability to bookmark tweets, and more. Perhaps the update was pushed out in error, or maybe Twitter thinks users on Mobile won't mind missing out on things like push notifications. Regardless, what are your thoughts on the new Twitter PWA for Mobile? Let us know in the comments.

Download Twitter at the Microsoft Store

Updated April 19, 2018: Well, that didn't take long. Instagram is available for Windows 10 Mobile once again. However, it appears to be an older version of the app than is available for PC, which likely means it won't receive new features going forward. Still, it's good that the app remains available for Windows phone holdouts. The original story follows.

Instagram is no longer available for Windows 10 Mobile from the Microsoft Store. While the app remains available for Windows 10 PCs, its store listing has been updated to remove "Mobile" as one of its supported platforms (via OnMSFT).

Instagram was one of the bigger names that continued to support Windows 10 Mobile for some time. However, it's not entirely surprising to see it drop support for the platform. Windows 10 Mobile was essentially declared dead several months ago and, while it still receives monthly security updates and bug fixes, no more feature updates are planned.

Instagram is just the latest app to drop support for Windows 10 Mobile, following, most recently, the official Ring Video Doorbell app. For now, at least, you can continue to check out the Instagram app for Windows 10 PCs from the Microsoft Store.

See at Microsoft Store

It's time to say bye to the Ring Video Doorbell app on Windows 10 Mobile. In an email being sent out to users, Ring says that its app will no longer work on Windows 10 Mobile devices after April 10.

Though the mobile app may be retiring, Ring says that it will continue to support its Windows 10 app for devices on the Fall Creators Update or newer. From Ring:

Going forward, if you want to set up or use a Ring device with a mobile phone, you'll have to do so on an Android or iOS phone.

It's no surprise that Ring would drop support for Windows 10 Mobile. While Microsoft may be cooking up new ideas for the mobile space, Windows 10 Mobile is effectively dead at this point. Ring is just the latest app to end its support for the platform. The good news, however, is that things should continue as normal for anyone using the app on PC.

See at Microsoft Store

It may be lagging behind Microsoft's other Windows 10 updates, but March's Patch Tuesday update for Windows 10 Mobile is now rolling out.

Coming in at build number 15254.313, the update is listed as KB4090912 and includes a fix for a lingering issue with opening PDFs in Microsoft Edge. Additionally, all of the improvements Microsoft rolled out to Windows 10 version 1703 this month are also included. From the release notes:

• This build includes all the improvements from KB4088782.
• Addresses issue in which PDFs cannot be rendered in Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 Phones.

It's worth noting that this update also comes with a trio of known issues. Here's a look:

• After taking a screenshot, the error, "Couldn't take screenshot" appears. However, the photo is saved.
• In some photo-related apps, there is an error when saving photos.
• In Lumia Creative Studio, recently taken photos will not appear in the Latest gallery.

For each issue, Microsoft says it is working on a resolution that will be included in a later release.

If you're using a Windows 10 Mobile device, you should be able to grab this latest cumulative update now.

Updated March 20, 2018: The March cumulative update is available for devices on the Creators update (Version 1703) and Anniversary Update (Version 1607) as well.

Most people who used to use Windows phones have more or less likely already switched over to something else by now. I used to be an avid Windows Phone user, but recently made the switch to both Android and iOS, and I must admit I do miss some of what Windows Phone used to offer.

Our community members are discussing this topic right now, and it turns out there's a lot to miss about Windows Phone. You don't know how good you've got it until it's gone, as they say.

I miss the Start screen, first and foremost. It's just better than what Android or iOS have to offer. I dislike static icons, and while you can change your launcher on Android, none really come close to offering the same experience you had on Windows Phone.

The other thing I miss about Windows Phone is its design language and fluidity. Windows Phone was way ahead of its time with its clean, dark look and modern, fluid animations that took you back and forth between the Start screen and apps. Some of that elegance went away with Windows 10 Mobile, but it was still very smooth. I even miss the dedicated camera button I used to have on my Lumia, which was way more useful than I originally thought.

Let us know in the forums whether or not you're missing your Windows phone, and what platform you ended up switching to. We want to hear from you!

From the forums: Missing Windows 10 Mobile so much

Back when Windows 10 Mobile first started development, fans were super excited for what the future held for Windows 10 in your pocket. Believe it or not, Microsoft had high hopes for Windows 10 on phones when it first started working on the platform. Unfortunately, due to developers not adopting UWP fast enough, and Microsoft's rather underwhelming hardware offerings with Windows 10 Mobile, the company ended up abandoning the platform, killing any future plans for Windows 10 on smartphones.

