Ten years ago this week, we published one of the strangest and most fascinating stories from the Windows Phone era: Microsoft’s unreleased Moonraker smartwatch. It was a moment frozen in time when Microsoft was still experimenting with bold hardware ideas, still trying to carve out a future in mobile, and still convinced it could build an ecosystem that stretched from your PC to your wrist.

(We later got a prototype in our hands on an even earlier idea, the Xbox Joule, Microsoft's canceled fitness watch for gamers).

Looking back now, Moonraker feels like a glimpse into an alternate timeline. A smartwatch with personality, color, and a UI that leaned into the Metro design language instead of running from it. It never shipped, but it showed how close Microsoft was to having a wearable strategy years before the Apple Watch reshaped the category.

A decade later, Moonraker stands as one of those “what could have been” moments that defined the Windows Phone era as ambitious, stylish, and ultimately abandoned just before the industry took off. — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief

The original article, "Meet the Moonraker, Microsoft's unreleased smartwatch," was published on June 12th, 2016, by Rich Edmonds.

New images have been found on the Tumblr account owned by Microsoft design employee Pei-Chi Hsie, clearly showing off a smartwatch running Microsoft's Windows OS. Codenamed the Microsoft Moonraker (model LS-50), this smartwatch looks to sport a Modern UI resembling that from Windows Phone.

Unfortunately, you're not able to purchase this device, nor are we sure if it will ever see the light of day. According to information obtained by The Verge, this smartwatch was actually cancelled by Microsoft after taking over Nokia's devices and services division.

The device was to be unveiled alongside the Lumia 930, offering support to read texts by lifting one's arm or lower the watch to turn off the display. The images were spotted by Evan Blass, who shared some details on Twitter: Behold, the Microsoft Moonraker (via http://t.co/f9wmwd8k8c) pic.twitter.com/k2cRZdS1md

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 12, 2015

As for Microsoft's own wearable that you can actually purchase today, the company is working on Band version 2, which is slated to be hitting sometime later this year.

It's currently unknown as to what Microsoft's plans are for the smartwatch. Would you have been interested in the Microsoft Moonraker? The images have since been removed from Tumblr.

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

At Build 2026, Microsoft unveiled its vision for the future of computing in the era of AI: A platform that exists liminally between devices and the cloud, capable of agentic capabilities and being always available to assist you in the flow of work.

This vision is codenamed Project Solara, but it’s more than just a vision. Microsoft is already working towards this future, building out a new, lightweight and secure OS on top of AOSP, not Windows, that it calls the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP.)

It’s an OS that’s designed to be invisible, hosting an Agent Shell that can dynamically load and tailor multiple cloud-based agents. It’s not a platform that runs traditional apps, but rather AI that can interface with services and tasks on your behalf via an adaptive access layer that the user interacts with.

"To enable this new era, we are introducing a chip-to-cloud platform, codenamed Project Solara, designed from the ground up for agent-first experiences and the new device form factors they enable," says Microsoft technical fellow Steven Bathiche. "Project Solara is specifically designed for the new era of agent-first devices. It establishes hardware and software requirements that will meet enterprise needs for manageability, security, and privacy, while ensuring critical user experiences are delivered."

Microsoft is diving head first into this growing new market as it's one of the few areas that don't require an expansive app catalog to be successful. The downfall of Windows Phone was the lack of apps, but that shouldn't be a problem for an agentic platform like MDEP, utilizing a just-in-time UI framework.

"These new devices are not meant to run traditional apps. They are designed for agents. That shift gives us more flexibility in the user interface, because the experience can adapt to the device, the screen size, the content, and even the mode of interaction—whether visual, voice, touch, or multimodal. "

The devices in question are conceptual at this point, but the prototype hardware that Microsoft has designed is already in use by hundreds of employees at the company. There's a "Badge Concept Device" and "Desk Concept Device", with the Badge Concept resembling that of a small phone with a touschreen that fits in your pocket, and the Desk Concept being similar to an 8-inch Alexa speaker.

"We are using these concept designs to inform how these form factors and platform can be built. They will become reference designs for the ecosystem to build turnkey solutions. Inside Microsoft, hundreds of employees are already using these concept devices to improve their workday." Qualcomm and MediaTek are building silicon that will power these agentic devices.

So far, it's unclear how Microsoft intends for these agentic devices to fit into our digital lives. Will they replace PCs and smartphones, or will they exist alongside them? Will people want to carry both a smartphone and agentic computer with them every day? These are the questions that still need to be answered.

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

Call me cynical, but I feel like Microsoft's entire ecosystem, especially Windows 11 and now Surface, is seemingly headed in the right direction. At the start of the year, the tech giant promised to improve the operating system's overall user sentiment by addressing major pain points based on customer feedback.

Microsoft has made major moves on this front over the past few months, including reducing where Copilot appears and more. And now, Microsoft, in partnership with NVIDIA at Computex 2026, has unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra — equipped with 128GB of unified memory and full CUDA support with Windows-compatible RTX Spark under the hood. This powerhouse device breathes fresh air into the company's hardware division, signaling the dawn of what it calls “a new era of PC.”

Microsoft and NVIDIA's promise of a new era of PC seemingly sparked nostalgia for Microsoft veteran and former President of the Windows Division Steven Sinofsky when the first Surface hybrid PC ran on NVIDIA Tegra ARM silicon back in 2010/11 (via Tom's Hardware).

For good measure, his X post included a video attachment recorded with a Windows Phone, before Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made the unfortunate decision to pull the plug on mobile.

"Kinda sad for Qualcomm," an X user posted. "They've invested so much to get Windows on Arm into a usable state, and Nvidia swoops in to take advantage of that. Nvidia is strategic." It's this exact post that triggered Sinofsky's nostalgic response and retort, which indicated that it was history repeating itself, but this time with a (unsurprising) dash of artificial intelligence.

"Nvidia “swoops in”? Do you think history started in 2020?" another user indicated, reiterating Sinofsky's sentiments. "The first two generations of Surface tablets ran on Nvidia Tegra 3 and Tegra 4 chips, almost 15 years ago."

Sinofsky's post shows that the hype around Windows on Arm is not new, and that at the time most people believed it would ride high on "strong partnerships." But as highlighted by our sister site Tom's Hardware:

"This prior push for Windows on Arm didn’t exclusively support Nvidia Tegra. Sinofsky points out that Windows 8 on Arm also supported Qualcomm and TI processors. However, we saw Microsoft switch to a Qualcomm partnership focus in the years following. That collaborative effort also didn’t break through, even when the much-lauded Nuvia Oryon architecture arrived with the Snapdragon X family."

That said, it'll be interesting to see if Windows on Arm will manifest to its full glory this time around with Microsoft and NVIDIA's new commitment. "I think this is a smart move by Microsoft, although it is unfortunate that we know its pricing is going to be sky-high due to, ironically, the demand for AI putting macro pressure on NAND and RAM prices," our Editor-in-Chief, Daniel Rubino, added to his Surface Laptop Ultra reaction. Time will tell.

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

It is funny looking back at this one as Windows Central fast approaches its 20th anniversary next year. I’m the person unboxing the LG Lancet in that 2015 article, yet I have almost no memory of the phone itself. It just vanished into the blur of mid‑range Windows Phone hardware that came and went. What I do remember vividly is Windows Phone 8.1 — the animations, the design, the confidence, the feeling that Microsoft was finally hitting its stride.

The Lancet may have faded from my mind, but that era didn’t. Eleven years later, it still feels like the pinnacle of Microsoft’s mobile ambitions, a moment when the platform had clarity, identity, and a future that felt possible.

Anyone have one of these? Share your experiences in our comments, as I'm curious! — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief

This article was originally published on May 28th, 2015, by Daniel Rubino.

A few weeks ago Verizon and LG released the LG Lancet the first LG branded Windows Phone in many years. Although the device can easily be described as entry-level or middle of the road, in terms of quality and specifications the Lancet is a well-done phone.

Priced at just $120 off-contract (or free using the Verizon Edge update program at $5 a month), the Lancet brings some higher-quality finesse to the budget phone market. Granted, Verizon and LG are barely promoting the device (we had to go buy one for this article), but that should not dissuade you from considering it.

Watch our unboxing and hands-on to see what $120 gets you these days in the Windows Phone world.

Specifications

Sales packaging

• LG Lancet
• Lithium Ion Battery
• Pre-installed SIM Card
• Wall/USB Charger
• Quick Reference Guide
• Product Safety & Warranty Brochure
• Important Consumer Information
• RF Brochure

Initial impressions

Shooting from the hip here I am actually quite impressed with the LG Lancet. Sure, it is Verizon and LG, two companies that have not exactly won me over in the last few years. However, putting aside my biases the Lancet is kind of a remarkable device for $120. Here are my top reasons why I like this phone:

LG Lancet – Pros

• Low cost / high-value
• Excellent display
• HD Voice Calling (Verizon's Advanced Calling 1.0
• Pocket-sized, nimble and ergonomic
• Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 out-of-the-box
• Snapdragon 410 = excellent performance
• Quality build, nice buttons, no creaks
• Double tap to wake (looking at you Lumia Icon)
• Camera in well-lit scenes

Okay, but the phone is far from perfect. So here are a few quibbles I have with the Lancet. I would not consider any of these deal breakers, but they are things to consider:

LG Lancet – Cons

• Micro instead of Nano SIM (In 2015?)
• No ambient light sensor
• On screen keys (meh)
• Camera in poorly-lit scenes

Overall, that is not a bad list of Pros vs Cons for a $120 phone. LG may have had cold feet for Windows Phone in the past, but I still have fond memories of the AT&T LG Quantum and before that the LG eXpo (a Windows Mobile device with a pico-projector and fingerprint reader…from 2009!).

In short, LG knows how to make compelling hardware. Granted, the LG Lancet is very far from exciting, especially in these Windows Phone doldrums with no high-end hardware. But that is not a fair assessment of this phone, which stand on its own merits, especially for the price.

I'll need more time with Lancet to decide if it is truly worth it, but off-the-cuff I think it makes a great entry-level device (or hold-over until something bigger and better comes along).

• Buy LG Lancet on Verizon Wireless (US only)
• LG Lancet forums at Windows Central

A security researcher recently revealed that Microsoft Edge stores and loads all saved passwords in plaintext in your PC's memory, not on disk, upon startup. Edge is the only Chromium browser that does this, according to researcher @L1v1ng0ffTh3L4N.

The revelation raised questions about the security of Edge's password management. The timing wasn’t great for Microsoft, since today is World Password Day and more people are thinking about password security.

Microsoft disagrees with the idea that passwords loading in plaintext is an issue. The company notes that accessing that information would require a PC to already be compromised. The tech giant goes as far as to suggest the behavior is a feature, not a bug:

"Safety and security are foundational to Microsoft Edge. Access to browser data as described in the reported scenario would require the device to already be compromised. Design choices in this area involve balancing performance, usability, and security, and we continue to review it against evolving threats. Browsers access password data in memory to help users sign in quickly and securely - this is an expected feature of the application. We recommend users install the latest security updates and antivirus software to help protect against security threats."

If Microsoft's approach to storing and loading passwords has you worried, or if you're just trying to improve security in honor of World Password Day, I recommend getting a dedicated password manager.

Why use a dedicated password manager

Storing passwords in a browser is easy, convenient, and free. The built‑in syncing in Edge, Chrome, and Safari works well enough for everyday, low‑risk accounts such as newsletters or forums.

But anything that touches your identity, finances, or personal data deserves more protection. A dedicated password manager adds a separate layer of security that isn’t tied to your browser, your operating system, or your primary cloud account.

Most password managers use authentication that is separate from your device or primary cloud account, which means an attacker would need to compromise both your vault and your master password to get in.

Dedicated password managers are more resistant to phishing attacks than browsers as well.

Which password manager is best?

Even among the best password managers, NordPass stands out. It's the top-ranked password manager by our colleagues at TechRadar and earned a near-perfect score in their review.

NordPass is owned by Nord Security, which is one of the largest consumer-focused cybersecurity companies. NordVPN is also part of the Nord Security group.

NordPass supports unlimited password storage, scans for data breaches, and can mask your email address.

Password generation, biometric support, and multi-factor authentication are all supported as well. NordPass has some handy features like secure sharing of passwords and granting a friend or family member emergency access.

There are Premium and Family plans available, both of which go on sale frequently. Between us, NordPass is on sale so often I recommend holding off if it's at full price. But right now, it is on sale. NordPass Premium costs $1.49 per month if you buy a two-year plan. NordPass Family costs $2.79 when you purchase a two-year plan.

There is also a free tier available if you'd like to dip your toe in or prefer to test NordPass before committing any money.

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

Windows Phone is getting a bit of a second life these days. 8Marketplace is restoring app access with custom patches. You can even get Discord to work on a Windows Phone if you're willing to risk going against Discord's terms of service.

One more app is in the works for Windows Phone, and it has me planning a trip into my loft to dig out my old Lumia. Vianigram is a Telegram client that works in spite of some limitations of Windows Phone in 2026.

Reddit user Legitimate_Post_2701 shared details about the app.

The app is still in its early stages, but its developer lists what's already working:

• Full login flow (phone, SMS, 2FA, QR, signup)
• Real chats powered by MTProto (no stubs)
• Chat list with pagination and live updates
• Typing indicators, online status and read states
• Chat screen with message bubbles (text, photos, voice, documents, polls)
• Rich text support (bold, italic, spoilers, links, mentions)
• Voice messages with waveform + scrubbing
• Background sync using system tasks (no reliable push required)
• Toast notifications and live tiles generated locally
• Smart coordination between UI and background (single MTProto socket)
• Avatars with preview + HD async loading
• LRU cache for chat pages

Push notifications don't work well on Windows Phone since the platform has been out of support for years. To get around this, the developer of Vianigram uses a combination of periodic maintenance task, VoIP-based triggers, and local cache usually used for toasts and tile updates.

I use Telegram for chats with my closest friends and family members. The official Telegram app for Windows works well, though I prefer Unigram. But if I break my Windows Phone out of storage, I'll need to rely on Vianigram. I'm excited to test it out and see what it's like to use a Windows Phone in 2026.

How to try Vianigram Telegram app for Windows Phone

Vianigram is not available through an app store. Instead, you'll have to join the Telegram channel dedicated to the app's developer. You can find that channel by searching for "PivoraApps" or "VianiumApps" within Telegram.

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

Recently, I covered how you can get a working version of Discord on Windows Phone, although it comes with some risk since third-party clients go against Discord’s terms of service.

That added bit of functionality, though, is just one example of how fans are keeping Windows Phone alive. Another is 8Marketplace, a community-driven project that brings back app access with custom patches and more, so let’s take a closer look at what 8Marketplace actually does.

First off, let’s cover what 8Marketplace is. It’s a community-driven replacement for the Windows Phone Store, built for devices running Windows Phone 8.0 and designed to bring app downloads back to these devices after Microsoft shut down the Windows Phone 8.1 store in 2019.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s talk about the patches. Apps like TweetIt, which was originally made for Twitter (now X), have been patched to work with Bluesky instead, while Facebook has been modified to connect to argim.net, a Latin American social networking service.

Honestly, community efforts like this never cease to amaze me. I said the same when covering Discord on Windows Phone, and I’ll admit, it’s tempting to go out and buy a Windows Phone again, if only for the nostalgia.

That said, this is still very much a passion project, not something I’d consider daily driving in its current form. It’s still in development, so bugs and limitations are to be expected.

Even with that in mind, it’s hard not to be impressed. For me, though, it also serves as a stark reminder of how Microsoft killed Windows Phone and how that decision still echoes today as the company struggles to find a real foothold in mobile.

We’re still hearing about plans like an Xbox mobile store, but so far, there’s nothing concrete to show for it.

Are you like me and still feeling a bit blue over the end of Windows Phone, but also impressed by the community efforts keeping it alive?

Whether you agree or not, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll below:

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

If you’re like me, you’ll have fond memories of Windows Phone, followed by a bit of a gut punch when you remember what could have been. It had the potential to compete with the likes of Google and Apple, or at least carve out a solid niche, but it was ultimately left behind as Microsoft shifted focus.

I was gutted when Microsoft decided to axe it. Thankfully, fans are still out there keeping it alive in their own ways. If, like me, you use Discord daily, this is going to feel especially wild. A fan has managed to get the app working on the iconic Windows Phone 7 (via Reddit), which is as impressive as it is unexpected.

From what I can tell, there are two ways to do this. One is an app called 7evencord, which has just entered its first version in beta . The other is MetroCord, and both appear to work in different ways.

I wish I still had my Windows Phone lying around to test this out. I actually got sidetracked while writing this, browsing eBay for a pre-owned Windows Phone since my current phone is on its last legs, but I held off — for now.

It is worth mentioning that there are some risks involved, as Discord advises against using third-party clients, which both 7evencord and Metrocord technically are, so if you plan on trying any out, do so at your own risk.

Either way, it's honestly great to see Windows Phone still getting some love in 2026, even if it's coming from the remnants of its dedicated community. In fact, I even recently saw how someone else on Reddit shared TikTok running on a Windows Phone.

Do you still use a Windows Phone, or have you moved on?

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

The r/WindowsCentral subreddit continues to grow, and I'm having a great time conversing with readers and Windows fans.

One discussion thread that caught my eye recently comes from u/fisforfaheem, who has found success turning their Android phone back into a Windows Phone using a launcher I'd not yet heard of.

It's called METROV, and it was released almost exactly a year ago on April 30, 2025. It's still being updated (the most recent version 1.9.5 was pushed out less than a week ago), and it has so far racked up more than 10,000 downloads with an overall rating of 4.4/5 at Google Play.

As u/fisforfaheem states, METROV is "the closest I've felt to using a Lumia again." They explain that although they've tried top alternatives like Launcher 10 and Square Home in the past, the apps didn't make it past the "Android pretending to be a Windows Phone" feel.

That's some high praise, and u/fisforfaheem calls out tiles that feel natural, a clean and minimal UI, as well as animations and a layout that delivers "that old Metro vibe" so many of us don't want to ever let go of.

Is METROV perfect? Not according to the OP. They state that there are "a few bugs" and that "live tiles can glitch sometimes."

Regardless of bugs, METROV certainly delivers the Lumia with a Windows Phone 8.1 feel, with a minimalist, dynamic tile-based layout.

The app's Google Play page highlights deep customization options for tile sizes and colors, and it states that there are "no ads, no tracking, no clutter."

The Windows Central community chimes in on METROV

It doesn't seem like METROV is positioned to usurp the immensely popular Square Home and Launcher 10, but other subreddit members have chimed in with their own opinions of the upstart launcher.

One user points out that they've been using Square Home for 10 years. Although they've also tested METROV, they went back to Square because it supports foldables.

Another user states that they've been using METROV ever since they got a Samsung S26 Ultra.

Comment from r/windowscentral

And another user says that they're going to have to "pick up an Android phone to try it out again." I'm in the same boat, currently seeing what Apple has been up to with its iPhones after years of Android use.

On the app's Google Home page, five-star ratings call out the "great animations" and a "faithful" approach to Windows Phone 8.1.

It's not all rosy. As one post points out, METROV "obviously still needs a lot of work." It's also claimed that METROV's developer "hates criticism," though I have no proof of that.

Some users call out METROV's in-app purchases, which appear to range from about $2 up to $7. As the OP points out, they're using METROV for free and still enjoying the experience.

Windows Central's take

I've yet to test METROV myself, but I'm pushing it on my coworkers with Android phones to test it out.

In the meantime, I'm hoping more of our readers can chime in with any experience they have with METROV. Although Launcher 10 and Square Home are far more popular, it's great to see alternatives entering the market.

Are you already using METROV to recreate the Windows Phone 8.1 feel on your modern Android? If not, is it something you'd consider? Which launcher, if any, are you using instead? Let me know in the comments section below!

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

As announced last month, the NexPhone already caught attention for daring to put Windows 11, Android, and Linux on a single device — but its promo video takes things to another level. This is our clearest look yet at how the triple‑OS setup actually works in motion, from full Windows 11 desktop mode to seamless mobile switching. It’s still a prototype, but seeing the device boot, dock, and multitask in real time makes the idea of a modern “Windows Phone” feel far less theoretical than before.

We already knew about the NexPhone, having gone hands-on with it earlier this year. But now you can see NexDock's promotional video for the unique device.

