Lenovo COO says it has no plans for Windows phones, doubts Microsoft's future support for OS

Lenovo's Chief Operating Officer Gianfranco Lanci says that the company has no plans to launch a Windows smartphone, and doesn't have much confidence that Microsoft will support the OS in the future.

Lenovo is one of the biggest hardware supporters for Windows 10 on the PC and tablet side, and in 2015 the company did announce plans to launch a Windows phone in its home country of China that never materialized. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Lenovo was making a Windows 10 Mobile phone, the SoftBank 503LV, for release in Japan this year or in early 2017.

However, if Lanci is to be believed, those plans have now changed. The Next Web quotes him as saying:

"I don't see the need to introduce a Windows Phone and I am not convinced Microsoft is supporting the phone for the future," Lanci said.

Microsoft, for its part, has stated repeatedly it plans to continue developing and supporting Windows 10 Mobile, and even revealed some future improvements for the OS last week at its Ignite IT conference that could be released sometime in early 2017.

John Callaham
287 Comments
  • What about when phones shift to real os. X86? We know that's the next step. So no full Windows 10 OS phones from Lenovo. At least until they realise they missed the boat.
  • It just doesn't help MS for any company to say that about their product future. It is not a confidence builder for me.
  • The problem is nadella, he has demotivated allmost all partners He has transformed microsoft in an unaffordable company From a giant to a titanic
  • Evidence?
  • The evidence is mixed but MS's revenue (https://www.statista.com/statistics/267805/microsofts-global-revenue-sin...) and earnings are both down from when he took the helm. My subjective impression is of a company in dissaray that can't find its focus.  My guess is they are going to go the way of IBM, which is to say, a huge behind-thes-scenes tech company that everyone interects with all the time...without knowing or caring about it. As a consumer-facing entity, I suspect they are are a done deal.  With Windows Phone cancelled, Windows PCs relegated to the workplace, and the two major consumer-facing products they still make (XBone, Surface) getting trounced by the competition (PS4, iPad Pro), they are clearly unable to connect with individual consumers in a sustainable way.
  • You are so wrong in so many ways. But i guess that's how you roll , please post this somewhere else or provide som facts that supports you theory.
  • > You are so wrong in so many ways. Name one.
  • For a start Surface is the fasting growing Computer consumer brand. With Windows 10 now the biggest operating system across Tablets. Kicking Ipad year on year. 2nd Windows PCs account for 93% of all computers in the entire world. Apple have dropped to just 4% market share for macbooks and apple macs. And the remainder is Linux and Chrome OS. 3rdly Xbox One S just hit a massive boost over Playstation thanks to it being a better all round product. 4th. You do realise that for the last 3 years MS consecutively hit all time highs in Profit for their entire company. In its entire history. The current phone market is very very small in terms of actual users. IOS is used by less than 100 million unique users. It's sales each year are resales to existing customers. Android is over 100 million but not by alot. Again its sales now are resale's. Each year. Compare that to the 2.4 billion Devices using Windows as we speak. And you can see that the next step in mobile computing is anyone's game. Especially considering MS are taking over tablets. To say MS are done based on the small Mobile Phone market is crazy beyond belief.
  • Wow.  Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, but you couldn't get a single true statement in there. iPad pro is outselling the Surface and has been on the market for less time, so by definition it's grown faster. Windows may be on 93% of PCs, but most people only spend significant time on a PC at work.  For home computing, we generally use our smartphones and, if we need a bigger screen, our tablet, which is overwhelmingly likely to be an iPad or an Android tablet. XBOne did see a sales increase after the S was released in the US.  But worldwide, PS4 continues to outsell it by approximately 2 to 1.  The US is the only market of any significant size where XBOne has a real presence. MS' peak revenue was 2015, followed by 2014, followed by 2016.  But peak profit was waaaay back in 2011. The current smartphone market is huge.  Android alone is bigger than PC (at about 2.2 billion vs. about 2 billion installed base, and growing), and then iOS is another half billion or so. MS are in no way, shape or form "taking over tablets."  They're a player, sure, but a bit one at the moment.  And that's really only if you consider "convertibles" to be tablets.  That's totally a fine thing to do, but if you do, you can't count those as PCs anymore, so that market shrinks even further.