The underwhelming Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL were a real shame, if only because internally, Microsoft was building the platform out with support for much more than what the Lumia 950 series offered. When Windows 10 Mobile development first kicked off, the Lumia 950 didn't exist, so instead Microsoft used an engineering handset called the "RX-130," an odd Frankenstein of a smartphone that incorporated different components from different Lumia handsets, and even had features that the Lumia 950 didn't.

The RX-130 has been briefly spotted in a few on-stage demos that Microsoft did back in 2015 when demoing new Windows 10 Mobile features in development, but outside of that, not much is known about the Frankenstein handset. We've managed to get out hands on an RX-130 handset, and it's not pretty.

The RX-130: What is it?

The handset, known as the RX-130 or "Hapanero" is an engineering device that Microsoft used to build and test Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile builds throughout development before the Lumia 950 existed. It's not a device that Microsoft ever intended to sell, and was primarily built just for employees who needed to test and debug OS builds and features that existing Windows Phone devices didn't support at the time. Since it wasn't intended for public consumption, the design is a little ... rough.

The device features the face of a Lumia 1520 housed in a custom body, bright orange volume, lock and camera buttons, the battery from a Lumia 830, a fingerprint reader, and the camera from a Lumia 950 XL. The display is a 6-inch 2K LCD panel, with 4GB RAM and a Snapdragon 810 on the inside powering everything. It's a Lumia 1520 with a Lumia 830 battery and the camera and specifications from a Lumia 950 XL. See what I mean when I refer to it as the "Frankenstein" phone?

This is the device Microsoft used to build out features like Continuum, USB-OTG support, Windows Hello, support for the Snapdragon 810, and even pen support before the Lumia 950 was available. Although the Lumia 950 technically existed internally throughout 2015, most engineers likely wouldn't have been allowed access to those prototypes until way later into the development of the device. This is where the RX-130 came in.

The rear-facing fingerprint sensor isn't something we ever saw launch on a Lumia handset, which is a shame. The RX-130 also had support for pens, which when loaded with the correct software would work much like pen support on a normal Windows PC. In fact, early Lumia 950 prototypes also featured pen support, but this was pulled toward the end of development, as were many other features.

In fact, Microsoft also used the RX-130 to build and test support for Windows 10 Mobile on the ARM64 architecture. The Snapdragon 810 supports ARM64, and so did Windows 10 Mobile, however, Microsoft never released a handset with Windows 10 Mobile running in ARM64. Interestingly, someone was recently able to get full Windows 10 on ARM running on an RX-130, because the processor supports it.

The RX-130 is an interesting look into what Microsoft was anticipating Windows 10 Mobile to be. The engineering prototype has all the bells and whistles, many of which never actually made it into a shipping product. Unfortunately, the Lumia 950 launched with an underwhelming selection of features, and Microsoft's inability to commit to Windows 10 Mobile after 2016 was the final nail in the coffin for fans of Windows in your pocket.

Hopefully, Microsoft gives its next attempt at Windows 10 on mobile devices a proper chance. With rumors of Andromeda launching as soon as this year, it shouldn't be long before Microsoft launches its next attempt.

A big part of our interconnected, tech-heavy lives is the maintenance of our devices. We back up hard drives, we install updates, and we keep batteries charged. In the case of your phone, charging might coincide with the time that your own head hits the pillow for a mental recharge. You can plug your phone in, set it next to you, and not have to worry about it until morning. But is the battery being damaged while you sleep?

See the 3 best Androids for former Windows Phone users

What happens when I leave my phone plugged in overnight?

For the most part, leaving your modern phone plugged into a charger overnight isn't going to be a problem. Inside is most likely a lithium-ion battery, which is partly responsible for how thin phones have become, as well as how they can last through a day with life to spare. They also don't come with some of the same problems as older nickel batteries used to have, like losing track of the maximum charge threshold.

Lithium-ion phone batteries are not made to last forever. As soon as you deplete it and charge it — known as a cycle — you've begun a process that will eventually lead to your phone either needing a replacement battery or you in need of an entirely new phone. Battery University, in an article about how to prolong the life of lithium-based batteries, claims that on average you can get about 400 cycles out of a device.