The video, which you can see below, hit YouTube late last month. This week, Emre Kosmaz, the founder and CEO of Nex Computer, reshared the video. Kosmaz also noted that he's one of the actors in the promo.

A "true" Windows phone

Windows Phone is not coming back from the grave, but there's still reason for Windows Phone enthusiasts to be excited this year. The NexPhone is on the way, and you can now get a closer look at the device through a promotional video.

The NexPhone is a Windows phone, not a Windows Phone (emphasis on the lower case "p"). The phone does not run Windows Phone, Windows 10 Mobile, or the nonexistent Windows 11 Mobile.

Instead, the NexPhone is a unique device that can run three different operating systems: Android, Linux, and Windows 11. The phone can switch between Android and Linux at the push of a button or switch to Windows 11 with a reboot.

When launched into Windows 11, the NexPhone has an interface that mimics the Windows Phone Start screen.

While Windows Phone fans may enjoy using any mobile device featuring a tiled interface, arguably the main draw of the NexPhone is its ability to connect to a lapdock or monitor.

You can use the NexPhone with your operating system of choice when carrying it as a phone, then connect it to an external device for a full PC experience. In many ways, it's the full vision of Continuum realized in 2026.

The NexPhone is made by Nex Computer, a company that makes laptop accessories. YouTuber Shane Craig showcased the NexDock (6th Gen) recently. The NexDock is essentially a laptop powered by an external device, such as a phone.

With the development of the NexPhone, Nex Computer expands its offering into the other side of the equation by making a phone that can connect to docks, screens, and devices like the NexDock.

Pricing and availability

The NexPhone costs $549.

You can reserve one today for $199 and then pay the remaining balance of $349 later this year when the device starts shipping (expected Q3 2026).

Over to you: Do you think the NexPhone will capture the hearts of Windows Phone fans? Let us know in the comments.

Much of the gaming I do in my downtime is now split between a ridiculously overpowered desktop PC, loaded with power-hungry components and unnecessary RGB, and the rest on my beloved Steam Deck. It's a sound system, and one that gets me away from the same desk I sit at all day to work, but it could be even better.

The problem is, handheld gaming PCs like Valve's iconic progenitor and Windows-based responses like the high-scoring ASUS ROG Ally and its Microsoft-centric offshoot, the equally appreciated Xbox Ally X, are just too damn big to be genuinely convenient. Sure, they're portable, and I've traveled around the world with both types, but they take up too much space in my carry-on luggage.

We're already craving more affordable, strange handhelds to offset the ultra-premium options like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and the Lenovo Legion Go 2. As Rebecca says, "It would be great to see some smaller designs like this that are actually, truly portable and better protected." She's right, and I recently found a relic that perfectly demonstrates how PlayStation did it right in the past.

That faint rumbling sound is thousands of rolling eyeballs from gamers who don't appreciate my comparison between Valve's fully fledged PC and Sony's 333 MHz PSP Go from 2011, but hear me out — it's the pocketability that I miss. Yes, the singular hockey puck-esque thumbstick wasn't ideal, and the shoulder buttons were a spongey mess, but the sliding-screen mechanic was clever.

We came close to seeing its form factor return in 2024 with AYANEO's Slide, but it only revealed a hidden QWERTY keyboard, like some mutated BlackBerry with tacked-on joypad controls. Still, if Mr. Mobile and CrackBerry Kevin can spearhead the Clicks Communicator on the back of that kind of nostalgia, why shouldn't I yearn for a spiritual PC sequel to the PSP Go?

After all, why not? What's preventing manufacturers from returning to this pocket-sized convenience category anyway? Well, even a light pondering of the topic reveals at least two answers: the ergonomics of built-in controls will be compromised, and smartphones are already capable of running modern games without issue — but I hate playing games on my phone.

The most straightforward answer to both is a detachable joypad, something like the Backbone Pro, but it isn't quite right for me. It's another thing to carry, and I want to avoid carrying a bag full of extra gadgets. Plus, I'm far too precious about my phone's battery to force it into playing AAA games. If only there were something closer to a PC— you can probably guess where I'm going with this.

The solution was Windows Phone

You know we used to be called Windows Phone Central, right? We're never letting it go, especially when I think about modern uses for a smartphone running Windows — or even Linux, for that matter. Naturally, I couldn't expect this fantastical phone-turned-handheld to use any standard PC parts like M.2 solid-state drives, but the software side could work.

In fact, people are already running x86-64 Windows PC games on Android via Winlator, so it isn't that far-fetched. However, possibility rarely goes hand in hand with viability, and there's just no reason for this strange in-between hardware to exist. I know how powerful smartphones are and that they can play AAA games, but Android isn't good enough. I want Windows in my pocket.

Big surprise, the Windows Central guy wants Windows. I can hear the "just buy a better phone" crowd, but that's not what I'm craving. I want some entry-level, budget-friendly, compact, and pocketable handhelds that won't threaten to replace any of the high-end category leaders — no dropshipped trash, either. I'm definitely in the minority, but I miss those cute and compact consoles.

Am I just a sad old man yelling at clouds? Did the Temu-flooded clones solve this already? Let me know.

In 2018, Microsoft canceled plans to ship a new Windows-based OS designed from the ground up for a new dual-screen phone form factor, codenamed Andromeda. This special version of Windows would have been a continuation of Windows Phone, but it unfortunately never saw the light of day.

The phone itself ended up shipping as Surface Duo, but when it launched it was running Android instead of Windows. To this day, we've never really had a chance experience this mythical dual-screen version of Windows Phone for ourselves, that is until now.

Released just a few days ago, developer Gustave Monce has painstakingly ported over a recently leaked build of Andromeda OS to the Surface Duo, and packaged it into an easy to install FFU file that you can flash onto your device using his own flashing utility. This build is said to be from after the project was canceled, meaning it's still unfinished, but is our best look yet at what the company was working on before it was abandoned.

I've detailed Microsoft's plans for Andromeda OS countless times in the past, but now I get to experience it for myself on a real dual-screen device, and it's very unique. Microsoft was planning to really embrace the idea of a digital pocket notebook with Andromeda, complete with a home screen that's actually a digital notebook that's always ready for you to take notes on.

The OS exists above the notebook, with things like the Start menu and Cortana being accessible with gestures swiping from either the left or right edge of the screen. By default, apps open on the left but can be dragged over to the right display, and multitasking is automatic with apps moving over when necessary.

It's so fascinating to see the Start menu with Live Tiles on a Surface Duo, especially when you consider the fact that this was the original plan for Microsoft's dual-screen phone. Windows in your pocket, running modern UWP apps on a unique and modern OS that was designed to continue Microsoft's Windows phone ambitions.

Unfortunately, the build of Andromeda OS that runs on Surface Duo is very buggy, mainly because Andromeda OS was never finished. Monce says that he's working to address some issues such as postures and sleep not functioning as intended, but general stability and UI bugs are unlikely to be addressable.

If you want to try out this leaked build of Andromeda OS on your Surface Duo, be warned that installing it will wipe your Android data in the process. You can set up a dual-boot scenario, but it will remove all your user data.

This isn't Monce's first time venturing into porting Windows onto the Surface Duo either. He was the main developer behind bringing Windows 10 and Windows 11 to Surface Duo, as well as Microsoft's other canceled dual-screen version of Windows, known as Windows 10X.

With Andromeda OS now out there in the wild, we can finally close the book on this chapter of Microsoft, Windows Phone, and Surface's history. Between 2016 and 2018, there was an effort to push Windows Phone into a new category. It's such a shame it never saw the light of day.

It's almost Christmas vacation, and I've pretty much mentally checked out. But there's one subject not even Dan Rubino himself can stop me writing about: Windows Phone! ANY excuse, ANY time, ANY where. And that time is right now, right here.

That's right, folks, Windows Phone COULD RETURN thanks to this Change.org petition, put together by Σπύρος Κ of Greece.

For all three of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Windows Phone was the mythical third mobile phone ecosystem, behind Android and iOS. The Windows-like interface really put the "fun" in functional, with minimalistic app tiles that surfaced relevant in-app information, while also allowing for heaps of customization.

Notoriously, Microsoft killed the platform with a tweet, saying it was no longer their priority, despite having actively curated a community of millions, atop millions of phone sales via partners like Nokia. Microsoft acquired Nokia's phone division and shut it down before even really giving it a chance, something CEO Satya Nadella would later express regret about.

This Change petition is just another in a long line of similar petitions hoping to drum up support for a Windows Phone revival based on Windows 11. It's another petition that Microsoft will sadly ignore.

"We're calling on Microsoft to revive Windows Phone, a platform ahead of its time that still has a passionate fanbase," the petition reads.

"Windows Phone offered a clean, fast, smooth and innovative experience with features like Live Tiles, deep Microsoft integration, and a bold, unique design. In a world dominated by iOS and Android, there's room—and demand—for a third ecosystem focused on simplicity, productivity, and user choice. We're not asking for a return to the past, we're asking for a reimagined Windows Phone, powered by today's technology."

All we have left of Windows Phone is nostalgia, and fun concepts like the above. Microsoft has no official plans to get back into the space, even though they arguably desperately need a phone endpoint in my view.

There was a time where it felt Microsoft was going to offer us a Windows-like phone experience based on Android, buoyed by the very dead Surface "Andromeda" phone and the abandoned Surface Duo dual-screen phone. After Surface architect Panos Panay left and former CEO Steve Ballmer stepped down, Microsoft simply hasn't had the same passion or drive to build consumer electronics this side of Xbox. And even Xbox is increasingly moving to an OEM-first model with devices like the Xbox Ally built by ASUS.

I do genuinely think there might be room for a true Windows 11 PC phone, that has some kind of Xbox-like Full Screen Experience designed for small handsets. The versatility of Windows and openness could really challenge Android and iOS in perhaps some small niche use cases, in a universe where Arm devices are getting powerful enough to run full-bore Windows, and Windows Arm emulation is improving via Prism.

STILL, it's fun to dream. As long as Satya Nadella is CEO of Microsoft, something like this is almost certainly never going to happen. The ship has sailed far too long and hard into the azure blue.

The lack of a phone platform is why I firmly believe Microsoft will never win in AI. Perhaps someone with a time machine could go back and have Satya Nadella take the Nokia acquisition more seriously given what was coming. Alas ... for now, we can only think about "what could've been."

Do you think Microsoft should give its mobile OS a second chance, or is it better left in the past? Vote in the poll and let me know where you stand!

They called me mad, they called me crazy. But, what if it's actually genius?

Since the Xbox Full Screen Experience debuted (often called the XFSE), I couldn't help but wonder about other ways it could be applied. Remember Windows Media Center of yore? Back when you could turn your PC into a TV-focused media player designed not for the desk, but for the sofa? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Pepperidge Farm also remembers when it was officially killed off, some ten years ago.

It's perhaps ironic, then, that the Xbox Full Screen Experience is once again trying to do something similar. Windows 11 is trying to become TV and sofa-friendly again, accessible primarily via a Xbox controller (or even Xbox remote), complete with easy multi-tasking, simple access to apps, and more user-friendly access to games and other similar services.

As of writing, the "apps" section of the Xbox Full Screen Experience is a bit anaemic, and you can't add or control additional things you want in there, instead you're stuck with whatever Xbox decides is an "app." But there's no reason to think that won't eventually change. I see no reason why we won't eventually be able to get quick access to things like Netflix, or indeed any web app, right within the Xbox FSE, Windows 11 desktop be damned. There are more web apps than ever on the Microsoft Store too ...

But then ... I got to thinking. Yes, I do that sometimes.

Since the Xbox FSE is essentially just a full screen app that sits on top of full Windows, disabling things like the Desktop as optional, and optimizing the experience around devices like the Xbox Ally ... couldn't we ...? No, no. That's crazy.

In my fever-induced insomnia. I dared to dream. What if we could have a Start Menu Full Screen Experience ... you know, like a smartphone launcher ...? What if the Windows 11 widgets panel was fully opened up and improved?! What if we could have a *Windows 11 Phone Full Screen Experience* too?!

Hear me out. It's NOT that crazy.

Windows on Arm is half way there

Microsoft's Copilot+ PC range hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but as Intel woes deepen, it increasingly looks like Windows' consumer-grade future lies in the Arm camp.

Microsoft has been working incredibly hard to improve the Arm translation layer for Windows over the past few years, and the fruits of that labor is starting to pay off. Windows on Arm is nowhere near the dud it was at launch, and new chips from Qualcomm have helped elevate it even further. The Snapdragon X Elite range has vastly boosted the viability of the platform, and adoption has been increasing too, with some estimates pinning Arm-based laptops hitting anywhere up to 12%. It's not huge numbers, but it's certainly moving in the right direction.

RELATED: How to turn your Android Phone into a "Windows Phone"

The big bottleneck for Windows on Arm devices revolved around translation layer overheads. But an uptick in native app support, improved Windows 11 Prism emulation, and now, boosted Windows on Arm gaming support — Windows on Arm has become an incredibly viable alternative.

But wasn't this about phones, not laptops? Well, sure, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Crucially, it wouldn't take a ton of work to bring it to phones, either, given that Windows on Arm laptops already share many of the same hardware hooks. There are tons of videos on YouTube showcasing this, including this one below.

One of the big issues Windows Phone always had was app adoption, but in 2025 that seems like less of an issue than ever. Web apps have become robust options, and more than ever, I feel like an ecosystem that actually had fewer apps might be desirable. The relentless noise and barrage of addictive algorithmic junk we get through our iOS and Android devices could represent a landscape ripe for a differentiator — one that focuses on specific use cases. A PC in your pocket, rather than a doom-scrolling machine in your pocket. But hey, TikTok and Instagram are up on the Microsoft Store too if you want to go down that route.

Microsoft was ahead of the curve with Windows 10 Mobile's Continuum, which lives on now as Samsung DeX. Continuum allowed you to take a Windows 10 Mobile, connect it to a monitor and mouse and keyboard, and instantly have a Windows PC-like experience. Samsung DeX is based on Android, and while "okay," it's nowhere near as powerful as a full-blown Windows on Arm PC in your pocket would be.

Thousands upon thousands of games, full-blown native PC apps like Adobe Creative Cloud, Edge, Chrome, Teams, Spotify, and even professional apps like Blender and Visual Studio Code. The app ecosystem alone could create a completely new ecosystem and beefy differentiator for a phone that could, when called upon, act like a full PC.

The Xbox Full Screen Experience fully proves the concept, too.

The Xbox Full Screen Experience proves the concept

The Xbox Full Screen Experience was put together in little over a year I was told, marking an unprecedented collaboration between the Xbox and Windows teams.

The idea was simple: create an app that would sit on top of full Windows 11, and make devices like the Lenovo Legion Go and Xbox Ally more user-friendly when Xbox gamepads were the primary input.

The result is not perfect, but it's still early days. And it does work. Holding down the Xbox button on these devices calls a mobile-phone like task switcher. Using the joysticks and buttons to navigate "just works" with lots of apps, and touch controls are always there as a fallback, too.

It's enabled by default on the Xbox Ally handheld range, but it's also coming to desktop PCs and other PC gaming handhelds in the coming weeks. You will be able to designate any app as a "launcher," such as Steam's Big Picture Mode. Windows Media Center from the Vista era was essentially an ancestor of this concept.

With the Xbox Full Screen Experience, you can always exit out of the app and load up the full Windows Desktop if you so choose. And much like Windows 10 Mobile's Continuum, you can dock the Xbox Ally to a monitor or TV, connect a mouse and keyboard, and pull up some spreadsheets, do your taxes, or write a poorly written blog post like this one.

It's really not a stretch to envision a phone or phablet-sized touch device, powered by Windows on Arm, with a "Start Menu Full Screen Experience" layer. It could simply hide the Windows Desktop, use the Start Menu as the app launcher layer, and even have a swipe right to open the Windows 11 Widgets panel.

If Microsoft could throw the Xbox Full Screen Experience together in just over a year for a niche market like PC gaming handhelds, imagine what it could do with some more serious investment?

All you'd need is some telephony, some polish on the APIs and touch controls, some developer guidance, some third-party OEMs willing to take a chance, and a wing and a prayer. What would it look like if the cancelled single-screen Surface Phone ran on an OS like this, offering a true differentiator against the locked-down slop machines that dominate mobile phones now?

I'm oversimplifying how easy it would be to actually achieve this, obviously ... but, I dare to dream.

Alas, it would (probably) never happen

Back to reality ... it would likely never happen.

Microsoft is its own worse enemy, and more beholden to shareholders than ever. The era of "doing cool stuff for the sake of it" is well and truly over at Microsoft, as the firm chases shareholder whims to inflate its share price above everything else.

That whim right now revolves around artificial intelligence, but I can't help but feel that this could fully feed into a phone play as well. I've written all the way back in 2023 how Microsoft won't win in AI because it has no presence on mobile, with Android and iOS defaults basically setting the tone. Google Gemini is going to dominate Android and iOS both, with Copilot left without even the vaguest hope of finding any space on mobile. Even Samsung AI seems to be better at delivering a consumer-grade experience right now.

When the bubble bursts — Microsoft will remain, providing cloud computer to other companies, in a landscape once again dominated by Google and its models.

It could've been different. Microsoft was conceptually ahead with things like Cortana. It had a range of devices that would've benefitted from AI hooks, like the Microsoft Band, Cortana Invoke speaker, and even Xbox Kinect.

And of course, devices like the Surface Duo and Surface Neo could've served better had they sported full Windows and attempted something different, rather than limped along with the half-hearted support it got from Google's Android.

No Cyllis! I refuse!

It's fun to dream, ain't it? Alas, a dream is all we have left. That and caffeine. More caffeine. Oh, and check out these Windows on Arm laptop deals so I can keep my job, thanks chat.

"The decision I think a lot of people talk about — and one of the most difficult decisions I made when I became CEO — was our exit of what I'll call the mobile phone as defined then," indicated Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "In retrospect, I think there could have been ways we could have made it work by perhaps reinventing the category of computing between PCs, tablets, and phones."

The quote above discusses Satya Nadella's strategic mistake after becoming CEO, which potentially sealed Windows Phone's huge potential and fate in the Microsoft graveyard. But perhaps more interestingly, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer indicated that the company "paranoia and confidence" in Windows fumbled its opportunity in the smartphone landscape.

"We were too confident. I don’t think we stuck with Windows too long," Ballmer added. "I think what we did is we tried to put Windows in places that it didn’t naturally go".

And while the Windows Phone ship has seemingly completely sailed for Microsoft, a visionary designer recently shared a stunning concept inspired by Microsoft's Windows Phone dubbed Windows Astria.

Bringing Fluent Design to Mobile: My Reimagining of Windows Phone UI and Live Tiles (Windows Astra Concept) from r/windowsphone

Right off the bat, Windows Astria is heavily inspired by Microsoft's modern Windows 11 Fluent Design language. It also brings back Windows Aero from the Windows Vista days back to life, much like how Apple borrowed a page from Microsoft's book with Liquid Glass. The Mica effect is consistent across the operating system, including tiles, settings, and notifications.

Live Tiles made Windows Phone's user experience more appealing, and as you'd have guessed, the feature has also made a comeback in the concept, which as described by the concept designer "is scaled for modern screens, fully dynamic, information-dense, and beautifully integrated with the new visual style."

One of the main reasons that led to Windows Phone's death was a weak app ecosystem. Its unique architecture made it difficult for developers to build apps, but The Windows Phone Revival concept addresses this issue. Windows Astria runs Android apps natively using a technology similar to the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA). As such, the Windows user experience is consistent across all apps.

Perhaps more interestingly, the concept design, Windows Astria, isn't restricted to standard smartphones alone. It also works seamlessly on devices with a bigger screen real estate, potentially making it futureproof in a world that's rapidly embracing foldable phones. The designer demonstrates this via the Luna Fold (which is heavily inspired by Microsoft's Surface phone but with a modern twist).

FAQ

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.

Back then, Surface's success raised expectations for Windows phones to match in design and innovation, and our own Jason Ward had no qualms in speaking his mind during "Warditorials." So, did you skip the Lumia 950/XL?

The article below was first published by Jason Ward on Saturday, Oct 31, 2015 — Ben Wilson, Senior Editor

A few months ago my wife and I watched a movie about a time-traveling law enforcer who was chasing an elusive time-hopping bomber through time. At the conclusion of the film, our time-traveling hero finally came face-to-face with his nemesis.

