A fan project called Windows Astria resurrects Windows Phone from Microsoft’s graveyard, showing off what the OS could have been while reminding us why it still inspires tech nostalgia today

"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).

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