Though it usually only takes a couple of hours to get a full charge, let's say your phone is plugged in for about seven or eight hours while you sleep. Once the battery hits 100 percent, it's going to stop charging thanks to software there to determine when it's had enough. Unless there's a breakdown in the process, you shouldn't expect to see a ballooned battery poking out of the back of your device.

Heat will harm your phone's battery

Your phone is smart enough to not take damage by overcharging, but there's still an issue. Charging a phone causes heat, which — along with cold — can damage a lithium battery. Prolonged periods of elevated heat will degrade a battery faster, as can be seen in this chart from Battery University.

Regular charging shouldn't cause a phone to reach a harmful temperature, but if you like to keep your phone next to you in bed while it's plugged in, the blankets or pillows probably aren't doing it any favors. If possible, leave the charging phone next to the bed where it has room to breathe. A bulky case will also no doubt contribute to unwanted heat, so consider removing it as well.

What can I do to prolong the life of my phone's battery?

Batteries are in a constant state of degradation, and you can expect to get about 400 charge cycles before you notice a serious hit to performance. In another chart from Battery University, we can see that lowering the maximum charge can give a battery more cycles, but will ultimately lower its maximum threshold for stored energy.

If you keep your phone's battery somewhere between a 40 and 80 percent charge, you should be able to get more life out of it in the long run. This doesn't exactly work for those who like to charge overnight, but it's certainly an option for those who get in a quick charge here and there over the course of a day.

Those who are frustrated with a device that gets to 30 percent battery and powers down can try a calibration to get a more accurate reading. Let your battery drain completely and recharge to 100 percent while it's powered down. Once you turn it back on, the gauge should give a more accurate read of the time you have left before you'll be looking for an outlet.

How to recalibrate the battery in your Windows 10 laptop

More resources

If you're wondering how all of this applies to the battery in your laptop, be sure to check out this other guide with similar information!

The reality of leaving your laptop plugged in

While it's easy to backup files to the cloud, sometimes you need the option to move files instantly around devices on your network. A local area network (LAN) drive allows you to upload, download, rename files, and more from any PC on your network through File Explorer.

LAN drive for Windows 10 Mobile turns your Windows phone into a network drive.

The app is available for $2.99. There is a free trial available, but the speed is limited to 0.5 MB per second.

See in Microsoft Store

Performance and features

The app turns your phone into a LAN drive, but the developers also added some other nice features. You have three ways to authenticate a device, including creating user accounts or allowing anyone on the network to connect to the device. You can grant access to reading or writing content on a per-folder basis, which is a great touch if you only want to share certain files with your network.

The app also works with Kodi, VLC, and any SMB client, making it easy to view content that's on your phone on a number of devices.

Once the app is set up, it works well. You can easily copy and paste content to and from it as if it were just a driver on your PC. Because the app makes your phone work as a LAN drive, it also works with other devices, such as Macs.

The app works fast enough when moving files around but I found previewing to be slower than I'd like. This is more of an issue for my type of use which involves looking at and moving a lot of photos and media, but it's worth noting for anyone who wants to try it out.

Drawbacks

The biggest drawback to LAN drive is that it needs to stay open to work. In an ideal situation, you could set up LAN drive and leave it untouched in the background while using it to transfer and view files. Unfortunately, that isn't the case as not only does your phone need to be awake for it to work, the LAN drive app needs to be open.

A smaller issue that could be affected by the network I used while testing the app is its slower speeds. Even with the paid upgrade, moving content around took longer than I'd like. This could potentially be better on different hardware or a faster network but in my testing, a lack of speed was noticeable.

This means that while LAN drive can give your old Windows phone a second life, it doesn't let you turn your phone into a permanent fixture in your home or office, unless you plan to leave a phone perpetually awake.

Overall thoughts on LAN drive for Windows 10 Mobile

LAN drive is a clever app that allows you to get some more use out of your old Windows phone. And if you're still using your Windows phone as your everyday device, it makes it incredibly easy to share content around your network because your photos and files will already be on it.

The app has some drawbacks including, slower speeds and requiring you to keep the app active to work, but LAN drive is still a solid app despite these flaws.

Pros

• Easy to setup
• Makes transferring files easy
• Inexpensive

Cons

• App needs to remain open to keep connection
• Not as fast as many would like

See in Microsoft Store

Microsoft has rolled out a fresh update to Groove Music for Windows 10 Mobile. The update pushes the app up to version 10.18011.1341.0 and, surprisingly, brings some of the same new features and tweaks that recently hit the desktop version of the app. Here's a look at what's new (via Windows Latest).