In a mind-bending paradox, he found that his enemy was actually his future self. As his twisted future self arrogantly pontificated about how he had become what he was, the "present" self adamantly rejected the notion and declared he'd never become what he saw before him. He then shot and killed his future self.

He became the instrument of his own demise.

In good company

On October 6th, 2015 Microsoft introduced an impressive repertoire of high-end first-party hardware. HoloLens brought us augmented reality and wearable holograms. Band 2 debuted with an improved design and curved display. The Surface Pro 4 is the thinner, lighter yet more powerful tablet that can replace your laptop. The Surface Book, Microsoft's "ultimate laptop", also doubles as a detachable digital clipboard.

It was among this high-end repertoire of Windows 10 hardware that Microsoft launched the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, its most powerful Lumias yet.

"A" game

Though these Lumias had their start under Stephen Elop's regime, the esteemed Nokia design has benefited in part from the "Panay touch" that brought us the Surface. The Lumias 950/XL borrow liquid cooling from the Surface. This innovation is a first for any mobile phone.

The phones also sport iris scanning, a technology not yet found on the industry leading iPhone or Samsung Galaxy devices. Both Lumias, through Continuum and Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform, can also become your "PC" with a wireless (or wired) connection to a larger screen, mouse, and keyboard.

The aforementioned combination of features found only on the Lumias 950/XL are accompanied by a powerful pack of the usual specs. From a high-resolution screen, generous RAM, leading imaging technology, expandable storage, a USB type C port and more, these devices rival anything the competition has brought to the table. This isn't just fan talk. Microsoft ensured that these specs are comparable to or surpass those found in even the month old iPhone 6S Plus. Which Apple won't likely update until Q3 2016.

The best yet

As with any company, the next iteration of Redmond's devices is certainly on the roadmap. That's just good business. Rest assured when Apple launched the iPhone 6S/Plus this year, Cupertino was also prepping the iPhone 7 for a Fall 2016 debut.

Apple fans knew this. Millions of the Cupertino faithful eagerly purchased "the best iPhone's yet" when they launched this September. Moreover, some of these fans had been waiting only a year for this upgrade, having been among the record-breaking millions who purchased the iPhone 6/Plus in their debut weekend last year.

As I shared in "The Lumia's 950/XL are Microsoft's colorful iMacs", Windows Phone fans have been waiting for 1-3 years for a new high-end smartphone that matches or surpasses what the competition offers.

With the Lumia 950/XL, Microsoft has delivered on that. And for those not blown away with the devices' aesthetics, the phone's removable back covers provide users the option to utilize an assortment of attractive 3rd party covers.

Putting off for tomorrow

Ironically, many fans have decided to pass on the best Lumia's yet in lieu of what they are certain will be better devices next year. This certainty of a better device "next year" is nothing new of course. In tech, one thing is certain.

This reality is inescapable and leaves many users who always want the latest and greatest chasing the wind. "Next year" will always be better.

Inaction speaks

Actions speak louder than words. The opposite is also true. A lack of action can speak volumes. The wrong message can be derived from what is done or not done.

The Lumias 950 and 950 XL are for the fans.

So what message might an industry of consumers, journalists, investors, rivals and others derive from a fan base that may be unresponsive to the debut of Microsoft's first-party Windows 10 Mobile phones? "Meh." And that's not good. It's actually pretty bad. Let's look at Microsoft's mobile efforts through the lens of the industry.

Most industry pundits and consumers see Microsoft's 2.7% representation in the mobile arena as a floundering, barely visible effort that consumers and developers have rejected, and many journalists and bloggers have written off. Apple's and Android's 97% domination of the market has already declared Windows Phone's demise in the minds of many.

Despite the doom and gloom, however, one hope remained.

Windows 10's debut on PC was well-received. With 120 million installs in 3 months, increased store engagement and revenue for developer's part of the Universal Windows Platform is off to a great start.

Impressive sales of the Surface Book and positive reception of the Surface Pro 4 are the layings of a solid foundation for Windows 10 first-party (and OEM) hardware. The Band 2 has also been a well-received first-party hardware from Redmond.

It's within this context that the phone, the most critical component of Microsoft's mobile efforts and the other part of the Universal Windows Platform strategy, exists. And it's this most critical component that has, ironically, received the most criticism.

The Lumias 950/XL are debut devices positioned to showcase the debut Windows 10 Mobile OS. For a company with little consumer, developer, industry and media support of its mobile efforts, the fan base's rejection of Microsoft's best first-party phones to date, at such a critical time, will likely send a clear message to the industry.

The masses will likely interpret Windows Phone fans' ambivalence toward these devices as a rejection of Microsoft's floundering mobile platform.

Consider. The industry can clearly see that the 950 and 950 XL boast high-end and competitive hardware with unique features and functionality. Considering that many fans have endured using 1-3yr old hardware to date, updated competitive hardware that takes advantage of unique capabilities of the new OS would seem desirable from the perspective of an observer.

If fans shrug these devices off at the critical debut of the new mobile OS, objective onlookers such as consumers, journalists, investors, rivals and the like, may perceive that as a rejection of the OS and an endorsement to finally write the platform off.

Victims of their own success

So why are many fans giving the new Lumias the cold shoulder? Among the reasons submitted, the prevailing reason seems to be that the devices aren't what some fans expected from the company that brought us the Surface. They want the rumored "Surface Phone". The Intel-powered, Continuum-enabled, "PC in your pocket" that they are confident Panos Panay and team will bring.

Ok. I feel you. Me too.

Herein lies the problem. The Surface line has not only inspired OEMs. Its sleek design and intricate hardware and software synergy has also inspired Windows Phone fans.

These Windows 10 devices that transcend a fixed form, powered by Continuum and are receptive to multiple input modalities like touch, pen, voice, keyboard, and mouse have seared an image of Windows Phone's future potential in our minds.

Do you see what I see?

A Microsoft first-party Windows 10 Continuum-powered "phone" purposed as the PC in our pockets, in our estimation, should boast Surface-like looks and power. Ok, so that's not the Lumia 950 family. So let's say Panos and team had their run of Windows Phone over the past year. Would we have the "Surface Phone" instead of the Lumia 950 family this Fall? Probably not.

You see the Surface isn't only awesome because of its awesome hardware. The way that awesome hardware works with the relatively mature and great software is what makes it awesome. Note that maturity is specific to the tablet/laptop form factor and use case scenarios that are less app dependent than a phone.

The click of the N-trig pen to initiate OneNote (and now Cortana) works seamlessly with how we use the device(s) in tablet (clipboard) mode. The easy click into the type cover preps us for productivity in laptop mode. Now Windows 10 on PC is mature enough to make various input modalities and the way we use a Surface is truly amazing.

Windows 10 on phone isn't there yet.

Again, if Panay had full run of the Windows Phone project last year, there would likely have been a disconnect in the progress of the hardware in relation to the progress of the software. We've seen Windows 10 Mobile. It's getting there.

What we want

If we envision how we anticipate using a "Surface Phone," multiple input modalities come to mind. Touch, voice, keyboard and mouse we have on an immature yet to be released Continuum-powered Windows 10 Mobile. What we don't yet have is pen. I believe pen input has an even greater place on a phablet than on a Surface for everyday scenarios.

As the primary computing device that is always with us, I imagine the pen will have a front row seat on a Windows 10 Mobile phone. I envision the application of pen support beyond apps like OneNote or art apps. I see an OS with interactive live tiles that are responsive to pen interaction in varied ways. Combined with Continuum, a "Surface Phone" will be a digital notepad as well as the "phone" that will replace your tablet and become your PC.

At any rate, my point is this, Windows 10 Mobile is not quite ready for a Surface-like experience on phone. Even if Panos Panay were in Elop's "seat" last year, that likely would not have changed things.

The Butterfly Effect

I laid out the following timeline in my previous piece.

If the Lumia 950/XL sell well, that will create an impressive surge in Lumia sales for Q4 2015. This surge will likely lead to higher Store engagements and developer revenues for the quarter. This data will provide powerful talking points for the Universal Windows Platform to encourage developer support for the likely activation of the app Bridges around Q2 2016. By Q3/Q4 2016 Panay's "Surface Phone" may surface and benefit from initial ported iOS and Android apps courtesy of the Bridges. By Q1 2017 OEM partners may begin building high-end Windows "phones" inspired by what Panay delivers in Q4 2016.

What's the catalyst for this Windows 10 Mobile ecosystem boost? Successful sales of Microsoft's debut first-party smartphones, the Lumia's 950 and 950 XL (ideally with broader distribution), during the debut of the new mobile OS upon which much hope has been built.

Additionally, Alphabet's (Google) Android's assimilation of Chrome spells trouble. A 2016 introduction and 2017 debut of a unified Android/Chrome OS (the world's most popular mobile OS) will likely draw developer's attention ever further from Windows.

Sadly, in waiting for the Windows "phone" we envision and feel we deserve, we, like the protagonist in the movie I opened with, may end up "shooting" ourselves.

I could be wrong. Time and how these devices sell will tell.

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.

Collectively, we all miss the days of Windows Phone, and it's fun to see how eagerly we awaited Windows 10 Mobile.

The article below was first published by Daniel Rubino on Wednesday, Oct 28, 2015. — Ben Wilson, Senior Editor

AdDuplex has given us an early look at their October stat report revealing changes within the Windows Phone ecosystem. Of course, due to the stalling of Windows Phone device releases in preparation for Windows 10, none of this should be too surprising.

Here are some of the highlights from the report.

Windows 10 Mobile is now on 5.7 percent of all Windows Phones up from 4.7 percent last month. The one percent increase reflects the growing stability and finality of the forthcoming update

In the U.S., the HTC One (#8) more popular than Lumia 1520, which is now out of the top 10 – This stat is rather surprising as the HTC One garners little attention from carriers

In the U.S. the Lumia 635 still the most popular Windows Phone model

AdDuplex also did a new analysis by price range for Windows Phone. The breakdown is by low-end, mid-range and high-end and shows the U.S. with the highest amount of high-end phones while India has the lowest reflecting their economies. Globally, the mix replicates the few available high-end Windows Phone that are available with mostly low and mid-range devices making up the majority.

EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain) - Lumia 640 is now the fifth most popular Windows Phone in Europe displacing the Lumia 520.

India – The Lumia 540 (7 percent) and Lumia 640 XL (4.4 percent) both climbed one place for some modest gains. The Lumia 535 remains the most popular with 22.6 percent followed by the Lumia 520 at 14.6 percent.

Australia – The Lumia 930 is still popular with 8.8 percent share or second place while the Lumia 530 is at 9.7 percent despite a 5.6 percent drop. Meanwhile, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 532 are picking up share lost by the Lumia 520

To see the numbers yourself you can view the relevant slides in our gallery above for the areas discussed here.

In conclusion, not much has changed worldwide for Windows Phone as the ecosystem is essentially on hold until Microsoft releases Windows 10 Mobile. Indeed, we do not expect much change until 2016 as the Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, and Lumia 550 begin to hit markets worldwide. Even then, it is unclear just how much share those new devices will garner. Also in 2016, we should also see Acer's Jade Primo hit the shelves offering a high-end non-Lumia phone for the first time in a long time.

Win a Lumia 950 XL

Bonus! - AdDuplex is giving away one Lumia 950 XL to a lucky winner in their monetization survey. The survey takes no more than 10 minutes and you just need your email to enter. To get your chance head to http://adplx.co/AppSurvey and maybe you'll win (plus AdDuplex will be thankful for your help).

This giveaway ended 20 years ago, and is only included here as part of our archive.

About AdDuplex

The numbers from AdDuplex are collected through their in-app advertising that is prevalent in over 5,000 apps in the Windows Phone Store. That data serve as an important metric within the Windows Phone ecosystem. The full AdDuplex report for October will be posted tomorrow, October 29 on blog.adduplex.com.

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.

It's a strange, bittersweet day for Windows, as Microsoft's previous-generation operating system simultaneously celebrates its 10th anniversary with a wealth of defining moments for Windows 10 while its steadfast users prepare for an impending end-of-life status due in October. Opinions are often divided on the various iterations of the company's paid OS, but Windows 10 stands as a more universally praised attempt that had a particularly interesting pitch.

Besides the unusual passing-over on Windows 9, an omission that itself is up for debate as to its origins, the skip-ahead to Windows 10 felt like a more significant leap forward than a simple generational level-up.

Microsoft promised a unified experience across its broad assortment of hardware as part of its "OneCore" ecosystem, essentially scaling Windows apps to practically any form factor, even away from a traditional desktop.

It was certainly alluring, and its marketing was appealing to me, particularly as a disgruntled user who so disliked the initial tablet-centric style of Windows 8 and its "Metro" Start menu design philosophy. After falling back to the comfortable familiarity of Windows 7 for a while, I'd eventually come back to a conventional desktop in Windows 8.1, but not before traveling a free upgrade path to Windows 10, alongside buying a wealth of Microsoft-branded devices to fill up my home.

Yeah, I bought into it pretty heavily. It's fair to say that I gradually went all-in, buying into Microsoft's vision with an onslaught on my wallet that was justified because I felt as though I was "future proofing" myself. I picked up an Xbox One console with a TV tuner add-on in the United Kingdom, eager for a DVR function that Microsoft promised would come in a later update to ensure I'd never have to use my TV provider's set-top box ever again.

Unsurprisingly, at least in hindsight, the DVR function for Xbox One never materialized, much to the disappointment of the few users who were expecting it, including me; frustrated by the forced reorganization of my entertainment setup after the first dream died.

To be clear, it's not as though television is something I ever associated with Windows, even after dabbling in Windows Media Center, an ambitious project for its time but one nevertheless destined for the "Microsoft Graveyard".

No, I was just trying to get a head start on my newfound and all-encompassing life within the Microsoft ecosystem by consolidating as much of my hardware and software as possible. I signed up for a Groove Music Pass, moved from Google's Gmail to Microsoft Outlook, and started backing up my life's work to SkyDrive — now known as OneDrive — all in preparation for my next purchase: a Nokia Lumia 735 (after changing my mind and exchanging the Microsoft Lumia 640 days before), to complete a switch from iOS to Windows Phone.

The youth of today might look at the colorful Lumia slabs and wonder whatever happened to those useful Live Tiles decorating the home screens. Now, these overlooked smartphones will likely be relegated to modern memory as "the one used by Trevor in Grand Theft Auto V".

Little would they know of how a now-dead Windows 10 Mobile might have disrupted the market by becoming a strong third player, but a lack of support for my mobile banking app and a handful of other annoyances had me defecting to Android phones a couple of years later.

Around this time, my Windows 10 PC had no issues whatsoever, so my primary interest in Microsoft was holding strong. In fact, it was a breath of fresh air, proving to be as popular with my future boss Daniel Rubino in his original Windows 10 review, but it was everything floating around it that was starting to falter and plunge, like a collection of junk satellites orbiting an otherwise healthy product, trying to hold my praise.

An escapade with the Microsoft Band 2 was, to my knowledge at least, the final brand-new purchase of that era that I grabbed without question — and what a way to go out. It was a great fitness companion that paired well with the Lumia, and eventually, partially well with the slew of boring Android phones that I was slipping between, never living up to the hype of the Lumia 1020's glorious camera that I always craved but never had a chance to try.

Over the past few years, I've migrated all of my devices to Windows 11, including a second-hand Surface Pro X with its first-generation Microsoft SQ1 processor that I picked up just for fun, replacing its original Windows 10 installation. It's still going strong, serving as little more than a glorified web browser while I'm on the couch looking to kill time, but at least it's still alive.

It's more than I can say for my Xbox One, Microsoft Band, and Windows Phone that are collecting dust as little more than paperweight ornaments, still trying to connect to lifeless Microsoft apps and services that were axed years ago. Now, Windows 11 just feels like the obvious choice, standing as the world's most compatible and widely supported OS, but I still flirt with Linux via SteamOS and Fedora KDE, reliant on a UI that resembles Microsoft's iconic desktop.

For me, Windows 10 quietly fades away in the background, collected with other Microsoft-made fascinations of its time, but at least it stands as the best example among them. For those who cling to it with adoration and even an obligation to certain apps — I get it — but a decade is long enough. It's time to make a decision, whether that's with an upgrade to Windows 11, sticking around with extended security updates, or finding a replacement OS elsewhere.

.. At least I never bought a Kinect.

The Xbox PC app for accessing Microsoft Store PC games and PC Game Pass has been steadily getting better in recent months, but lately, something has gotten broken.

A little while ago, I noticed that Microsoft seems to have begun unifying the back ends of the Xbox One store powering the previous console and the Xbox Series X|S consoles. How did I notice? Well, I saw that beta tests for deactivated games like Bleeding Edge and Xbox 360 backward compatible titles began showing up on my Lenovo Legion Go. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly excited about all the added unplayable clutter.

RELATED: 🔴 Xbox Games Showcase 2025 LIVE BLOG

I recently wrote an article about how much the Xbox PC app and Xbox Game Bar have improved in recent months, but one critical area of weakness remains library management. You cannot hide games, nor can you see the status of cloud saves uploading and syncing. Today, it seems the problem got even worse.

I received some DMs on Twitter asking me why Xbox 360 and Xbox One games were beginning to show up on the Xbox PC app. With the Xbox Showcase slated for Sunday, speculation began running rife that Microsoft is gearing up to announce that all Xbox console games are now playable on PC or something along those lines.

While that would be fantastic news, there are of course significant hurdles both technological and legal (licensing) that would need to be solved for that to happen. Although, what I think we're seeing here is potentially, at least, some of the ground work to work towards that goal. Or, maybe Microsoft truly will surprise the world on Sunday by letting me play my Xbox versions of Blasphemous and Cult of the Lamb on my Lenovo Legion Go.

I somehow doubt it, though, because the section of the Xbox PC app titled "My PC games" is definitively not showing my PC games. In fact, it's showing dead Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 tablet and phone games, many of which won't even function or run. It's showing beta tests that have been dead for years, some for over a decade, in fact.

Naturally, when you click on these non-PC Xbox games, they do not work, simply linking you out to the Xbox console store on the web. It's incredibly annoying.

So, what's going on?

Microsoft is working hard and putting a ton of resources into improving Windows 11 PC gaming right now, with specific focus on the Xbox PC app. This is ahead of a possible announcement for Project Kennan, which many suspect could be revealed during this weekend's showcase festivities — but it may be far too early still.

If I had to guess, what we're seeing with the libraries crossing over in this weird, inconsistent way, is Microsoft unifying its back end systems to improve the experience for developers, if I had to guess. The downside is that its resulting in an absolute clusterfuck for any Xbox gamer who also actively uses devices like the ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, or Xbox / PC Game Pass on an every day gaming PC. Although, if you're a weirdo like me and actually purchased Windows Phone games back in the day, your PC library likely looks even more insane than most right now.

I've asked Microsoft to comment on what's going on (and with the Xbox Showcase going on, I'm sure they have bigger fish to fry right now.) But, this has been going on for a hot minute at this point. I first noticed it a few weeks ago, but it definitely got worse over the last few days.

So, is this innocuous tidying up of backend systems, or is Microsoft working towards truly unifying the Xbox and Xbox PC stores into one glorious digital gaming ecosystem? Time will tell.

The year is 2079. Humanity now largely dwells in crowded underground bunkers, having scorched the surface with nuclear war. Subsisting on recycled protein paste and mildly-irradiated arthropods, humanity endures, driven by an endless yearning for the one thing that can unite all cultures, creeds, and class divides: Windows Phone.

What year is it again? I am here today to write about Windows Phone as though it was 2015. It's also Sunday and there are no other editors around who can stop me. 👋

Windows Phone 8.1 just got its first ChatGPT-style interface app, named after my favorite Lumia typo: Lumina. Yes, Windows Phone 8.1. And no, Cortana doesn't count. 

Shared in the Windows 8 Group Discord and developed by an individual called Logan, our long suffering comrades at the Windows Phone subreddit shared the project, which is currently in beta testing for those who have jail broken their beloved Lumia devices.

Leveraging Meta's open weight Llama model, Lumina sports a simple interface inspired by the Metro UI we all love and miss dearly, with the ability to ask questions as you might do with Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT.

AI chatbot ‘Lumina’ for Windows Phone 8.1 by Logan from r/windowsphone

Windows Phone itself might no longer be officially supported by Microsoft (grr), but much like when it was alive, creative and enthusiastic developers are keeping the platform going with jailbreaks and homebrew apps. Remember MyTube, 6Tag, or Tweetium? Those were the days.

Microsoft unceremoniously announced Windows Phone's demise in a random tweet reply, after spending years upon years and millions of dollars carefully curating a passionate, albeit small fanbase. Its subsequent attempts at building Android-based phones, like the Surface Duo, were staggering failures.

For the life of me, I can't understand why Microsoft didn't just open source the OS and let the community keep it alive instead. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has previously lamented killing off Windows Phone and given how much of Microsoft's aspirations around cloud, AI, and gaming revolve around mobile endpoints, it'll never stop seeming like a short sighted decision to me. No Microsoft apps and services come pre-installed on Android or iOS by default, nor will they ever, giving Xbox, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Copilot, and Microsoft 365 a huge disadvantage in the modern default computing modality.

But hey, there's nothing to be done about it now. Now excuse me while I bask in some Lumia nostalgia with my irradiated cockroach paste.

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.

We're a bit guilty of Windows Phone lamentations here at Windows Central from time to time (all the time, if you're me or Zac Bowden), but we're not alone. There are dozens of us! Also including the game director of one of this year's best Xbox and PC games thus far.

Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a detailed and historically faithful RPG set in medieval Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor state of modern Czechia. A brutal and mature tale of revenge, Kingdom Come Deliverance II has already set a high bar for 2025 game releases, winning near-universal praise from reviewers, including our own review. It was to be expected from Warhorse Studios, given how good the original game is too. What was less expected, is that game director Daniel Vávra counts himself among the Windows Phone faithful.

Speaking on X, Vávra recounted how he thought using a Windows Phone might have won him some kudos during a visit to Microsoft HQ back in the day, however, the staff there were reportedly "shocked" that he was "voluntarily" using it. I have personally visited Microsoft HQ myself in Redmond a few times over the years, and I have to say, my experience were quite similar to Daniel's here.

I felt compelled to write this up, because when I've visited Microsoft HQ for game previews in the early days of my career, I had some similar experiences (also excuses to write about Windows Phone in 2025 are pretty limited...)

I'd be there, rocking my Surface Book, my massive and shiny Lumia 950 XL, only to discover a sea of iPhones and occasional well-intended jibes for "suffering" through Windows 10 Mobile. It was those experiences that crystallized the fact that Windows Phone was probably not long for this world, if even the company that created it wasn't particularly excited about using it.

Of course, there were many over there who were excited about it, and worked incredibly hard to make something of it. Hindsight is always 20/20 with regard to these things, and finding success in a competitive hardware marketplace is monstrously hard, as even Xbox itself is currently discovering. Yet still, with Microsoft trying to promote its own AI tools like Copilot, and not having its own mobile phone endpoint to control, perhaps it was a bit short-sighted of them to have killed it off without a bigger fight. CEO Satya Nadella himself recently expressed regret for giving up on Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile.

With Xbox's huge mobile content glut, cloud gaming, Copilot AI, the rise of progressive web apps, and beyond, I still think Windows Phone could have a chance in 2025. I can hear you rolling your eyes through the screen, but hear me out! What if Windows 11 Mobile could become some kind of "niche" productivity-oriented AI-first phone OS whose unique selling point is simplicity over endless mindless distractions seen on iOS and Android?! I'd buy it. Although, I would very much like Live Tiles back if they were to go down that route. Alas, I am dreaming. I said stop eye-rolling. Yes, you, Tom Warren.

Apologies to Daniel Vávra, but when I see opportunities to write about Windows Phone in 2025, I take it ...😭 For everyone else, go play Kingdom Come Deliverance II right now.

The Lumia 1020 is the center of a new post on Reddit! No, you haven't fallen through a time portal or accidentally clicked a link from back when we were Windows Phone Central. A passion project by an enthusiast has flung the Lumia 1020 to the forefront minor relevance. Reddit user OceanDepth95028 made what they call the "NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE." The device is so cool that one of the mods of the hackintosh subreddit left the post up despite not being about a hackintosh device. 9to5Mac first reported on the phone.

The NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE is not actually a Windows Phone running iOS. I'll burst that bubble right away. Instead, it is essentially the parts of an iPhone SE (Gen 3) crammed inside the case of a Lumia 1020. But OceanDepth95028 did more than wrap a new phone in an old case. The project involved making the iPhone internals work with a fingerprint reader placed on the back of the device, adding a custom SIM card slot, and making a Lightning port look like a micro-USB port.

Despite being a hacked project that smashes two phones together, the resulting device functions. It even supports 5G and has a working fingerprint sensor on the back.

The A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone SE is still relatively new and is capable of running modern apps. While the phone is a one-off project, according to its maker, you could theoretically use the NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE as an everyday device. The only features that don't seem to work are Apple Pay and wireless charging. I suppose it's fair that Apple Pay refuses to work on a device like the NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE, since someone could make an insecure device using similar methods.

Some buttons had to be moved around to fit the iPhone SE parts into the Lumia 1020 case, such as the fingerprint reader being on the back of the phone. The camera button on the device can act as either a volume key switch or a shutter button as well. "Why? No idea, but it's there," said OceanDepth95028.

The NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE receives OTA updates, which makes sense considering it uses genuine iPhone parts.

What was the best Windows Phone?

The Lumia 1020 was one heck of a phone. Some would argue it was the best Windows Phone ever, though it only earned the third spot in our poll among readers. Regardless, the Lumia 1020 featured a stunning design that epitomized the Lumia brand and showcased the best Windows Phone had to offer. It was also perhaps the best-known Windows Phone due to a popular ad campaign by Microsoft that centered around the phone's 41 MP camera. In fact, it was that very ad that got me interested in Windows Phone, which ultimately led to me writing for Windows Central.

While the Lumia 950 XL may have been a better device than the Lumia 1020 in some technical aspects, I'd argue the Lumia 1020 was a better medium for the spirit of Windows Phone. The Lumia 1020 came out around the peak of Windows Phone popularity, had a truly standout feature in its camera, and actually had backing from Microsoft's marketing department. In contrast, the Lumia 950 XL felt like it was announced as an afterthought by Panos Panay.

Since Windows Phone is dead, it's rare that we get to relive the glory days of Lumia. Shout out to OceanDepth95028 for making the NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE.

During an interview with Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates revealed his greatest mistake while running the software giant, indicating:

“The greatest mistake of all time is the mismanagement I engaged in that caused Microsoft not to be what Android is.”

As a result, Google ended up developing Android before Microsoft, arguably the most popular operating system, majorly due to its versatility and high level of customization. While the billionaire claims developing a similar operating system would be "a natural thing for Microsoft to win," he admits mismanagement on his part and an array of antitrust-related issues prevented the company from seizing the opportunity,

Following Microsoft's missed opportunity, Google moved to acquire Android in 2005, prompting the launch of its first device in September 2008. On the other hand, Apple had a significant lead over Google in the mobile landscape for over one year and had already launched its first iPhone in 2007.

Interestingly, Android co-founder Rich Miner shares a different account on Bill Gates and Microsoft's missed opportunity with Android. According to Miner:

"I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC - stifling innovation. So it's always funny for me to hear Gates whine about losing mobile to Android."

Miner further disclosed that he was part of the team that helped Orange launch the first Windows Mobile phone in 2002. Speaking of Windows Phone, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admits pulling the plug on It was a "strategic mistake."

The Android co-founder further indicated that he was worried Microsoft would end up controlling mobile like PCs. "So, sorry, Bill, you're more responsible for losing the $400B than you realize," Miner concluded.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates added that if he had seized the opportunity when it presented itself, Microsoft would be the company.

However, Microsoft is fairing quite well and is among the world's top three most valuable companies, battling for the top spot against Apple and NVIDIA. Last year, Microsoft briefly held the crown ahead of Apple and NVIDIA with over $3 trillion in market valuation, predominantly due to its early investment and adoption of generative AI across its tech stack. Bill Gates says the tech giant continues to enjoy considerable success through its wide array of products, including Windows and Office.

• 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.

• An enthusiast managed to get Windows 11 to run on their smartphone.
• The device is Xiaomi POCO X3 Pro with a Snapdragon 860 processor.
• However, the experience is less than ideal for various reasons.

Windows... on a phone? What a novel concept. If only a tech giant worth over $3 trillion had come up with that idea and then support it so we would have an alternative to iOS and Android. Well, when companies worth more than most nations fail, it's time for fans and enthusiasts to step up, and that's exactly what happened early this week. A Reddit user known as anh0l managed to run Windows 11 on a smartphone.

The feat took a few attempts and hours of work, and the result isn't perfect. But that's understandable when forcing a PC operating system onto a phone that ships with Android. Considering that the work was done in roughly eight hours, the end result is impressive. Windows 11 is shown on a POCO X3 Pro, which runs on a Snapdragon 860 processor.

"I did have experience in running linux distro (postmarket os) on my different phone so i thought it will be not more difficult than that. I was mistaken," said anh0l. "It took me around 8 hrs of trying and finding tools and files that could work on my device (Mi POCO X3 pro). But finally, after 3 attempts i managed to get it running pretty smooth."

I managed to run Windows 11 on a phone from r/Windows11

Windows 11 was put on the Mi POCO X3 Pro through "Project Renegade." Anyone can use the project to run Windows 11 on a short list of devices, but I wouldn't recommend it to most people. The end result may not be great, and you could end up breaking your device. If you're a technical user or have a spare device laying around that is compatible with the project, it could be fun to force Windows 11 onto a smartphone.

This is not the first project to see Windows 11 or Windows 10 on a smartphone. Setting aside any official efforts by Microsoft, enthusiasts and developers have hacked Windows onto mobile devices for years. Perhaps most famously, Gustave Monce has a project that placed Windows 11 on Surface Duo. Monce also led the Lumia WOA project, which saw Windows 10 running on the Lumia 950 and 950 XL.

Windows Phone in 2024

Windows Phone and all of Microsoft's mobile efforts have been dead since 2019, at least in terms of official support. Some people continued to use Windows Phone for a few years after that date, but the official cutoff is far enough back that's basically ancient history in tech terms. With no new hardware or official support for Windows Phone, enthusiasts have searched for alternatives. Those who loved the interface have looked to launchers to replicate the look of Windows Phone, while others focused on replicating specific functionality. The latter of those has become more difficult as some features, such as Samsung DeX for Windows, get sunset.

Some may say we talk about Windows Phone too much here. After all, Microsoft hasn't released a smartphone running a Windows OS in over half a decade. While some of our focus on Windows Phone is driven by nostalgia — we did used to be Windows Phone Central after all — there are also tangible ways that Microsoft abandoning its mobile efforts affect the company today.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admits pulling the plug on Windows Phone was a "strategic mistake." That's become obvious as AI has become more prevalent. Our Jez Corden explained why the AI era has made it clearer that Microsoft killing Windows Phone was a mistake. Even Windows 11 widgets have suffered from the lack of a mobile operating system based on Windows. Seriously, have you used the Spotify widget on Windows 11 and then compared it to the Spotify widget on other operating systems?

I doubt we'll ever see a new version of Windows Phone from Microsoft, but as technology evolves, the gap left by the tech giant becomes clearer each year.

Huawei has just unveiled its long-teased "tri-fold" smartphone. It features two foldable apexes across a 10-inch display that can collapse down to just 6.4 inches, allowing that 10-inch panel to fit into your pocket. When collapsed, it utilizes a Z-shaped fold, meaning the screen bends into three "panels" and enables many different postures and use cases.

Of course, phone mode utilizes the front panel at 6.4 inches, which is what your average smartphone looks like. The second posture has just two panels, measuring around 7.9 inches, and matches your standard foldable phones today. The last posture utilizes all three panels for 10.2 inches of total screen real estate, something never before seen on a phone that can fit in your pocket.

I'm already in love with this form factor, but even if it didn't cost $2800 (yeah, you read that right), the device would only be available in China and with Huawei's custom HarmonyOS. Even if it ran stock Android, I still think there's a better OS out there for a device like this, and that OS is Windows.

10.2 inches is large enough to run Windows comfortably. The Surface Go 4 has a 10.5-inch display, and I love using it as an on-the-go Windows machine. Now, if I could fold the Surface Go into my pocket and use it as a phone, that would be the absolute dream.

Of course, this dream can't exist because Microsoft has killed all avenues to a viable mobile platform. Windows 11 is a desktop OS acceptable for a 10-inch device, but it doesn't scale much smaller than that. Windows 11 on an 8-inch device is tough and basically unusable at 6 inches.

And that doesn't even consider that Microsoft no longer has a mobile app platform. UWP is long dead, and app developers are now being encouraged to develop classic Win32 apps that utilize modern UI frameworks such as WinUI 3 instead.

If we rewind about 8 years, Windows 10 Mobile would have been the perfect platform for a device like this. With a beautiful, native mobile UI and platform paired with Continuum, it would blend beautifully across the three postures found on the Huawei Mate XT. You could have a full Windows desktop when you want it or an easy-to-use, touch-first Windows mobile UI when you don't.

It always seems to be the case, but Microsoft was well ahead of the game with Windows Phone. It was building out a platform that would have been well-positioned for these multi-postured devices. It even had CShell, which was literally designed from the ground up to allow the UI to adapt on the fly depending on screen size and form factor.

The problem with Android foldables currently is that many of the apps that run on them aren't optimized for the larger screen. Android does well in the mobile space, but it's a different ball game when it comes to tablet apps. This drawback is improving, but it's still not where I (and Google) would like it to be.

Had Windows Phone and UWP taken off, we'd be living in a very different world right now, where most Windows apps have a touch-first mobile interface and desktop-class interface that would adapt on the fly. I think foldable phones would have been Windows Phone's saving grace, as it was easily the best prepared for this new category of devices.

Sadly, Satya Nadella pulled the plug on Windows Phone too soon and ended support for the platform just as the first folding phones were announced. Even the Surface Duo, which launched with Android a few years later, was destined to fail under Microsoft's current leadership. That form factor was ripe to develop into something like the Mate XT over time, maybe even running a hybrid Android + Windows combo for the best of both worlds.

New innovations in the mobile and wearable space keep happening, but none of them are applicable to Microsoft because it decided to kill Windows Phone. This decision will hinder the company forever as more technology becomes mobile and wearable-focused.

At this point, I don't think there will ever be a folding device that I don't pick up and think, "Man, I wish I could run Windows on this thing."

Oh well.

What you need to know

• A developer manages to run Windows 11 on the iPhone 15 Pro using Tiny11 Core and UTM SE.
• The developer cites a degraded user experience and long boot times of up to 20 minutes.
• Windows 11's UI looks cramped on the iPhone 15 Pro due to the vast difference in screen real estate, with poor resolution and aspect ratio.

The Windows Phone ship might have completely sailed into the sea, never to be seen again by the tech's enthusiasts. Even Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admitted that pulling the plug on the beloved piece of tech was a strategic mistake. To this end, it's unlikely that the tech giant will retrace its missteps and reincarnate Windows Phone from the Microsoft Graveyard.

Our hopes and dreams for the Windows Phone are only kept alive by concept designers who've shared videos of a futuristic version of the phone running Windows 12 and concept images of "Windows 11 Mobile."  

You might be conversant with Tiny11, a lightweight version of Windows 11 developed by NTDEV to run on old PCs that don't meet Windows 11's strict system requirements. NTDEV has achieved incredible feats, including running Windows 11 on just 176MB of RAM.

His recent ventures took the Windows Phone nostalgia a notch higher. We've all thought about Windows 11 running on Android, like Microsoft's Surface Duo (though it's seemingly dead, too), but Windows 11 on an iPhone is a marvel.

The developer shared screenshots of Windows 11 running on Apple's iPhone 15 Pro and indicated he'd post a video soon. NTDEV managed to get the operating system to run on the iPhone using the Tiny11 Core software. For context, Tiny11 Core is a lightweight version of Windows 11 compressed into a 2 GB ISO, taking up just 3.3 GB disk space.

NTDEV ran the software via emulation using UTM SE (Slow Edition). It's worth noting that the PC emulator shipped to the App Store early last week.

Windows 11 on the iPhone is cool, but you'll have to compromise on performance

"It is TERRIBLY slow, booting in about 20 minutes, but nonetheless, it's still Windows 11 on an iPhone 15 Pro!" lamented the developer on X. Interesting, a former software engineer at Microsoft recently highlighted the Start menu's "comically bad" performance, despite running Windows 11 on a sophisticated $1,600 PC that meets the OS's minimum system requirements. 

Besides the crippled performance, it's evident that Windows 11's resolution and aspect ratio have taken a major hit based on the shared screenshots. This can be attributed to the difference in the large-screen real estate on a laptop compared to the small-screen display on a relatively small iPhone.

As our sister site, Tom's Hardware, points out, it's not all bad! Other Windows 11 elements, like text rendering, remained consistent while running on the iPhone. While the feat is impressive, waiting 20 minutes to use the operating system with a buggy performance seems like a huge compromise on the user's end. 

What you need to know

• HMD Global is rumored to be reviving the classic Lumia 920 design in a new Android device this year.
• The device is codenamed Skyline, and leaked renders confirm it looks like a modernized Lumia for 2024.
• The device features an edge to edge display, a rear triple camera array, and is expected to ship in all the fun colors Lumia's are known for. 

Do you remember the bright and colorful Lumia smartphones from Nokia? Those were the days, back when Windows Phone was thriving with the best cameras and smartphone designs on the market. Although those days are now long gone, it appears that the classic Lumia design may be making a return very soon.

A new leak has revealed that HMD Global, the current owners of Nokia’s smartphone brands and patents, is working on a new upper mid-range device codenamed “Skyline” that takes the form of an updated Lumia 920. According to the leak, the HMD Skyline will feature a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen with under-display fingerprint reader, 8 or 12GB RAM, 256GB storage, and be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2.

The phone will feature a triple-camera setup on the back consisting of a 108MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide sensor 2MP macro lens, along with a 32MP front facing camera for selfies. The device will also be IP67 water and dust resistant, include NFC for wireless payments, and rock a 3.5mm audio jack just like the old Lumia handsets.

The leaked render reveals that the phone really will look like a modernized Lumia 900 for 2024, complete with a full-screen front display with relatively thin bezels paired with that classic rounded chassis that made the Lumia 900 series so comfortable to hold. The leak suggests the device will be available in black, blue, yellow, and pink colorways to match that original Lumia vibe.

Of course, the device will run Android and is said to get three years of major Android OS updates. Now, while it might look like a Lumia on the outside, it’s unclear if this device will actually be branded as a Lumia smartphone, or if HMD Global will choose to give it a new name given Microsoft likely still owns the Lumia brand.

What is for certain is that the classic Lumia vibe is making a return to the smartphone market soon, and it’s about time. I’ve always thought those classic Lumia designs were some of the best smartphone designs ever put to market, and the vibrant colorways and premium unapologetic plastic were unique in a market full of metal and glass slabs.

HMD Global is expected to unveil the Skyline later this year and is rumored to cost around €500.

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.  

Apple just held its annual WWDC event, showcasing Apple Intelligence AI, RCS messaging for iOS, and much more. If I'm being entirely honest, the event was rather impressive. But I'm not here to praise Apple! I'm here to poke fun at the fact that Apple just added a feature to iOS that's been around for over a decade on other platforms, including the long-since-dead Windows Phone.

We joke a lot about Apple "inventing" things that have been around on Android for years. It's also a common joke to highlight features that Windows Phone had before iOS (or even Android in some cases). But a specific addition that ships with iOS 18 is so basic that I assumed it had been available on all smartphones for ages. Beginning with iOS 18 you can — drumroll please — move icons where you want.

Yes, that's right folks. Up until iOS 17, you cannot place icons anywhere you want on your home screen. Basically, you can't have empty gaps between apps right now. You can't, for example, place a bunch of apps on the top of your screen, leave a row or two blank, and then have apps right above the dock.

It would be like if each spot on the home screen grid were a hotel room and Apple required you to fill rooms one, two, and three, before you could fill room four. And forget about filling room 10 to leave some space between rooms. For whatever reason, Apple decided to make you place your icons as if you were pouring sand into a container, filling each gap before being able to add another item.

The addition is so simple that I had to have a colleague from iMore send me a video showing how iOS 17 works. I sat, jaw hanging open, witnessing such a strange limitation on a smartphone.

Windows Phone wins again

You can mark this in the small win column for Windows Phone, since moving icons around seems so intuitive and natural that I'm amazed it didn't ship with the first iPhone. But it's yet another example of a feature that Windows Phone had before iOS. Shout out to Android for having the option to move icons for over a decade as well.