One of the biggest additions is that there's now a toggle in the settings menu for displaying artist art as your lock screen. When toggled on, whatever artist you're currently playing will show up as your lock screen wallpaper. Additionally, the settings menu also now includes options for modifying your storage settings and manually managing and syncing your OneDrive music. Currently, however, the option to sync with OneDrive appears to be causing an error message, and tapping the "manage" option takes you to the OneDrive website.

Finally, the long pressing on an album or song will now give you a "Play next" option, letting you select that full album or song to play after your current track.

It's worth noting that the equalizer feature that recently rolled out on desktop isn't available in this update. Given the bugginess of the OneDrive sync option, however, it'll be interesting to see if this update was meant to roll out on mobile, particularly since Windows 10 Mobile is no longer a focus. Microsoft recently rolled back a Photos update on mobile that apparently mistakenly rolled out with several desktop features.

See at Microsoft

Microsoft has announced that it is ending the push notification service on Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 starting February 20th, 2018. The company says that since both of those platforms have reached the end of their support, these services are now able to be discontinued.

Turning off push notifications means that devices running Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8.0 will no longer receive notifications, live tiles will no longer update, and the "find my phone" feature will no longer function. Those still using Windows Phone 7.5 or Windows Phone 8.0 will likely want to switch to something newer.

Microsoft says that Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile users will not be affected by this change, as push notifications for those platforms will remain on for the time being. However, once support comes to an end for those platforms as well, it is likely Microsoft will also turn off push notifications there too.

Are you still using a Windows Phone 7.5 or Windows Phone 8.0 device? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for the tip, @A_Deerslayer!

The other day, Windows 10 Mobile users were shocked to see a brand new update available for the Photos app in the Store, that actually introduced new features! Unfortunately, as we correctly speculated at the time, this update was rolled out in error. Microsoft has confirmed in the past that Windows 10 Mobile is no longer a focus, and as such, there are no new features in the works for Windows 10 Mobile.

The Photos app update that rolled out was released by mistake, and Microsoft has today corrected that mistake by rolling out another update that reverts the changes. Microsoft has no interest in releasing new features on Windows 10 Mobile, and the app update that was released last week did nothing but introduce new features. It brought all the features found in the desktop app to Windows 10 Mobile, causing the app to lag and crash often on phones.

Since Microsoft is no longer focused on Windows 10 Mobile, the company is not putting any resources into optimizing any of the new UWP apps found in Redstone 3 and Redstone 4 desktop for Mobile, which is why the Photos app that accidently rolled out was laggy and slow on phones. Microsoft has no interest in trying to optimize these apps, as the user base for Windows 10 Mobile is just too low at this point. Microsoft has only committed to releasing security patches every month for the platform, nothing more.

Microsoft is now more focused on its next attempt at Windows on mobile devices, with a project codenamed Andromeda. This project is a new mobile device that features two screens, and a new version of Windows 10 built on Windows Core OS. This is said to be Microsoft's "re-entry" into the mobile market, leaving behind Windows 10 Mobile for good.

Like many of you, I always thought the Lumia 650 was a great little phone. It was definitely the best looking Lumia to come out of Microsoft, with a relatively premium exterior that was let down by its low-end specifications. It would've been much better suited as a mid-ranger with slightly upped internal specs.

The main problem that I personally had with the Lumia 650 was that it was on the smaller side of the smartphone spectrum. It was a 5-inch 720p OLED screen, which thanks to the OLED technology, made for a beautiful display at that size. But in a market where, at the time, phone screens were pushing 5.5 to 5.7 inches with higher resolutions, 5 inches was just too small.

It turns out, Microsoft knew this and was working on a Lumia 650 XL. Codenamed Honjo, this device was specced almost identically to the Lumia 650 that was released, but with one key difference: it was bigger. Instead of rocking a 5.0 720p OLED display, the Lumia 650 XL featured a 5.5-inch 720p LCD instead. I got my hands on an early prototype device, so let's go hands-on.

Lumia 650 XL specifications

Lumia 650 XL design and hardware

Much like the Lumia 650, the Lumia 650 XL features a glass front, with an aluminum frame and a removable plastic back cover. If you liked the look and feel of the Lumia 650, you'd also love the look of the Lumia 650 XL. It looks, in essence, identical to the Lumia 650, except bigger. There are a few minor differences worthy of note when it comes to the hardware, however.