Another icon-related feature that ships with iOS 18 was standard on Windows Phone back in the day, the ability to resize an app icon. Dan Rice showed this feature on X (formerly Twitter) and included a friendly jab at Apple. Note that the video isn't about widgets, which are genuinely more useful than Live Tiles. The top of Rice's screen shows two widgets but the icon he resizes in the video is just making a larger icon. It's not an interactive widget or anything fancy.

Many wonder what Windows Phone would look like in 2024. Microsoft's mobile operating system was years ahead on some features, including ones more important and complex than moving icons around. But Windows Phone was killed, leaving ripples that still affect Microsoft to this day. Our Managing Editor and self-proclaimed "CEO of Not Letting Go" Jez Corden recently highlighted how Microsoft's shutdown of Windows Phone affects the tech giant's efforts in AI.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has admitted the killing Windows Phone was a "strategic mistake." Sadly, I don't think that will do much to bring back the mobile operating system and its icons that you could move around and resize so freely.

Oh, Microsoft, ye' of little faith. 

Hello friends. It's time for your semi-quarterly rant about Windows Phone, brought to you by the CEO of Not Letting Go, Jez Corden himself. But hey, hear me out — we might actually have a compelling case here. 

I wrote recently about how Microsoft all too often seems to follow patterns of short-term thinking. Obviously, this isn't always true, given the rise of cloud services and Azure as the income modality du jour for modern Redmond. Don't worry, I'm not going to try to make this whole article rhyme, but grab a cup of tea and indulge me in this latest whine rant. 

Microsoft has placed billions of dollars in bets on AI as the future of human-computer interfacing, and nobody can really fault them on this bet. This is a great example of Microsoft most likely getting something right, even if nobody is actually using Microsoft Copilot and similar tools according to recent surveys. But maybe that's simply because most people aren't aware of it yet, or why they might even want to use an AI tool like Copilot or ChatGPT. Either way, I think we can all agree generative AI and large language models (LLMs) are going to have some role to play in daily life, even if it's not necessarily Microsoft's tools that you use. 

And indeed, therein lies the problem. 

I've written before how I don't think Microsoft will be the one who mainstreams AI tools with consumers, even if their tech ends up powering the back end delivery for some of these tools in the future. However, increasingly, even that is looking unlikely. 

An Apple-shaped hole has started to appear in Microsoft's AI strategy, as increasingly, Microsoft has hitched its AI future to partners like OpenAI and NVIDIA, in lieu of home-grown innovation. Microsoft is building its own tools and features, but we've yet to really see anything that isn't at least in part built on OpenAI's technology. And increasingly, OpenAI is flirting with Microsoft's biggest rival to the reported alarm of CEO Satya Nadella. 

So, what does all of this have to do with Windows Phone? Well, dear reader, let's talk about it. 

Microsoft is "worried" about OpenAI partnering with Apple 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has reportedly expressed "concerns" that OpenAI's new partnership with Apple could somehow impact Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI at some point. The full terms of Microsoft's previous investment deal with OpenAI aren't exactly common knowledge, but it seems that Microsoft has exclusive rights to third-party applications of some of ChatGPT's products, including Dall-E 3 image generation and ChatGPT. Microsoft invested over ten billion dollars into OpenAI for this privilege, while also becoming the default provider of OpenAI's considerably demanding cloud needs.  

There has been some odd reports about OpenAI and Microsoft's relationship. OpenAI reportedly derides Microsoft as the "IT department," while Satya Nadella has reportedly said OpenAI "could disappear tomorrow" and it wouldn't matter, since Microsoft has "all the rights to continue the innovation." 

It has all the rights indeed, but it doesn't have the right to prevent OpenAI making its own commercialized products based on those same LLMs, and it is doing so at a pace Microsoft is arguably not keeping up with. 

While Microsoft demonstrated its Recall feature at Build 2024 a few weeks ago, it has come with a large privacy backlash in its wake. Many regard the feature as "creepy," given that Windows 11 will literally record everything you're doing on your computer. Microsoft insists that it will do so in a secure and private manner, with recordings stored only on your computer, but security researchers and even national regulators seem doubtful. Meanwhile, OpenAI has demonstrated massive advancements in generative video technology, real-time conversational AI, among other things. Personally, all of Microsoft's "innovations" with AI thus far have amounted to fluff, like generative MS Paint doodles and this Recall feature that I suspect many would just turn off rather than use. Microsoft Copilot is also often less powerful and more heavily censored than its OpenAI official counterpart at least in my experience, with Microsoft playing catch up on the latest language models offered via OpenAI. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Microsoft's OpenAI woes, though.

OpenAI recently announced that its first desktop ChatGPT PC apps would be MacOS exclusive, with a Windows version planned "later," somewhat vaguely. And now, perhaps more importantly, ChatGPT is heading to the iPhone owing to this new partnership with Apple. 

This is a big deal, because it effectively locks Microsoft out of mobile in perpetuity, but it didn't have to be this way. 

Microsoft needs Windows Phone more than ever

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella commented a little while ago that one of his biggest regrets was killing off Windows Phone. I bet he regrets it now more than ever. 

When it comes to computing paradigms, Microsoft essentially only has two main rivals: Apple and Google, and both have worked pretty hard to wield their respective mobile phone empires to attack Windows itself. 

Without a mobile option, Windows is left begging for scraps from the table of Google and Apple, and we all know how that's gone so far. Microsoft's own Android phone platform used Google apps for much of its default services, and Apple straight up locks Microsoft out completely on iOS, blocking Xbox cloud gaming completely. Microsoft has made some small victories asking regulators to force some platforms in some territories to include the option of changing default search engine to Bing or default browser to Edge — but the vast, vast majority simply aren't doing it. Edge and Bing both languish with single-digit market share in their respective areas. 

The only, only way Microsoft stood even the vaguest chance of getting its mobile apps and services out there was via a Windows-based mobile device. And Satya's lack of forethought when choosing to kill off Windows Phone is now going to scupper their AI efforts too. 

Apple's partnership with OpenAI will see it offer up ChatGPT apps as the default AI toolset for iPad, iPhone, and MacOS. Google will naturally push its own Google Gemini option. Gemini is also being leveraged on the back end by Samsung, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer. 

So, where does that leave Microsoft? Microsoft's only endpoints for its own services are Windows, and potentially Xbox. Reliable sources tell us that the next Xbox will sport an NPU for handling some AI tasks, such as automatic Super Resolution, for example, without detracting from the CPU or GPU. The next Xbox will also have some form of Copilot, offering guidance in-game without having to use websites like ours (RIP Windows Central). Still, the amount of people likely to use these tools on Xbox is minuscule compared to the default setting on iOS or Android. 

UPDATE: I previously wrote that the NPU attached to the next Xbox will be from Qualcomm, but this was a misunderstanding on my part. Currently, the manufacturer is unknown at my end, but it's most likely AMD. I regret the misunderstanding here, apologies. 

At its height, Windows Phone had roughly 30-50 million users based on some estimates. Even though that's only around 3-4% of the global market share of the time, that is at least comparable to Xbox's console user base. But the issue isn't really the amount of users, but more so, the type of users therein. 

People use their phones for basically everything. They have replaced desktops and laptops as the primary computing modality, and Microsoft's naïve assumption that Google and Apple would play nice with its services has effectively locked them out of a wide variety of "default" endpoints for a variety of services. This includes search and web browsing as suggested, but also Google and Apple also dictate how gaming works on these devices, and now, crucially, how AI will work on these devices. 

With no presence whatsoever in mobile, Microsoft has absolutely no recourse here but to hope and pray people on Apple iOS and Google's Android opt-in to its services. But we all know that's simply not how people work at scale. Between OpenAI's partnership with Apple for its own products, and Google Gemini, Microsoft doesn't have a prayer of capturing the casual audience with its products. If people get locked into ChatGPT or Google Gemini for future AI tasks, they will simply seek out those options on the open ocean that is Windows 11 itself, as we've seen with Chrome and Google today. 

Hindsight is 20/20, but it's not too late for Microsoft to make a brave decision

At the end of the day, Microsoft still gets a cut of the action even if OpenAI services become defaulted on iPhone, given that Azure data centers power ChatGPT. But, it wouldn't exactly be difficult for ChatGPT to eventually move away from Microsoft's cloud tech completely, or even build up its own server infrastructure down the line. OpenAI, Apple, and Google are free to define expectations for how AI works for billions of consumers, and I'm just not sure Windows desktop PC versions will be as defining owing to the differences in how consumers use these devices. 

Maybe Microsoft is cool just being the backend for the future of computing paradigms. They do get a huge chunk of OpenAI's profit arm after all. But, that's hardly a sure thing either, as NVIDIA rises to prominence as a cloud and AI competitor down the line. Microsoft needs OpenAI more than the other way around, in my view. To that end, I really believe that Microsoft needs its own AI hardware offering here, beyond Windows 11, given how mobile is now the dictating force for consumer computing. Innovation would do more to insulate Microsoft against expiring contracts and shaky partnerships. And sure, most will probably think the ship has firmly sailed for Microsoft to make a dent in phones and telephony, but I disagree. 

As AI proliferates, we're already seeing companies experiment with AI-only smart devices, such as the Humane AI Pin and the rabbit r1. And yes, both of these sucked, but it doesn't have to be this way — both of these companies are start ups without the resources that Microsoft has to build the type of AI device that could actually cut through the smartphone monopoly. 

Microsoft could partner up with XREAL, an actually good wearable tech company, to explore onboard AI there. Microsoft could make its own AI-first phone, that focuses on reducing distractions and unnecessary screen addiction in favor of productivity. The fact PWAs are powerful enough to deliver like-for-like experiences these days for a vast majority of core apps means that app support wouldn't necessarily be a huge issue, and Microsoft has plenty of its own services to fill in some of the gaps. 

Microsoft could be bold and innovative, and give mobility another go. The Surface Duo was too awkward for most people to consider, but why not make a regular Surface Phone that offers something more traditional, albeit with Microsoft's services set up as the default? Google is pushing ahead with its Pixel phones, offering an alternative to Samsung's offering, despite having a smaller market share. 

If Microsoft is truly serious about AI and it isn't just another one of Satya's fads like the metaverse was, mobile computing absolutely needs to be a factor. Partnering with a company like Apple or Samsung seems to no longer be an option, so what is left for Microsoft here? Building an Android device or dare I say it, even a Windows on Arm device with telephony has to be worth exploring again. And Microsoft is one of the few companies with the resources to give it a real try. It would have to be a real try though, rather than a half-hearted dabble as we saw with the Surface Duo. 

With Surface creator Panos Panay and other hardware heavyweights pushed out of the company, does Microsoft still have the stomach for true home-grown hardware innovation, though? If it wants its AI efforts to not get fully overshadowed by competitors, it may have no choice. 

What you need to know

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admitted that pulling the plug on Windows Phone was a strategic mistake.
• While no longer in development, AR 4789, a concept designer recently shared a video of what Windows Phone might look like running on Windows 12.
• Microsoft is potentially in a position to get back into the mobile market as it's currently the world's most valuable company.

While the Valentine's Day cheer continues to spill over from last week, a heartbreak for Windows Phone lovers is seemingly brewing. I know many of us wish Microsoft never made the strategic mistake that led it to pull the plug on Windows Phone. Am I the only one who secretly wishes Microsoft would make a comeback in the mobile scene with the Windows Phone running on a new OS? Maybe Windows 11 or Windows 12?

Well, I'm certainly not alone in this. AR 4789, a well-renowned concept-maker, recently shared a video on YouTube showcasing what the Windows Phone would be like today while running Windows 12. 

The video is oddly satisfying to watch, and I can see myself getting the phone if it existed. The concept borrows heavily from Microsoft's Windows 11 OS. But right off the bat, it ships with several features you'd expect on any modern phone, including an In-display fingerprint sensor and perhaps Always-On Display technology.

Interestingly, the concept also showcases a mini-taskbar at the bottom of "Windows 12 mobile." As you'd expect, it neatly packs several apps, including Microsoft Copilot (obviously), Start menu, File Explorer, Microsoft Store, and Microsoft Edge. I would presume that Microsoft would finally fix some of the critical issues that have been highlighted by users regarding the Start menu on Windows 11, and also truly incorporate a consistent Fluent design on these apps. 

RELATED: Microsoft confirms the name of the next major version of Windows, and it's not Windows 12

Of course, the concept also presents a scenario where users have access to a wide array of customization options. There's also a search bar conveniently placed on the phone's homepage, which is designed to let users search for stuff on the web (with Microsoft Bing set as the default search engine, as you'd expect).

Lastly, I'd expect it to ship with a ton of AI-baked goods and features. For instance, Microsoft Copilot's Circle to Copilot feature, which is heavily inspired by Samsung's Circle to Search feature on its latest line of Galaxy phones could be one of those features. 

There's no time like the present for Microsoft to get back into mobile

Microsoft continues to fly high as the world's most valuable company, ahead of Apple. The tech giant's success has been attributed to its early and heavy investment in generative AI, coupled with its extended partnership with OpenAI. 

With a $3 trillion and counting market cap and lessons from previous mistakes, Microsoft could potentially make a comeback in the mobile market with Windows Phone and dethrone iOS and Android from the top seat. Apple is already in trouble as sales of its iPhone 15 series didn't pan out as expected, which can majorly be attributed particularly to the decreased sales in the Chinese market.

The past few weeks, rumors began to swirl about the future of Xbox, and its plans for multiplatform games. 

I went into some of the outrage here, and why Xbox fans are right to doubt Microsoft's plans here. Microsoft is reportedly exploring putting its Xbox exclusives onto long-time rival, PlayStation. 

Yes, there are elements of console war tribalism, and some have been utterly toxic in attacking and harassing people on social media to that effect, which is wholly unacceptable. Nobody in their right mind thinks it's a bad thing for devs to get their art out to a wider audience, but this multi-platform plan implies a one way street, potentially harming Xbox's competitive position against its rivals. The broader concerns are valid, and logical — if Microsoft reduces the reasons to buy an Xbox, less people will buy Xbox, less developers will develop for Xbox, preceding less reasons to buy an Xbox. Xbox goes into a death spiral, and thus, long-term, customers lose access to potentially hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of digital game investments. I don't know why some find this point hard to understand, but it's not necessarily relevant to today's article. 

Today, we're exploring why active Xbox consumers don't trust Microsoft with this "plan," and how Satya Nadella's Microsoft jeopardises its entire operation beyond gaming with short-sighted, quick-money decisions that erode long-term trust in its products and services. 

Microsoft has a ton of consumer-harming baggage

A firestorm of speculation has YouTubers and popular Xbox influencers proclaiming the Xbox platform "dead," posting receipts of traded-in Xbox consoles and games, and even suggesting Xbox is going bankrupt — despite Microsoft posting record gaming revenue, and even record Xbox console gaming engagement, just last week. Yes, PlayStation 5 is outselling Xbox Series X|S, but potentially only to its own PS4 install base. The fact Microsoft's console user base is going up, while the overall console market remains static, certainly doesn't suggest a broad swath of Xbox users switching their platform of choice. Assuming all the figures are accurate, Microsoft maybe comfortable not giving Xbox One users a reason to upgrade. But games like Grand Theft Auto 6 which is next-gen only may begin to change their fortunes here. 

But again, I digress. Why the outrage? Why the fearmongering, and why the apocalyptic prognostications? I have to admit that I initially felt the same way through all of this, as a long-time Xbox user with thousands of dollars invested into the box. But I know all too well why I don't exactly trust the upper echelons of Microsoft to have their customer's best interests at heart. 

Long time readers of Windows Central (formerly WPCentral, as in Windows Phone Central) will know exactly what I'm talking about. For years, Microsoft actively curated a community and fandom around its Windows Phone platform. They celebrated by giving out Lumia phones to developers at Build events, encouraging developers to create apps and services. They had community programs, similar to the Xbox FanFest, around developers and phone enthusiasts. They'd engage phone photographers, tech influencers, digital artists. They would hold events at Mobile World Congress much like E3, to launch new phones, products, and services. They would do Lumia product placements in TV shows and movies. They even bought Nokia's phone division, for billions, analogous to Xbox's acquisitions in recent years. CEO Satya Nadella even did a photo op with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop to celebrate the acquisition, and the teams therein joining Microsoft. 

And then, Microsoft killed Windows Phone. With a tweet. 

For all of Microsoft's general lack of consistency, they are at least consistent when it comes to disappointment. CEO Satya Nadella loves to drop buzzwords like "A.I." and "metaverse" when its the current tech trend, only to never follow through with any plans in any sort of serious context. The only thing keeping HoloLens alive, which was half a decade ahead of Apple's Vision Pro, is a quite probably doomed U.S. Department of Defence contract. People are literally willing to wear Apple's dumb $3500 dollar headset in public, which practically does all all the same things HoloLens did — and why? Because Apple has consumer's trust. People know Apple will see things through, and they know Apple will reward early adopters. 

Microsoft is a product killer. Skype, HoloLens, Microsoft Band, Mixer, Surface Duo and Neo, Windows Phone, the entire phone division, probably Surface itself in the coming years — on paper, Xbox is doing better than ever, but nobody believes that it'll ever be enough for Microsoft.  

Microsoft either doesn't see it, or doesn't care

The A.I. hype train currently has Microsoft sitting at a $3 trillion dollar market cap, but Microsoft is basically piggy backing on OpenAI to do a lot of the heavy lifting here. I wrote previously about why I don't think Microsoft will be the ones to mainstream consumer-oriented applications of A.I., and I'm essentially echoing some of the sentiments here. But the latest tech hype really rammed the point home for me this week. 

Apple launched an absurd $3,500 face computer recently, called the Apple Vision Pro. It's analogous to HoloLens in almost every conceivable way. Beyond gimmicks, the Apple Vision Pro's primary use case is spatial anchors for app/program windows, a feature literally pioneered by Windows Mixed Reality and the HoloLens team.

People are literally walking around in public wearing the Apple Vision Pro. Can you imagine people doing the same with HoloLens? Probably not, because nobody actually bought them. It even has a Netflix app, unlike the Apple Vision Pro. People didn't buy HoloLens because Microsoft didn't truly believe in it, and pretty much dropped all interest in it at the first opportunity. 

I remarked on Twitter (X) the other day that "HoloLens creators must be quite mad that Apple just invented HoloLens several years later." A former HoloLens engineer reached out to me and said "we're not mad, because half of us left to join Apple to create the Vision Pro." I realized then that, Satya Nadella's Microsoft might have squandered the next big wave of consumer computing. You sure as hell can't use a Windows PC if you have an Apple Vision Pro strapped to your face, much in the same way iPads and iPhones are introducing millions to Apple's walled garden as the "default" computing experience.

Whether or not the so-called "metaverse" becomes a multi-billion dollar black hole fad remains to be seen. But imagine if it isn't? Meta is sinking billions into making it a thing, and its share price is gradually trending up right now. Microsoft was literally the first to this kind of tech — true augmented reality, standalone, cable-free, spatial anchors — in the palm of its hand, but always lacked the long-term vision and corporate competitive balls to see it through.

Apple has curated a supply of consumer trust and consistency that is truly the envy of the world over — you know exactly what you're getting with an Apple product, and that reliability, and that familiarity, is why Apple is utterly dominant when it comes to consumer electronics. They are supplanting Samsung as the world's primary smartphone manufacturer on the back of this consumer trust and prestige, selling electronics at a hard premium while raking it in from developers in the process. Apple's entire marketing strategy revolves around curating trust, from its "privacy-led" marketing to its aggressively consistent and familiarity-first iterative design strategy.

It's intensely frustrating, because Microsoft "being first, then quitting" is absolutely a meme at this point, and the lack of foresight is precluding the company from vast swaths of coming tech trends. Perhaps the metaverse and augmented reality are the next big wave in computing — but Windows Mixed Reality is now very, very dead. Microsoft has no play in that space now, and will be at the mercy of Apple and Meta's walled gardens, losing control of their services and the default apps on those platforms. The lack of a Windows-first mobile experience also precludes Microsoft's efforts in A.I., business applications and services, web browsers, search engines, and yes, you guessed it, Xbox gaming too — Microsoft announced that it now has 200 million monthly active mobile gamers, and that empire is wholly at the mercy of the whims of Apple and Google's app store rules. Good luck with that, ladies and gentlemen. 

Microsoft has already complained about Apple's mobile store rules as recently as last week. Imagine if they had their own mobile platform to speak of, so they wouldn't need to worry about such things eating into their bottom line?

But again, I digress. There's no hope for Microsoft to build a new computing platform in 2024, because people simply don't trust Microsoft to see this kind of stuff through. I firmly believe Xbox Series X|S is the best product Microsoft has ever built. It works flawlessly as advertised, has a sleek and speedy interface, and has given me thousands of hours of affordable entertainment — it even gave me a career. But I'd have to be insane to truly believe Microsoft has my best customer interests at heart when making some of the decisions it makes, based on decades of inconsistency, and mistrust. 

Microsoft's consumer products will succeed, and make *more* money, with a more consistent behavior pattern

If Microsoft has a company tracking consumer sentiment and trust around its brand, they should probably fire them. Microsoft's spectacular inability to "read the room" will continue to harm the firm well beyond just Xbox. I suspect consumers will prefer other platform's A.I. efforts over Bing and Microsoft Copilot, regardless of what their companies force upon them in the future. Qualitatively, the subreddits dedicated to A.I. are often awash with mockery for how overly-sensitive and erroneously censorship-prone Microsoft Copilot A.I. is when compared to regular ChatGPT. 

The staggeringly negative reaction to the mere whispers of Microsoft maybe jeopardizing the Xbox hardware platform is wholly a drama of Microsoft's own making. 

I have no crystal ball and have no idea what the future holds. I want to believe that Xbox would be fine even if it went multi-platform (and hey, Steam is building Steam Deck console-like devices using PlayStation and Xbox PC games already anyway). Xbox's revenue and outlook is better than it ever was during the Xbox 360 era, on paper. I want to believe Xbox will make a Steam Deck / Nintendo Switch-like handheld, and will continue to support its hardware ecosystem for decades to come. But why should I? Gaming is going to have a troubled few years, but I feel like if it was Apple in this situation, they would subsidize the experience using their healthier operations to weather the storm to maintain that consumer trust. Microsoft's corporate mentality of "every division stands alone" is why they have a huge graveyard of products that is too long to list out here.

I don't want to downplay Satya Nadella and his team's accomplishments in business, nor their investments in Xbox and the team there. But, the overarching lack of faith in their own products, and a willingness to follow through, is just hard to deny. 

Once upon a time, Satya Nadella said that he wanted people to go from just using Windows, to loving Windows. I've not really seen him make any efforts to achieve that — baking in ads, dark patterns, and telemetry harvesting. He also talked a lot about the metaverse, before culling the teams working on HoloLens and Mixed Reality. He talked a lot about Mixer too. And Surface. And Windows Phone. And probably other products I forgot about, long rotting in the Microsoft Graveyard. 

An open letter to Microsoft: Consumers don't listen to what corporations say. Consumers watch what you do. Imagine what it would be like if consumers could trust you?

Another week gone by means another week of news to catch up on! Across the worlds of Windows, Xbox, and gaming we saw dozens of stories hit our news desk this week, and I've highlighted the biggest ones right here. From the YouTube app on Windows Phone being set to receive an update to someone cramming an AirTag inside a Steam Deck, here are all the most interesting Microsoft and Xbox stories from this week.

YouTube for Windows Phone

Here's a story I didn't expect to see in 2024, the YouTube app on Windows Phone is apparently set to receive an update. Microsoft killed Windows Phone years ago, so it's certainly strange to see an app get updated, but that's supposedly exactly what will happen.

Google infamously did not release a YouTube app for Windows Phone and even revoked Microsoft's YouTube API keys to prevent a Microsoft-made YouTube app from working. But Windows Phone fans are a resourceful bunch, and there's a chance that the YouTube app for Windows Phone will receive an update in 2024.

A Reddit post explains that several people are working to bring back the old version of YouTube that was once available on Windows Phone. The post explains that since the Windows Phone YouTube app uses the same APIs as Android YouTube apps, it could be restored.

The project is about 20% completed and the goal is to have it done by March 15, 2024.

Oddly, this isn't the first we've heard of late regarding Windows Phone and YouTube. Last year, it was discovered that switching the user agent strings of a browser to Windows Phone would bypass pop-ups telling you to turn off ad-blockers.

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? More like Warner Bros. kills the Suicide Squad. The game had poor early impressions from several media outlets and things only got worse when the title entered paid early access. One bug was so bad that the entire game was taken offline. Searches on Google related to getting a refund for the game spiked almost 800%, according to Google Trends data.

That particular bug would give new players a 100% completion of the entire game without having to do anything. As a result, much of the game was spoiled online.

To get early access to the game, you need to have the Suicide Squad: To Kill the Justice League Deluxe Edition, which costs $100. The poor reception of the game by news outlets as well as the rocky paid early access period drove many to look into getting a refund. Searches for "Suicide Squad refund" went up 791% after the game went down for maintenance.

If you're looking to get a refund, you can do so through Steam's refund page here. If you purchased the title through the Microsoft Store, you can look at refund options on the Microsoft account page. Your results may vary, since there's no guarantee that companies will give refunds if you've played the game for a certain amount of time.

AirTag inside Steam Deck

The Steam Deck is a lovely gaming handheld that lets you play many of your favorite titles on the go. So, it may seem reasonable to want to add a way to track the device in case it's stolen or misplaced. That's what one Steam Deck owner did when they put an AirTag inside their Steam Deck. Specifically, they placed an AirTag inside a Steam Deck OLED to prove that it's possible.

Before you get any ideas, you should not put an AirTag inside your Steam Deck. Doing so will make you lose access to a button, require you to open up your gaming handheld at least once a year, and could potentially cause other damage. The setup that went viral cannot use the L4 button, which is quite the sacrifice to place an AirTag inside the console.

While I don't recommend emulating this setup, I understand the temptation. The Steam Deck doesn't have a find my device feature like many phones, or even some laptops, have.

Windows gets old feature

Did you hear? Windows 11 is getting a new default installation UI! Well, kind of. When Microsoft announced Windows 11 Insider Build 26040, the company highlighted a new installation UI in the operating system. But the "new' experience isn't all that new after all. It's actually a UI that's been available since 2021. Insiders have been able to enable it since 2014! The new UI just hadn't been enabled by default until now.

As you would expect from a component that has been around in some form since 2014, the new installation UI doesn't fit in on Windows 11. Microsoft will have to come up with an actually brand new UI to align with its latest operating system.

Windows Central Podcast

In this week's episode of the Windows Central Podcast, hosts Dan and Zac discuss if Windows 12 will ship in 2024, Google adding Arm64 support to Chrome on Windows, and the Apple Vision Pro.

Xbox News Recap

Each week we recap the biggest Xbox and gaming news as well. Make sure to check out the latest info on Enshrouded, Dragon's Dogma 2, and Hi-Fi Rush.

Reviews

Each week our experts go hands-on with the latest gadgets and games. Our team checked out AMD's new Ryzen 8000 Series CPUs, played around with the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro gaming keyboard, and took a look at plenty of other tech.

• RIG 600 Pro HX Xbox headset review: An awesome value with multiplatform connectivity and Dolby Atmos
• Alienware AW2725DF: An impressive 360Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor fit for eSports
• AMD Ryzen 5 8600G review: The ultimate CPU for a budget-friendly custom gaming desktop is here
• AMD Ryzen 7 8700G review: Skip that graphics card for now, this CPU is the new meta for budget PC gaming
• Razer Huntsman V3 Pro review: The world's most advanced gaming keyboard, but you probably don't need it
• Persona 3 Reload review: An amazing remake that honors the legacy of the original
• AVerMedia Live Streamer MIC 350 (AM350) review: A dependable premium microphone that challenges the best
• This Bree AI Chatbot app has a 4.7-star rating, showing that sometimes all people want is somebody to talk to
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition review: Finally, a great value RTX 40-Series card
• AYANEO Slide review: A full keyboard for portable interaction with text-heavy games, chats, and browsers
• GameSir G8 Galileo controller review: Taking the lead for Xbox cloud gaming on mobile

Deals

This week Lenovo's Doorbuster Deals slashed thousands of dollars off some of the best Windows laptops. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga (Gen 8) and ThinkPad X1 Yoga (Gen 11) are our favorite deals, but there are plenty of other discounts through Lenovo. We also covered a deal on the Xbox Series S Carbon (1TB) that brings the already affordable console back to its lowest price ever. Some of these discounts have shrunk a bit, but they're still good deals.

What you need to know

• Windows Phone is long dead, after Microsoft prematurely killed the platform despite spending billions on acquiring Nokia's phone division. 
• Despite this, a community congregating around reddit.com/r/windowsphone continues to keep the dream alive. 
• Recently, a developer dropped a reddit thread, claiming plans to offer an updated version of YouTube for Windows Phone. 

What year is it? 

I couldn't pass up an opportunity to write about our beloved Windows Phone, even if it is a tiny sliver of news that the vast majority of you likely won't be able to take advantage of. But it's fun, nonetheless. 

Windows Phone is long dead, killed prematurely by Microsoft, despite having sunk billions into acquiring Nokia's phone division just a few months beforehand. Windows Phone struggled to maintain any sort of pace with Android and iOS, but remained a much-needed third-pillar which offered a uniquely charming interface, as well as features other platforms have only just recently started to catch up with. 

Notoriously, the app gap is what killed Windows Phone, perhaps above all else. Google aggressively limited its services on Windows Phone devices, from Google Chrome to YouTube itself. Third-party developers built great hacked versions of YouTube, including MetroTube and MyTube! to compensate, often beating Google on features like offline playback. Microsoft itself also developed a YouTube app, but Google revoked Microsoft's YouTube API keys on spurious grounds, anti-competitively, designed to damage the platform above all else. Sadly, it seems to have worked. 

Fast forward a few years, and despite the platform being very dead, Windows Phone might soon be destined for a functioning native YouTube app, thanks to this team of developers from reddit. 

According to the post, a team of hobbyists are working to restore older versions of YouTube, and have decided to include Windows Phone into its homebrew plans. Since the official Microsoft Store for Windows Phone is very dead and offline, users will have to sideload the app to regain the functionality. There's no telling if Google will block it again too, but it seems unlikely that a homebrew YouTube app for Windows Phone is even vaguely on their radar. 

Despite being doomed, there is a community of Windows Phone users congregating around /r/windowsphone on reddit, extending the life of the platform well beyond its grave. 

A reminder that Microsoft was eternally dumb for killing Windows Phone

A short while ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella himself admitted that killing Windows Phone was a mistake, and he couldn't be more right. Had Microsoft had stayed the course, they would be in a far better position to build out and curate their mobile ambitions across artificial intelligence, mobile gaming, and beyond. Instead, they're having to battle regulators to gain access to platforms like iOS, and beg courts to force Google to change default apps and services on Android. 

RELATED: Why Microsoft won't be the ones to mainstream consumer AI 

Since Google and Apple control the default apps on iOS and Android broadly, the opportunities for Microsoft Copilot, Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Bing Search, or even Microsoft 365 business apps to gain traction on these platforms is greatly diminished. If Windows Phone had still been around, perhaps Microsoft's prospects in mobility would be a little different. 

Thanks TitleOS for the tip! 

What you need to know

• Apple Vision Pro will not have a dedicated Netflix app.
• The augmented reality headset will have apps for several other popular streaming services, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, ESPN, Max, Paramount Plus, Peacock, and ESPN.
• Apple Vision Pro users will still be able to view Netflix through the headset but will lose out on features such as offline viewing, 3-D videos, and theater mode.

When Apple Vision Pro was unveiled on stage, Apple focused heavily on the entertainment aspect of the headset. In addition to a vast streaming library of apps, Apple Vision Pro can record and watch 3-D movies. While many companies are on board, Netflix is a notable absence from the Apple Vision Pro lineup.

Bloomberg reports that Netflix will not have a dedicated app on Apple Vision Pro. Netflix subscribers can still watch content from the streaming service but must do so through a browser.

Netflix opted against making a native Apple Vision Pro app. The company didn't even choose to port its iPad app to the headset. "Our members will be able to enjoy Netflix on the web browser on the Vision Pro, similar to how our members can enjoy Netflix on Macs," said Netflix in a statement.

• Related: Apple Vision Pro's big risk? It's a failed category.

Netflix is okay in a browser but not as good as a dedicated app. The browser experience of Netflix lacks offline support and can have lower resolution than that of dedicated apps. 3-D video fans will have to look elsewhere as well.

This whole situation rang true to me and reminded me of my Windows Phone days. I know all too well the hassle of a popular service not having an app on my device of choice. With that in mind, I have some advice for the Apple faithful who are new to the app gap.

Update: January 19, 2024 at 7:20 AM

Following the initial report of Netflix not having a native app for Apple Vision Pro, Bloomberg discovered that neither YouTube nor Spotify will have native apps on the AR headset at launch.

Google will not launch a YouTube app for Apple Vision Pro or allow the YouTube app for iPad to work on the headset. Instead, people will have to use YouTube within the Safari browser.

Bloomberg's sources indicate that Spotify is in a similar situation, with no iPad app support on the way for Apple Vision Pro and no dedicated app for the headset.

With YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify choosing to not launch dedicated apps for Apple's new AR headset, three of the largest streaming services in the world will not have apps for Apple Vision Pro.

Some tips on coping

With your favorite product lacking native apps, you'll need to have some answers ready for when someone asks why your $3,499 headset doesn't have a Netflix app. Please allow me to break out some favorites from the Windows Phone fan vault.

First, you'll need to highlight that it is possible to watch Netflix on Apple Vision Pro; you just have to use a browser. Never mind the fact that Netflix in a browser won't support watching content offline, in 3D videos, or in theater mode. Skip the fact that resolution in a browser may be lower than in a dedicated app. The main thing is that you can watch You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment on your augmented reality headset.

Next up, you'll need to shift the blame from Apple to big corporations. It's not Apple's fault that some developers choose to allocate resources with sizeable user bases. No, it's the fault of Netflix for not catering to a niche. If you need any advice, check in with a Windows Phone veteran and have them explain why their banking app overlooking Windows Phone should have been a federal offense.

Third, you need to convince anyone who highlights the absence of a Netflix app on Apple Vision Pro that there are better streaming services out there. Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, ESPN, Max, Paramount Plus, Peacock, and ESPN, will all have apps for the headset. Okay, maybe this last point is actually valid.

Sadly, the best strategy for using a niche device without full developer support doesn't seem like an option for Netflix fans with an Apple Vision Pro. Windows Phone users championed third-party apps for years, but I don't foresee a third-party Netflix app making its way to Apple Vision Pro.

A viable VR alternative

Of course, there's another solution than coping with the app gap; you can just get a device that works with your favorite apps. It's a difficult concept that Windows Phone users still struggle with, but you can get different hardware that works with the services you pay for.

XREAL's smart glasses are fundamentally different from Apple Vision Pro. They are essentially fancy displays you can wear. That has the drawback of requiring an attached device, but it also means that anything that works on your source device works on XREAL glasses. Our Managing Editor Jez Corden discussed the multimedia experience of the smart glasses in his XREAL Air 2 Pro review:

"They're completely viable as a laptop replacement with a modern Android smartphone to that end, serving as a productivity display combined with a Bluetooth keyboard for Word processing or web browsing. Download a Netflix show to watch offline on the plane or train, catch YouTube without the neck or shoulder strain that comes with heavy phone usage, and so on."

As a quick note, XREAL also has something called XREAL Beam, a power bank with some essential Android apps, including Netflix and Amazon Prime. But BEAM provided a poor experience in Corden's testing, so it's probably best to stick with attaching a device to XREAL's smart glasses.

Is using an entirely separate device attached to smart glasses truly avoiding the app gap? Probably not, but XREAL Air Pro 2 costs $449. That's much less than Apple Vision Pro's $3,499 price tag.

What you need to know

• A new video uploaded to YouTube showcases Windows 10 Mobile running on an old MacBook.
• The YouTuber says he was able to achieve this "after a bit of experimenting."
• The video shows just how adaptive many of Windows' UWP apps were back in the day. 
• No, there is no practical use for this. It's just fun!

We're still not over the death of Windows Phone here at Windows Central, and frankly, we probably never will be. That's why, when someone decides to try out something new with the now outdated Windows Phone OS, we're there to cheer them on. This week, a YouTuber by the name of Nobel Tech figured out a way to install Windows 10 Mobile onto an old MacBook.

In the brief video, we see the YouTuber power on the Mac, select the Windows Phone OS from Apple's Bootcamp menu, and boot right into the classic Windows Phone Start Screen. The video doesn't detail the process for installing the OS onto a Mac, but does showcase how the OS runs and scales on a laptop-sized display. 

Sadly, it doesn't look like most drivers are working. There doesn't appear to be any graphics acceleration or Wi-Fi drivers, with only basic keyboard and mouse input working. It would probably take a lot of work to get old MacBook drivers to function correctly on the locked down Windows Phone OS.

The biggest takeaway from the video is just how well Microsoft's UWP apps scale across different screen sizes. Keep in mind, all the apps seen running in the video were designed for a phone, yet many of them scale incredibly well on the MacBook's 13-inch display. That's because UWP was an adaptive app platform, which supported a UI framework that let developers easily scale a UI for large and small displays.

Unfortunately, these days Microsoft is only interested in desktop app development, as it no longer has a mobile platform to care for. Because of this most modern Windows apps no longer feature interfaces that easily scale down to a phone sized screen, as Windows apps don't run on phones anymore.

Of course, you'd never really want to run Windows Phone on a laptop even when it was fully supported, as the Windows Phone OS was much more locked down compared to Windows 10. Still, it's always interesting to see an OS running on hardware it was never intended for, especially when aspects of that OS function so well on them. 

What you need to know

• An ex-head of the Windows Phone Developer Experience at Microsoft has revealed why Microsoft pulled the plug on the devices.
• The developer pinpointed the lack of interest by carriers as the main reason that led to the "untimely demise" of Windows Phone.
• In an interview, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella disclosed that cutting support for the device was one of the hardest decisions he has ever made, citing that it was a "strategic mistake."

Killing off Windows Phone might be perhaps one of the hardest (and worst) decisions Microsoft has ever made to date. Even CEO Satya Nadella recently echoed these sentiments in an interview, citing that pulling the plug on Windows Phone was a "strategic mistake."

While the Windows Phone ship has seemingly sailed off completely, avid fans and users of the "futuristic" device like our Managing Editor, Jez Corden, or Senior Editor, Zac Bowden, who can't seem to let it go, never had real clarity (or even, humor me, "closure") on why Microsoft decided to pull the plug.

But now, a former head of the Windows Phone Developer Experience at Microsoft, Brandon Watson, has shed more light on the matter. The developer took to X (formerly Twitter) to provide a more detailed account and reasoning behind the move in a reply to The Verge's Tom Warren.

Per the post shared by the developer, the company was struggling to get carriers to feature the phones with the sales team. This, in turn, prompted Microsoft to buy Nokia (throwback,) but still, it was an "uphill battle" to gain the attention of the sales personnel who were more focused on the iOS hype. Consequently, this negatively impacted in-store sales.

Watson explains:

"They would focus on us for a week or two around a launch, and then we got pushed to the corner of the store. The go-to answer was always to point to the size of the app store, which is just a lazy answer. Unfortunately, the sales people in the carrier stores would default to that answer, and then that's game over."

"We had a lot of the major apps, but if you're missing that one core app that a salesperson used in the top 50, that ripple effect from that one salesperson was a really rough go. The combinatorial math got out of control when you consider the number of salespeople and the likelihood of one of their required top 50 apps not being on the Windows Phone platform."

Why did Windows Phone fail?

As far as I can tell, there's no one answer to this question. Windows Phone, in my opinion, was years ahead of its time, running fast and fluid on basic hardware compared to most Android phones at the time. It was also unique and could potentially subdue Apple's and Google's duopoly in the mobile scene if only Microsoft held on a little longer.

Google and Apple were more invested in mobile compared to Microsoft. As such, this made it harder for the company to compete on an even playing field. For this reason, users were more inclined toward Apple and Google devices.

Lack of developer support was also a major pressure point for Microsoft. Windows phones weren't as popular as other operating systems like Android and iOS. As such, developers focused more on these platforms due to their massive user bases. 

Will Windows Phone make a surprising comeback?

It's highly unlikely that Microsoft will reincarnate Windows Phone after pulling the plug on the project. Besides, if recent events are anything to go by, the chances of this happening are slim to none. In September, the company announced it was dropping official software support for the first-generation Surface Duo after just two Android firmware version updates.