The first notable change between the Lumia 650 and the Lumia 650 XL is positioning of the headphone jack and Micro-USB charging port. They're flipped and centered on both ends. The Micro-USB charging port is oddly located in the top middle of the device, and the headphone jack is at the bottom middle. Perhaps this was a temporary internal design choice during the prototyping phase; we'll never know.

Under the removable back cover, the Lumia 650 XL also doesn't have a removable battery. The area where the battery would be removable is covered with a thin metal sheet, which is a shame. And the final change worthy of note is that the speaker is rear-firing instead of front-facing. The Lumia 650 had a nice front-facing speaker at the bottom below the screen, but the Lumia 650 XL switches that out for one located on the back.

The display is not as good as the one found on the Lumia 650. It's not OLED, which is a real bummer. One of the greatest things about the Lumia 650 was its OLED display, which looked great for a device that costs less than $300. The Lumia 650 XL featured a bog standard, rather awful LCD with less than stellar viewing angles and muted, dull colors.

Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't opt to increase the resolution with the increase in display size, meaning the display itself doesn't look as crisp as it did on the Lumia 650. It's still okay, with text that looks good enough, but because this display is an LCD instead of OLED, the whole display experience just isn't as nice.

The aluminum frame is arguably the best thing about the design of the Lumia 650 and subsequently the Lumia 650 XL. Buttons are clicky and feel good. Holding the phone in your hand just feels nice, as the unit is nice and light yet still features that metal frame that so many higher-end devices rock. It's a real nice looking phone. The camera on our unit doesn't work, unfortunately, but I believe it would've been the same set of sensors as found on the Lumia 650, so nothing special.

Worth noting however is that our prototype appears to have a front-facing LED flash. Weird.

Lumia 650 XL size

The Lumia 650 XL is comparable in size to the Lumia 950 XL, which isn't so bad. Admittedly, the Lumia 650 XL doesn't do as good a job at the screen-to-body ratio that you find on the 950 XL. Since both the 950 XL and 650 XL are comparable in overall size, the smaller 5.5-inch screen on the 650 XL leaves for a much bigger chin at the bottom of the front of the device.

This is made worse by the fact that the 650 XL uses on-screen navigation instead of dedicated capacitive buttons. So there's a lot of wasted space on the 650 XL, which isn't good for those with small hands. I guess that's what the smaller Lumia 650 exists, for those that would've struggled using the bigger version.

Microsoft did a much better job at utilizing the screen to body ratio real estate on the Lumia 950 XL, which crams a 5.7-inch display into what is essentially the size of a Lumia 650 XL. Still, if screen to body ratios aren't an issue to you, the Lumia 650 XL would've been more than fine. The bezels on the device definitely would've seem dated, even in 2016.

Nothing special

I don't know about you, but there was just something special about the Lumia 650 that was released. It was a charming little device, with a surprisingly nice design and build quality, relatively low-price, and way better than deserved display. While the Lumia 650 XL has a bigger display and bigger battery, it just doesn't feel special.

I think it's the less-than-stellar display that's making this phone unspecial. The best thing about the Lumia 650 was arguably its display, and that magic is gone on the Lumia 650 XL. I imagine the choice to go for an LCD on the larger one was a cost-cutting measure, as OLED screens are somewhat more expensive the bigger they are.

But because of this cost-cutting measure, the Lumia 650 XL has no charm. It doesn't have a standout feature that would've put it above the rest at the time. If the Lumia 650 and Lumia 650 XL had launched together, the smaller one would've had a better screen and overall better experience than the larger one. It would've made no sense.

So perhaps that's why Microsoft opted not to release a Lumia 650 XL. It had already done a great job with the Lumia 650 that was released, and an XL was likely unable to improve upon that at the time, while also keeping prices low-enough for the market that Microsoft was targetting. In a way, I'm glad the Lumia 650 XL was never released, because while a bigger display, bundled with that excellent 650 build quality is nice, the lack of OLED just ruins the best thing about the Lumia 650.

Alas, the Lumia 650 XL is just another device in a long list of Microsoft hardware to never see the light of day. What are your thoughts on this unreleased handset? Let us know in the comments!

Microsoft yesterday went about releasing its monthly round of Patch Tuesday cumulative updates for Windows 10 PCs, but Windows 10 Mobile was initially left out of the fun. Now, however, the February update for Windows 10 Mobile is rolling out to Windows 10 Mobile as KB4077675.

The update brings the build number up to 15254.248 for devices on version 1709 and contains the following:

• This build includes all the improvements from KB4074592.
• Addresses issue where the touch screen would remain unresponsive. In most cases, using the Power button to turn the screen off and on restores responsiveness. Occasionally, at startup, the touch screen would remain unresponsive, and the only recovery mechanism was to restart the phone.

The improvements cited in the release notes include a number of fixes that rolled out to Windows 10 version 1703 yesterday. Alongside the improvements, the update also contains a single known issue that PDFs cannot be rendered in Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 phones. The workaround, at least for now, is to download the Microsoft Reader app. Microsoft says it is working on a fix that will come in an upcoming release.

If you're still using a Windows 10 Mobile device as your daily driver, you should be able to grab this latest cumulative update now.

If you're still on the (now dead) Fast Ring for Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft recently pushed out an update bringing some of the Photos app's editing capabilities to Windows 10 Mobile users.

It doesn't bring in any of Windows 10 PC's more interesting features such as video editing, but it does allow you to ink on top of photos, select filters, and more. The version brings it to 18011.13438.0. The Photos app on the Fast Ring has also become rather slow for some, particularly on devices that aren't officially "supported" by Windows 10 Mobile.

It's possible that this update was made in error, considering Microsoft is no longer focused on bringing new features to Windows 10 Mobile, and the Fast Ring for W10M has come to an end. Microsoft may roll back these changes if so, but if you're a W10M die-hard, you'll at least get to enjoy these changes for the time being.

Thanks to Vjay and Hacer N for the tips.

Microsoft announced last week that the Windows 10 Mobile Insider Program will not be getting any more preview builds for Insiders to test. Development on Windows 10 Mobile has come to an end, with Microsoft only servicing the platform with security updates when necessary. So, how do you feel about the end of the Insider Program for Mobile?

If we're honest, the Windows 10 Mobile Insider Program has been dead ever since Microsoft introduced the feature2 branch. We've not seen a single new Windows 10 Mobile feature for over a year, and that sucks. If you were still hanging onto a Windows phone in the hopes that Microsoft would have a change of heart, it appears you're out of luck.

I like to look on the bright side of things, however. Now that Microsoft is washing its hands of Windows 10 Mobile, perhaps that means Andromeda is almost ready? I guess only time will tell. Anyway, make sure you let us know in the forums how you feel about Microsoft abandoning Windows 10 Mobile and the Mobile Insider Preview!

From the forum: Thoughts on the Insider Program for Mobile coming to an end?

The decline of Windows 10 Mobile has been happening slowly for a while now, with many longtime fans jumping ship to other platforms. Yet many still hang on, either because they've yet to decide on an alternate or have faith that we aren't truly approaching the final resting place.

Windows Central forum member Duffman77 recently started a thread asking exactly what — if anything at all — it would take for Microsoft to revive the Windows phone experience.

Duffman77 clarifies that a full revival would mean a true phone and not some other device with a phone tacked on as an afterthought. There are a ton of replies to the original post with other members arguing on both sides, with many believing that a future will entail something entirely new.

Do you think Microsoft can or will bring Windows 10 Mobile back from the dead? Do they need to start over fresh, and will the past come back to haunt them? Head over to the thread and let your voice be heard!

Join the discussion on the Windows Central forum

Microsoft has today confirmed that "no Mobile builds are coming" to Insiders who are still using Windows 10 Mobile and holding out for some kind of love from Microsoft. The company did originally state that more Mobile builds would be coming, but when asked if this was still happening, Jason Howard, senior program manager on the Windows Insider Team, said "Plans change. Such is the nature of things."

Whatever plans changed, it appears Microsoft is no longer committed to releasing new Insider builds for Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft will continue to service Windows 10 Mobile with monthly security updates, but outside of that the platform will not be receiving any more love. As such, this means Windows 10 Mobile Insider Program has more or less come to an end, not with a bang but a whimper.

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise if you've been paying attention. Microsoft already confirmed that it was no longer focused on building new Windows 10 Mobile hardware or features, and with no new features means there's no need for any new builds. Windows 10 Mobile will forever remain at Redstone 2 with the feature2 branch as a result.

That doesn't mean UWP apps won't continue to receive updates however. For now at least, most UWP apps are still targeting Windows 10 Mobile, which means apps should continue to work just fine. This won't last forever, though, so be prepared for the eventual abandonment of Windows 10 Mobile altogether.