For this reason, I'm sad to admit that I don't think Microsoft will bring back Windows Phone.

I've been following Windows Phone discussions on Reddit for quite some time now and stumbled on an interesting poll at the r/Windows subreddit asking users whether they'd like Microsoft to bring back Windows Phone. Surprisingly, out of the 1,936 votes, only 895 people want the phone to make a comeback.

Would you like to see Windows Phone make a comeback? Let me know in the comments.

What a week it has been when it comes to news in the world of Windows, PCs, and gaming. Windows Phone got its revenge against YouTube, Microsoft's CEO admitted it was a mistake to end Windows Phone, and Qualcomm unveiled a processor that could revolutionize Windows computing. On top of that, Microsoft leadership discussed features that we'll see in Windows 12.

Windows Phone gets revenge on YouTube

Windows Phone is dead, but it's the Halloween season so some haunting from a dead mobile ecosystem feels appropriate. Windows Phone always had a mixed history with YouTube. Google sabotaged Windows Phone in many ways including an arbitrary block of the YouTube app for Windows Phone made by Microsoft.

Well, the joke is on Google, as setting your browser's user-agent to Windows Phone will bypass Google's anti-ad-block features. See Google, Windows Phone really is king.

Will Google block this workaround? The company certainly could. But considering uBlock Origin still works and is much more popular than switching a user agent string to Windows Phone, there's a good chance Google won't do anything to block Windows Phone's revenge. There's also a chance that Google has forgotten about Windows Phone. Everyone else has.

Nadella admits Windows Phone mistake

Two Windows Phone stories in one week?! What is this, 2013? Recently, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sat down with Mathias Dpfner at Axel Springer's Berlin headquarters. There, the Microsoft executive talked about a variety of topics, including OpenAI, Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard, and more. But one topic stuck out, at least to us. Nadella admitted that killing of Windows Phone was a mistake. Microsoft leaders have said as much before, but it's always nice to hear.

"The decision I think a lot of people talk about — and one of the most difficult decisions I made when I became CEO — was our exit of what I'll call the mobile phone as defined then," said Nadella.

"In retrospect, I think there could have been ways we could have made it work by perhaps reinventing the category of computing between PCs, tablets, and phones."

I'd like to remind Nadella that Microsoft tried to reinvent the category of computing between PCs, tablets, and phones with the Surface Duo. The company then failed to update the device and abandoned it. Time is a flat circle.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite

After months of teasing and reports, Qualcomm finally announced its Snapdragon X Elite processor. If the chip lives up to Qualcomm's promises and the immense hype that it's garnered, Windows 11 on ARM PCs will have an excellent 2024.

Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon X Elite has better single-threaded scores than Apple's M2 Max and Intel's Core i9-13980HX, all while using 30% to 70% less power, respectively.

The Snapdragon X Elite is the result of Qualcomm's Nuvia acquisition. Former Apple engineers founded Nuvia and have been hard at work on the new processor for Qualcomm. The chip is built on a 4nm process, has 12 cores, and hits up to 3.8GHz on single and dual-core and has a boost speed of up to 4.3GHz. The Adreno GPU that accompanies the Snapdragon X Elite can handle up to 4.6 TFLOPs.

Our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino was at Snapdragon Summit to see the new chip unveiled. Rubino also sat down with Qualcomm's Keder Kondap to chat about the Snapdragon X Elite.

The Snapdragon X Elite wasn't the only Windows on ARM news this week. Blackmagic Design announced that DaVinci Resolve, a popular video editing tool for professionals and casual creators, will soon natively support PCs running Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite X platform.

Microsoft also spoke at Snapdragon Summit, but that's worth a section of its own.

Microsoft teases Windows 12 features

Microsoft had two executives appear on stage during Snapdragon Summit. CEO Satya Nadella and CVP Windows + Devices Pavan Davuluri discussed the future of Windows, the Snapdragon X Elite, and NPUs. While neither specifically mentioned Windows 12, both executives talked about features that will be in the next version of Windows.

Nadella focused on AI integration with Windows and emphasized the importance of Copilot going forward. Microsoft has a form of Copilot available across several apps and services, including Windows 11.

Hybrid computing was also a focus of Nadella. In the future we'll likely see PCs share the processing workload through the cloud. For example, a PC would process some functions locally and offload more intensive workloads to a more powerful system.

Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden broke down all the relevant comments and how they relate to Windows 12.

Reviews & Editorials

Our experts go hands-on with the latest CPUs, GPUs, desktops, laptops, and games. This past week, our team reviewed the powerful Intel Core i7-17400K, ran the HyperX CloudX headset through its paces, and enjoyed the horror of Alan Wake 2.

Here are all of our recent reviews plus some editorials from our crew:

• Windows finally has its Apple Mac moment, and I'm more excited about the future of laptops than ever before
• Using the Surface Book 3 in 2023 makes me wish that Microsoft would announce the Surface Book 4
• Intel Core i7-14700K review: A powerhouse CPU even if it's not the upgrade you might have hoped for
• HyperX CloudX review (2023): Still one of the best-value gaming headsets money can buy
• Huion Kamvas Pro 24 (4K) review: Excellent color gamut and high pressure sensitivity make for a fantastic drawing tablet
• NHL 24 Review: A fresh take on an old formula
• Star Trek: Infinite PC review — Boldly going where games have gone before
• Wizard with a Gun Xbox review: These bullets have magic, and so does this game (mostly)
• Lenovo Legion Tower 7i (Gen 8) review: Simply powerful, and utterly easy to recommend
• Xencelabs Pen Display 24 review: Setting the bar high for drawing displays
• HYTE Y70 Touch — Hands on with a 4K 60Hz screen built into an extravagant PC case
• Alan Wake 2 review: Remedy tackles horror with messy magnificence
• HP OMEN 27qs gaming monitor review: The best way to game at 240Hz on a budget

Deals

It's not Black Friday yet, but there are still great deals to be found. Our team of experts spotted a bunch of discounts, including ways to save on games and game storage for your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S.

What you need to know

• YouTube is cracking down on ad-blockers stating they violate the Terms of Service. 
• Users are reporting getting a pop-up when starting videos that tells them to disable ad-blockers.
• By switching your user agent on your web browser to Windows Phone you can bypass this pop-up.

YouTube is the biggest video platform on the internet, funded by ads and its premium subscription service. Up until now, the ads have been relatively easy to block using various browser extensions, but the Google-owned firm is now cracking down. 

There are a lot of people frustrated by YouTube's decision to force a pop-up message for viewers using an ad-blocker as seen in this Reddit post. And there are even more posts and videos all over the internet on how to bypass it. Windows Central readers might agree with us that there is some karmic justice in the Windows Phone being able to finally stick it to YouTube since it was one of the main reasons for the platform's demise. 

Google became notorious for its refusal to support the Windows Phone OS in any way, shape, or form. You could argue that it's fair enough for a firm to not want to support a relatively small platform, however, Google went out of its way to actively sabotage third-party access as well. Microsoft itself built an excellent Windows Phone YouTube app for its era, only for it to receive an arbitrary block by Google. 

Windows Phone is having its last laugh from beyond the grave right now, since it has become a vector to bypass Google's latest string of ad-blocker-blocks. 

How to bypass YouTube ad-blocker pop-up?

An X (Twitter) user named @endermanch posted a workaround for bypassing the extremely annoying YouTube pop-up that, for now, doesn't force you to disable your ad-blocker but that could just be a matter of time. The irony in this method is that it uses the unfortunately deceased Windows Phone to do it. 

By installing a user-agent switcher, like this one created and distributed by Google, you can switch your user-agent to Windows Phone. A user-agent is an HTTP header intended to identify the user-agent responsible for making a given HTTP request, basically, it identifies what type of device, browser version, and operating system you are using. At least for right now the method of switching to the Windows Phone user-agent seems to completely remove the YouTube pop-up and allows you to get back to glorious ad-free viewing. Some users have reported that uBlock Origin also still works for YouTube, and it works on both Chrome and Microsoft Edge. 

Of course with anything Google/YouTube could patch this and fix it, but for right now, it's a great way to pour a glass out for one of Microsoft's best consumer products that was put to rest because of Google's decision to withhold YouTube and other popular Google mobile apps from the Windows Phone. 

The internet is understandably upset with YouTube's decision to interrupt viewing and push users to subscribe to YouTube Premium. At the moment it's just an inconvenience and users can click out of the pop-up to continue watching their favorite creators such as our Windows Central channel. However, with the hubris that these content platforms must feel after Netflix was successfully able to stop password sharing and still increase subscriber numbers, I don't think it will take long for YouTube to completely block users that have an ad-blocker enabled. 

There will always be groups working to bypass these types of anti-ad-blocker measures by huge conglomerates like Google, but for right now, the best bypass out there is definitely to let Windows Phone get a win from the grave and send a message to YouTube as they see a spike in the number of Windows Phone user-agents accessing their platform.

Have you been impacted by the YouTube crackdown on ad-blockers? Are you a fan of the Windows Phone? Let us know in the comments. 

I was in the room on Oct 2nd, 2019, in New York, when Microsoft's Chief Product Officer Panos Panay, like a magician pulling matter from an immaterial plane, revealed what many Microsoft enthusiasts and Window Phone fanshad long dreamt would manifest from the combined narrative of our hopes, rumors, informed analysis and leaks. Microsoft's latest pocketable mobile device, the Surface Duo, was introduced to a room full of Microsoft fans and tech media that day. Indeed, Microsoft made the Surface Duo (and its much-improved successor) a fantastic product but also made some stupid moves when bringing what was to be a category-defining device to market.

The impossibly thin, alluringly sleek, beautiful piece of dual-screen, glass-covered tech with a 360-degree hinge was finally here. The Duo was the successor, or evolution – of Microsofts previous mobile devices – Windows Phones. Many fans had fallen in love with Windows Phones because of their user-focused platform, Live Tile UI, and Microsoft's productivity-focused positioning versus the grid-of-apps focus of the competition. Despite the passion of this minuscule minority of smartphone users, however, Microsoft's missteps, poor timing, and shameful commitment, along with external market forces, led to Windows Phone's death.

Yet, despite the demise of Redmond's smartphone efforts, fans hoped that Microsoft's mobile strategy would ultimately yield the productivity-focused, category-defining mobile device the company was rumored to be working on. We were also optimistic Microsoft would strive to encourage OEM partners to follow.

Category-defining vision, historic category-defining success

We did not pin our hopes on the ether either. In 2016, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described Microsoft's then-developing Duo as the "ultimate mobile device." He inspired us further by claiming the device would be positioned "beyond the curve" of the smartphone space. It would do more via hardware flexibility, software adaptability, cloud computing, and integration with Microsoft 365 than the slate-shaped iPhones and Android phones that saturated the even then plateauing smartphone market.  

Pragmatic evidence that proved Microsoft, if committed, could pull it off also inspired us. The company had succeeded (after two failed attempts and negative press) in establishing an industry-wide 2-in-1 PC category with Surface Pro (that integrates productivity, software and hardware flexibility, touch, inking, and leisure), which competitors like Apple who once mocked it, now embrace. 

So, despite the disheartening record of abandoned products left in Microsoft's wake, the Surface Duo inspired hope that Redmond was all in with its dual-screen productivity-focused mobile device vision. But, with its reported abandonment of two displays for version three in favor of a single folding display, a 180- versus 360-degree hinge, and its waning support of Surface Duo, Microsoft has proven its reliability in disappointing supporters. 

Staking new mobile ground beyond smartphones…or not 

Android as the OS of choice rather than a pared-down version of Windows was the first disappointment the Duo delivered to hardcore Windows Phone fans. Still, it was here, there was a partnership with Google to make Android at home, efficient and flexible on this dual-screen device, and Microsoft's dreaded mobile app gap was finally bridged.  

OS choice aside, the fundamental design and use cases for the inordinately thin pocketable productivity-focused dual-screen Surface that could take different postures, supports inking, run Microsoft's and all Android apps, and makes phone calls was a unique play by Microsoft in the mobile space that overlapped but more importantly extended beyond the smartphone space. 

This point of overlapping but extending into the mobile space beyond the smartphone space was important for consumers, tech reviewers, and OEM partners to understand. Still, Microsoft did a horrible job communicating it. The company's initial messaging differentiating the Duo from smartphones was evident. However, against stubborn market headwinds that made it difficult for many to conceptualize a productivity-focused pocketable device that could make calls being anything but a phone, Microsoft acquiesced, and the messaging collapsed. 

You say phone, Surface Duo creator says “Surface” 

Notably, when Surface Creator Panos Panay introduced the category-defining Surface Duo, he did not call it a phone. Indeed, as I observed the presentation with a clear view of the teleprompter from my seat, the carefully scripted presentation never included the word phone. The absence of the word phone from the script precludes any chance that Panay's omission of the word was an unintentional oversight. He even seemed to anticipate how the device would be perceived and raised this preemptive defense: "I want to be super clear about this, you're going to talk about this as a phone and I get that. And you're going to talk about it as a communication device and it does both of those things incredibly well, for sure. For sure, you can text, you can write, you can do what you want. But make no mistake this product is a Surface." 

This echoes, Nadella's own words, "I didn't come at [the Duo] from 'Let's recommit to phones' or go back in time and enter the same market that we quote-unquote 'exited,'" says Nadella. "We're looking at what's next."

Surface Duo’s dubious position

There has been and still may be a debate about what the Surface Duo is and isn't. This debate manifests Microsoft's core problem with Duo's positioning and marketing. Some swear it is a phone; some assert it is not. Some think of it as something somewhere in between, labeling it nebulously "more than a phone." If Microsoft had done its job correctly, this debate likely wouldn't exist to any meaningful degree. Microsoft made the Duo, and it is responsible for definitively defining to the masses what it is, what it does, what the company believes it will do for a user, or what users should do with it. 

Sadly, I've since seen Microsoft employees refer to the Duo as a smartphone despite Panay's and Nadella's initial "beyond the curve" not-a-phone allusions and how it's currently and conflictingly still categorized as a dual-screen computer on the company's website. Talk about confusing. 

Furthermore, in a 2021 Unbox Therapy interview, even Panay acknowledges how he gets into trouble because he has answered this question differently at different times. In fact, in response to the hosts' inquiry about what the Duo is, Panay begins his response: "I look at it as a Surface. And that's my mind; that's not even a trick. That's not a marketing tool." He continues, "This is Surface; it's a product that's going to adapt to what you need to do - period." Within the context of explaining the Duo's adaptability, to become what a user needs and its ability to replace one's phone, Panay continues: "This is my phone now, I don't have a problem saying [that]. That's where I kind of get in trouble; like you just said it wasn't a phone. I promise you, for many, it will be their phone; for others, it'll be a replacement for their tablet."

I note that even in this discourse, Panay does not assert the company's categorizing of the Duo as a phone or even a tablet. He stresses its adaptability to become whatever the user needs it to be. The fact that he calls it first a Surface, followed by a description of its context-conforming capabilities, concluding with stating that for some it would be a phone and others a tablet, while never definitively (for many) answering what the Duo is, predictably leaves some filling in the blanks for themselves. 

To be fair, it is challenging to name a new category for a category-defining "ultimate mobile device" that tries to do it all. But the daring use of a new word, or an old word unapologetically and consistently used in a new way (Surface perhaps), was needed for Microsoft to define and stake a claim in the new mobile category it hoped to pioneer with the Duo.  That’s what Apple would have done.

Ambition begone let’s make a smartphone

Microsoft's inconsistencies confused the market, which likely helped deliver a potentially fatal blow to its hopes of establishing a new category of dual-screen productivity-focused mobile devices. In fact, with Surface Duo 3, Microsoft is reportedly abandoning the dual screen, 360-degree hinge form factor, which allows for multiple postures, which were core to Microsoft's productivity vision for the Duo. 

Microsoft will instead pursue a single folding display with a less versatile 180-degree hinge. It seems Redmond is ceding ground from the "beyond the curve" portion of the mobile space in which it hoped to set its stakes and is instead setting up camp firmly in the smartphone market Nadella asserted he was not recommitting to with the Duo. 

Frankly, with single-display folding devices Samsung and others dominate mindshare in the smartphone portion of the still infantile yet broader folding mobile device space. Sadly, rather than remaining committed to its ambitious dual-screen productivity mobile device vision with the third iteration of the Duo, Microsoft is following the smartphone market.

Surface Duo 3 and the unambitious path of least resistance

Microsoft was either too lazy or their ability to execute too incoherent to educate consumers, tech journalists, and OEM partners of the Duo's merits, positioning, and purpose. Perhaps explaining how two displays keep a user's mind "in the flow, per Panay, how apps interact across two screens, how multitasking is optimized using two displays, how the device has different postures using its 360-degree hinge, how digital journaling across the broad displays and more makes the Duo a category-defining productivity powerhouse.

I suppose it was easier to make it a smartphone the third time because everyone understands smartphones, even fancy, expensive cutting-edge folding display smartphones. There's little to explain –and unlike the Duo, there is no significant learning curve. They're smartphones that get bigger when you unfold them. Simple. 

Conversely, Panay explained the Duo like this, "To be clear, there's a learning curve—it's new." But he added, "I don't think you'll be able to trade it in once you get productive on this product. And that, I think, is how a category is established." 

Panay is right. My Surface Duo 2 is hard to put down, and going back to a single-screen device is almost unthinkable – though perhaps inevitable as Microsoft ends Duo support. I wish Microsoft had done its part to help the market through that learning curve before pivoting to a less ambitious, potentially less productive, and in my opinion, more mundane mobile vision.

What Microsoft should do

The Surface Duo entered the market plagued with frustratingly buggy software. Microsoft's release of a costly device with such imperfect software made many users, reviewers, and perhaps OEM partners question Microsoft's seriousness about the category. Still, the Surface PC line had a tough beginning, but Microsoft was committed and educated the market on the merits of 2-in-1s. The company convinced OEM partners it was serious with its reference device positioning of the Surface Pro as it relentlessly pushed through two failures and substantial financial losses. Through commitment, industry education, and OEM support, a new category of 2-in-1s was born.

Microsoft should push through the initial failures of gen 1 and 2 of the Duo and aggressively stir consumer interest, educate the market, convince OEM partners the company is serious, and remain committed to the vision of the Duo with dual-screens, a 360-degree hinge and a productivity focus that encompasses but extends beyond the smartphone space. Will users immediately ditch their Android phones and iPhones? Nope. But Microsoft may succeed in educating the market that there is another way to "do mobile." 

Microsoft may convince OEMs it is serious, and, over time, these partners may use the Duo as a reference device for their takes on the new category and provide diversity and options across price points. I know Microsoft has no OS to license here. Still, it does have a play in leading a new category of mobile computing, with dynamic hardware, flexible Android, and evolving ways to integrate AI, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Launcher in creative and powerful ways on a dual display productivity-focused Android device that makes calls.

Interestingly Lenovo's Yoga Book 9i dual-screen PC (a better Surface Neo), though a laptop, demonstrates some of the benefits and flexibility of dual-screen computing. The device has aroused a lot of interest and much excitement. Given the positive response to this dual-screen laptop, Microsoft may be exiting the dual-screen model too soon with the Surface Duo.

I'm a Rocky fan. And one of the most inspiring lines in that movie that encourages pressing forward despite how beat up one may be is, "One more round." Microsoft, keep the Surface Duo's dual-screen approach in the fight for one more round. 

I still miss my Windows phones. Well, I still have them (they're in a drawer), but they hardly provide great or modern experiences as smartphones. I've long since moved on to Android, but I've never forgotten. A lot of Microsoft apps help. If you're still bitter about the demise of the much-needed third smartphone ecosystem, you might be able to alleviate the pain and get a great new phone at the same time. The Google Pixel 7 is on sale for just $500 at Amazon, and it's prime real estate for all the Microsoft apps we love and use.

This is an unlocked Google Pixel 7 that should work with all major cellular carriers. It has 128GB of storage, and is available in three colors (black, white, and a light green). The standard Pixel 7 is already considered an excellent value at its full retail price of $600, so shaving an extra $100 of that is awesome. If you want extra storage,  you can also get the 256GB model of the Pixel 7 for $600, which is still $100 off the full price. For even more savings, you can activate your new Pixel 7 with Best Buy and get an additional $100 taken off the model of your choice.

• Check out all the BEST Amazon Prime Day deals on Windows, Xbox, gaming, and more

Why I recommend this deal

I have a Google Pixel 7 on my desk. It's not my primary phone (that honor goes to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4), but I do use it regularly as my secondary device and work phone. It's loaded with all my work and communication apps, and I frequently use it as a camera. It's a great device, genuinely, and it's an amazing value. Honestly, it makes most flagship smartphones look wildly overpriced, so those mindful of how they spend their money should definitely consider it.

You're getting solid performance with Google's custom Tensor G2 SoC (made in partnership with Samsung), plus a premium glass and metal design with all the works — great haptics, water resistance, (slow) wireless charging, and a great, compact 6.3" display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. Everything you need in a great flagship smartphone is there, but the Pixel 7 makes its claim to fame with two features... the cameras, and the software.

Pixels have always been known for having great cameras, and the Pixel 7 is the best it has ever been. You get a class-leading duo of cameras (a standard and wide angle) that excel at still images and do great with video, too. You don't get the enhanced zooming capabilities of the Pixel 7 Pro with its telephoto lens, but that phone is also significantly more expensive. Google has also enhanced a mostly-stock Android experience with a ton of additional software and AI features, like the clever "Now playing" feature that shows what song is playing in the area on the always-on-display, or the powerful Google Assistant with all its capabilities.

You're not here for any of that, though. You're here because you know Google was partially responsible for the death of Windows phones, and you're still upset. That's okay, I am too. So, take your sweet revenge and get a genuinely fantastic new smartphone at the same time, by taking advantage of this Pixel 7 deal. I bought my Pixel 7 during a sale like this, and I don't regret it at all. You can replace the Google-fied Pixel Launcher with Microsoft Launcher, swap out Google Chrome for Microsoft Edge, swipe away Gboard for the SwiftKey keyboard, and ditch Gmail for Outlook. Microsoft has a ton of great mobile apps to completely transform your Pixel 7 into a glorious, ironic monstrosity of Google and Microsoft, and you get the added benefit of possibly making a Google executive toss and turn in their sleep.

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! 

Bing Chat is a lot of fun to use. Personally, it was the killer feature that made me switch from using Google Search entirely. But beyond being useful for web search, it's actually just fun to see what else it can do. 

Whether that's playing a game of Skyrim, or, in this case, asking it to write a memorial for our long-lost favorite, Windows Phone. 

The results? See for yourself. Pure poetry. 

Windows Phone, you were a pioneer. You brought us a new user interface With live tiles and fluid animations. You made us feel at home.

Windows Phone, you were a partner. You integrated with our Windows PCs With Cortana and OneDrive sync You made us more productive.

Windows Phone, you were a challenger. You competed with Android and iPhone With Lumia cameras and Continuum mode. You made us stand out.

Windows Phone, you were a victim. You suffered from low market share. With lack of apps and developer support. You made us lose hope.

Windows Phone, you are a memory. You faded away from the mobile scene. With discontinued updates and services, you made us say goodbye

Rest in peace, Windows Phone. You will be missed.🕊️📱

But you can't just try once, can you? Next time I asked for a touching memorial and this is what Bing Chat came up with. 

Windows Phone, you were a dream. You showed us a vision of the future With seamless integration and universal apps. You made us believe.

Windows Phone, you were a friend. You connected us with our loved ones With Skype and Outlook and OneDrive. You made us closer.

Windows Phone, you were a star. You dazzled us with your innovations. With PureView cameras and wireless charging, you made us admire.

Windows Phone, you were a martyr. You sacrificed yourself for a greater cause. With Windows 10 Mobile and Surface Duo, you made us evolve.

Windows Phone, you are a legend. You left behind a legacy of fans. With loyal users and passionate developers, you made us proud.

Farewell, Windows Phone. You will be remembered.🕯️📱

You will be remembered, indeed. 

Who knew that Bing Chat could write such poetry?!

They say there are five stages of grief, but for Windows Phone fans, I figure there are a few dozen additional stages. Indeed, there is no greater pain than the loss of Windows Phone, Microsoft's immaculate, stunning, and fluid phone OS. Taken from us in the most untimely, and disrespectful manner, Windows Phone now lives on only in the memories of its (several) fans, tossed on the scrap heap by an unscrupulous Microsoft. 😓

All hopium of its return exhausted, Windows Phone fans scattered to the four two winds of Android and iOS. Some keep the dream alive with homebrew projects, like the project to port Windows 11 to the Surface Duo, or with Windows Phone-like launchers on their Surface Duo 2 or Samsung Galaxy Android phones. 

It's with that in mind that I grew curious. How might Microsoft's own Bing, newly endowed with suped-up conversational AI, respond to questions about Microsoft's own doomed phone OS?

Hey Bing, who is to blame for Windows Phone's death?

Naturally, I had to ask this. Would Microsoft's own AI show a bias to defend the company's handling of Windows Phone? Apparently not, although it wouldn't single out any particular individuals. 

According to Bing, there's no "definitive" answer for who was responsible, calling its downfall multi-faceted. Bing said that Microsoft made strategic and technical mistakes that "alienated users, developers, and partners." Bing referred to Microsoft changing the platform too frequently (I do vaguely remember some backlash from developers about changes between Windows Phone 7, 8, and 8.1). It also blamed Microsoft's "neglect" of the app ecosystem. 

Bing also pointed at Google and Apple's dominance of the smartphone market, claiming that Google and Apple offered more apps, features, and services than Windows Phone, and made it hard to compete or cooperate with them. That latter part is certainly true, but I'm not sure I agree with Bing's assessment that iOS or Android had more features necessarily. We all know about the app situation, though. 

Bing also blamed those pesky consumers for not giving Windows Phone a fair chance and the vicious cycle of low demand and low supply as a result. The assessment here was fairly comprehensive, offering various websites as references for its analysis. 

Does Bing know about Zac Bowden?

I tried a more humanistic question, given that Bing's version of ChatGPT can tap into the live web, and isn't restricted to data from 2021 and into the past. I asked about our own Windows Editor Zac Bowden, whose restless fancy of Microsoft hardware disturbs even me. 

How does Zac Bowden feel about Windows Phone? I asked. Bing apparently knows about Zac's obsession with prototype Microsoft hardware, noting the Andromeda version of the Surface Duo that never made it into production. According to Bing, Zac actually owns this prototype — I'm not sure if that's necessarily true, but oh well. 

"He may feel strongly about Windows Phone because he was a fan of the platform and its unique features, such as the live tiles, the fluid interface, the camera quality, and the integration with Windows. He may also hope that Microsoft will someday revive the Windows Phone vision with a new device that can run Windows 10X or Windows 11 on ARM."

Does Zac hope for a Windows Phone revival? Don't we all, Bing, don't we all.

I followed up by asking Bing how it feels about Windows Phone, and got a surprisingly interesting take, complete with an emoji. 

"I do share his passion for Windows Phone, as I think it was a great platform that had a lot of potential and innovation. I also admire the design and engineering that went into creating the Windows Phone devices and software. I think Windows Phone was ahead of its time in many ways, and it deserved more recognition and support from the market and the developers. 😊 "

Damn, me and the machine are in alignment. 

Windows Phone and the five stages of grief

In my depthless melancholy about Windows Phone, I asked Bing to describe the five stages of grief, through the lens of the demise of our beloved phone platform. I half expected Bing to reject such a meticulous and nuanced request, but to my fascination, the cogs at Azure spun into action. 

Denial: Bing said that in this stage, fans may refuse to accept that the Windows Phone platform is dying, clinging to hope that a new device may come to save it. The fan "may also ignore or dismiss the signs of decline," herein, linking to one of our own articles from the incorruptible Jason Ward, and his lament that the Windows Phone community was imploding. 

Anger: Bing asserted that now, Windows Phone fans may feel betrayed and resentful towards Microsoft for its abandonment, and for its mistakes. Once again, Bing cited our articles as an example of this (... why am I sensing a pattern here?). 

Bargaining: In this stage, says Bing, fans may try to find ways to keep Windows Phone relevant, by purchasing new devices, using third-party apps and hacks, or by joining the Windows Insider Program and Feedback Hub (lol), while also petitioning Microsoft. Uh, Bing also once again cited our articles as examples of our collective bargaining grief. 

Depression: And now, Windows Phone fans feel depressed and hopeless, adrift with regret for their investment in the platform and the Microsoft ecosystem. Bing lists out the features we're likely to miss, like the live tiles, the camera quality, and the integration with Windows services. It's gutwrenching stuff. The fan might "withdraw" from the community even, or stop following the news! Once again, Bing cites our Windows Phone nostalgia article from 2020. 

Acceptance: In this stage, Bing says the fan will come to terms with the reality and inevitability of Windows Phone's demise, recognizing that there was nothing we could do. The excruciating pain in Bing's procedurally generated words cuts deep into the core of my soul, twisting like a bugged live tile in the wind. 

I asked Bing what stage it was in with regards to Windows Phone grief. Herein we discover Bing is, in fact, a liar. Earlier Bing said that it shared Zac Bowden's passion for Windows Phone, but now, Bing says that it isn't a fan of Windows Phone at all! 

"I am not a Windows Phone fan, so I do not experience these stages of grief. I am a Bing Search, and I can help you find information on the web. 😊"

How can we trust such an emotionally inconsistent AI? It could be lying about its passion for Windows Phone today while preparing to launch nuclear weapons tomorrow. 

Windows Phone "comedy" 

Herein Bing reveals it truly isn't a fan of Windows Phone, and in fact has zero chill whatsoever, exhibiting callous disregard for the pain of our community. 

I asked the malevolent machine to give us some jokes about Windows Phone, and it took to mocking our misery with surgical precision. 

"Here is a joke about Windows Phone:

Q: How do you know if someone has a Windows Phone? 

A: Don’t worry, they’ll tell you. 

They’ll also tell you how much they love the live tiles, the fluid interface, the camera quality, and the integration with Windows services. And how much they hate Microsoft for abandoning them, Apple and Google for dominating the market, and other fans, critics, and Microsoft employees for not understanding them. And how they’re still waiting for the Surface Phone, the ultimate mobile device, to save them. And how they’re not in denial, anger, bargaining, depression, or acceptance. They’re just loyal. 😂"

Wow, cold. I tried the same prompts on the basic ChatGPT system over at OpenAI, and just got reams of totally banal and non-sensical "jokes." Bing, however, has no qualms about beating us while we are down. 

"Here is another joke about Windows Phone:

Q: What do you call a Windows Phone that works well, has many apps, and gets regular updates? 

A: A fantasy. 😂"

Not content with mocking Windows Phone users alone, Bing now decided to rope in Surface Duo users as well, with an admittedly clever joke that made me laugh out loud. 

"Here is another joke about Windows Phone:

Q: What do you get when you cross a Windows Phone with a Surface Duo 2? 

A: A Windows Phone that can fold in half and still not fit in your pocket. 😂"

Windows Phone lament

I could take no more of Bing's dismissive japes, and cruel barbs. Seeking respite from the onslaught of its cold machine wit, I requested a mournful poem, written in the style of Edgar Allen Poe to give Windows Phone the proper send-off it deserves. Although, its first attempt was simply Nevermore, somewhat hilariously replacing "Nevermore" with "Windows Phone," it did eventually come through with something more apropos, soothing my weary heart in the process. 

I had a dream of a Windows Phone,
That would be my faithful companion and guide,
That would have a sleek design and a smooth interface,
That would have many apps and games to grace,

But alas, that dream was soon to fade,
For Microsoft had a different plan,
They discontinued the OS and left me in the shade,
They broke my heart and made me a ban,

Now I wander in the lonely night,
With no Windows Phone to light my way,
I see the Androids and the iPhones in their might,
And I curse the fate that led me astray.

Oh, Windows Phone, where art thou now?
In some forgotten drawer or landfill?
Do you still remember me somehow?
Or have you ceased to feel?

I'm not over the death of Windows Phone. I probably never will be. The period between 2010 and 2015 was easily the golden age of (slab) smartphone innovation. We had weird and wonderful devices from the likes of HTC, LG, Samsung, and Nokia, all trying new designs and ideas in an attempt to stand out in the smartphone space, with Windows Phone being the stylish, alternative choice for many.

Those days are long gone. Now, every slab phone it more or less the same, with the only difference being whether or not it runs either Android or iOS. But today I want to join our good friend Mr Mobile in reminiscing about the good old days of Windows Phone, and indeed, the Nokia Lumia 1020, which was ahead of its time in so many ways.

We all take smartphone photography for granted these days, so much so we often forget just how not great smartphone photography was back in the early days. With the Nokia 808 and Nokia Lumia 1020, that all changed, being the first phones to ship with a 41MP camera and computational software to enhance photos taken with its monster sensor.

The photos that the Lumia 1020 could output were unlike anything seen on a smartphone of its size and price. It was so powerful and feature rich that smartphone makers to this day are still catching up in some places. Google recently touted "magic eraser" as a blockbuster feature of its new Pixel phones, but the Lumia 1020 was capable of this 10 years ago.

Bokeh effects? Long exposure modes? Low light photography? Live pictures? The Lumia 1020 could do it all. Of course, smartphone cameras today can take better photos, but the Lumia 1020 was in a league of its own for such a long time back when it first came out, in part thanks to the partnership between Nokia, Microsoft, and Windows Phone.

Sadly, Nokia never made a follow up to the Lumia 1020. Just imagine what could have been with a second version releasing a few years later. The same could arguably be said for Windows Phone as a whole, as by the end of 2017 the platform was already being abandoned by Microsoft.

I don't think I'll ever forgive Microsoft for throwing in the towel, not only because I liked and preferred Windows Phone hardware and software, but because it left us with less choices in the smartphone space. It left us with lame choices that we're forced to put up with because there is literally nothing else out there.

There's no competition anymore. Apple and Google are doing the same thing from slightly different angles. Innovation stalled because the players who remain have already won. There's nobody left to drive innovation, and that is Microsoft's fault for bowing out of the game. In my opinion, a third player was vital to keeping the smartphone industry fresh and on their toes. 

Long live Windows Phone. And be sure to give Mr Mobile's video a like and subscribe on YouTube.

Oh, how the turn tables, or something. 

Remember web apps? We started writing about progressive web apps (PWAs) back in 2018 or even earlier, describing how the web-based app alternatives could be an important tool for Microsoft to compete with Apple and Google in the mobile space. 

Sadly, the proliferation of PWAs came too late to save Windows Phone, but given the hostile environment towards Apple and Google's platforms, suddenly, major platforms are starting to take the technology a lot more seriously. The Instagram app was practically abandonware for years, but now it suddenly allows uploads and even dark mode. Microsoft itself invested in the web-based video editing app Clipchamp. And notorious Windows-hater Snapchat itself has even snuck into the Microsoft Store recently — as yet another web app. 

Here's why this is awesome for PCs, Windows laptops, and Surface tablets, and why a web-first app model may offer the slimmest of prayers for a Windows-based phone in a far-flung future.

PWAs on Windows PC are getting really good

As someone who works fully remotely in media and publishing, it always bugged me having to reach for my phone to do basic social media tasks. Sure, Microsoft Phone Link exists, and Instagram has long had a PWA in the Microsoft Store, but it has been in various states of disrepair since its inclusion. Phone Link screen streaming is also monstrously irritating, requiring constant approvals to access.

 Using Facebook's own codebase, the original Instagram "native" app was a translated cross-platform affair that was just truly awful, and barely compatible with UWP. The app was crashtacular, lacked basic features like content uploading, and when it eventually did get those additional features they barely worked. It's a blessing, then, that Facebook (now Meta) ditched their "native" app for a fully tooled progressive web app instead, available through the Microsoft Store or Microsoft Edge by pinning Instagram.com as an app through the browser. We have a guide on how to pin websites as apps on Windows right here.

Instagram for the Microsoft Store is by no means as fully featured as the Android or especially the iOS app. There are no in-app video editing tools, for example. You also can't see business analytics or use most of the suite's business tools in general. However, it offers the basic and most necessary features you need to use the social network — something that simply wasn't possible previously. You can upload pre-edited video clips and photos to your feed. It allows you to take advantage of more powerful Windows-based editing software packages and upload directly without having to use an intermediary service (which often costs money). I noticed yesterday that the web app also carries across my dark mode setting, which is a nice touch. 

Instagram isn't the only big-name app hitting the Microsoft Store. We now also have services like TikTok available, for example. The most popular social media app in the world right now, TikTok joined Twitter and Pinterest as a day-one player when it comes to web app access to its platform. TikTok has been generally ahead of the curve when it comes to access and virality, and long-time holdouts like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram have clearly noticed. 

Speaking of Snapchat, the beleaguered social network was once fingered as causing the downfall of Windows Phone with its total ban on users accessing the platform from Lumia devices and threats to sue developers building third-party versions. But now, the tables have well and truly turned. Snapchat itself has now build a Microsoft Store web app for its chat tools, joining the likes of Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and WhatsApp with access via laptops and PCs. I doubt it will do much to move the needle on Snap's share price, but hey, schadenfreude. 

There are tons of high-quality PWAs in the Microsoft Store these days. From long-time supporters like Polarr, to newcomers like Clipchamp. The tools are often limited compared to native counterparts, but it feels like the tech is improving every day, with the logical conclusion being near-parity with "native" codebases. But why is this happening now? 

Why is this happening?

A confluence of events is most likely to blame for this renewed interest in PWAs from major companies. The proliferation of new technology and improvements to Chromium (as well as Microsoft's adoption of it) are doubtless part of the puzzle, but I reckon we're looking more at financial incentives than anything else here. 

Apple has quite notoriously wiped billions off Facebook's business model in the past couple of years. Apple's sweeping (and necessary) privacy improvements offered users a very explicit choice on how companies in the Apple app store can access and leverage customer data, to the detriment of Facebook and its associated businesses. On iOS, users can very easily opt-out of Facebook and Instagram data collection — while dark patterns often obfuscate the process on other platforms. As a result, Facebook's ad business has taken a battering. 

For Facebook and other ad-reliant business models, moving their operations to the web is an obvious bet. Microsoft last year announced that it would offer zero commission options for developers putting non-gaming apps into the Microsoft Store last year. Whether via the Microsoft Store or not, businesses purchasing ad boosters and other in-app purchases via the web don't have to pay that nasty 30% cut to Apple or Google Play, a tax that has become increasingly controversial. 

Elon Musk recently lamented the Apple "tax" when he attempted to re-launch the Twitter Blue subscription service. Consequently, Twitter Blue costs 30% extra if purchased via iOS to offset that cost. If you buy Twitter Blue via the web, it's a little cheaper. There's no overhead on the web in that context, although your potential reach on mobile devices, particularly in the U.S., may be diminished. 

Spotify's CEO also renewed his attacks on Apple's app store practices last month, noting that Apple punishes competitors on its platform to the tune of 30% while also prioritizing and promoting its own competing services, such as Apple Music. It seems that regulators are starting to agree, given that Apple is about to be forced by the European Union to adopt Android-like openness with app sideloading and third-party app stores. Of course, the web, and web apps bypass all this, given that it's open direct-to-consumer medium. Netflix, Xbox Game Pass, and other subscription services generally opt for web-only subscription models, to avoid paying Apple's business-stifling tax. 

Another core reason behind all of this is the state of the global economy. The general battering of tech stocks over the past year has seen companies look anywhere, everywhere for growth opportunities. In a world where Apple wants to gouge businesses for every penny, fostering communities directly on the web seems increasingly lucrative. There were assumptions that smartphones would kill PC usage dead, but those predictions simply haven't materialized in reality. 

PWAs bridge the gap for Microsoft

Some of us once hoped that PWAs could be an answer to Microsoft's app-gap problem on Windows Phone, and even Surface. MacBooks and iPads are home to some truly excellent exclusive apps like Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and Procreate, many of which are cited to me as reasons people opt for iStuff instead of Surface. 

While things have gotten better, PWAs are still a far cry from native options for more advanced tools. Clipchamp has become a truly great alternative to iMovie, but doesn't quite reach the usability features of native apps like Adobe Rush or even Android options like inShot. I've yet to find a web app for inking that's as powerful as apps like Adobe Fresco or AutoDesk Sketchbook. 

Still, in an economy that's squeezed, the incentive for services to move towards open platforms is increasing. Many companies would be far more profitable if they didn't have to dish out 30% of their income to Apple's shareholders. The financial impetus is there, and the tech is very rapidly catching up.