  • Wow, that's laughable.  You've moved from stating "windows PCs relegated to the workplace" to "Windows may be on 93% of PCs, but most people only spend significant time on a PC at work".  ​You are either a sloppy and imprecise writer, or just a plain old weasel.  Your first statement implies number of pc's and when called on it you changed the implication to time spent.   The fact is even your second premise is questionable when you posit that people at home spend most of their time on phone or tablet.
  • 100 million unique users... Dang Man you're lucky to live in Colorado because you've been smoking something good.
  • Insightful and sadly, true.
  • You obviously dont run a company or have the capacity to do any sort of basic business analysis.  Let me lick my finger, from whatever side the wind is blowing I too can predict Apple and Google are about to go out of business based on quarterly revenues.  Notwithstanding the purchases they made, the investments, the R&D, the write offs, clever accounting, a deep understandin of thier internal roadmaps accross every product and service in every stack.  Look the fact (and is is a fact) no one in this forum, not even Daniel the editor has access to the internal facts and figures that make up this beast of a company.  The doom and gloom is actually so laughable all it does is present peoples complete ignorance and small mindedness as to how a real company works opposed to something tiny called Windows Phone.  As for Ipad Pro trouncing Surface Pro 4 - in the UK market Surface Pro out sold iPad Pro by 2 to 1. Again that doesnt actually mean ANYTHING unless you know the profit margin per product and they certainly wont reveal how much it actually costs to make, the markup etc.   Microsoft are smart and have smart people (much smarter than most of us on this tiny forum) they are doing something different as what they were doing clearly was not working.  Personally im going to get an iPhone until the Surface Phone comes out and see where the land lies.  MS is in a very strong position, they need time to realise the masterful implementation of OneCore and Windows Everywhere, HP with the X3 is just the start, in time we will have x86 processors and amazing hardware and 95% (ninety five) of the worlds businesses use Windows, thats a hummoungus market share.   Microsoft also ecclipses both Apple and Google in IP, they are clever and wont throw good money after bad, instead they are exploiting thier strength and that will leverage the consumer market in time.
  • Have to remember that Motorola did an phone with x86 processor the razor I so the idea of an x86 phone isn't new
  • No but the tech has moved on from that. A 6" screen running windows 10 actual is not even remotely the same as the razor.
  • No doom and gloom here.  I see MS as a company in transition with about equal probabilities of success as failure.  Is Nadella a good CEO or a bad one?  As I said, the evidence is mixed--as, by the way, it was with Ballmer.  Certainly he's far from the "disaster" a lot of people around here think he is.  In some places, MS are well-positioned (cloud) and in others they are floundering (mobile).  Big companies like MS take a long time to correct courses and what I see right now is a company that is unsure of what it actually is.  They used to be "the" tech company, but now most people don't regularly use anything made by MS outside of the office.  Maybe MS have a new guiding vision that isn't coming through, but if they do, they really haven't announced it clearly to the public: Should Windows be free and a gateway to other products, or should it generate revenue? Is Windows something people should want to use at home?  Is there some other plan for "the living room" in the works? Does "mobile first" mean having an OS presence or are just applications enough? Should MS cloud services be all in the cloud or should they be on premises, too? Is it still "Developers, Developers, Developers" or is MS now a services company? Is MS hardware meant to motivate partners or be a legitimate source of income?
  • You're getting downvoted, but you're right.  I think Xbox and Bing are sold or spun off in the next three years.  They'll continue to support desktop Windows in a cursory fashion, because it still needs to exist in business.  If Satya stays as CEO, Microsoft will effectively leave the consumer market in the next three years.
  • How about the news that Xbox outsold PS4 in US? Didn't you read that?
  • The only way XBOX and Bing are spun off is if Microsoft goes the way of IBM and just does business stuff and totally leaves the consumer side of things. Microsoft is in such a prime spot for the upcoming fight for the livingroom (and on going fight. Its why XBOX got going in the first place. To compete with Sony in the livingroom.) Their investment into UWP should raise a red flag about the spin off as well because its a way for devs to target PC and XBOX (and mobile if they want) AND hololens. ​And Bing powers everything. Cortana, their search, their backend stuff. So they would have to do major things to spin off bing. I dont think Microsoft can afford to leave the consumer market. If they did half or more of their employees will be gone and they would go into cloud computing and analytics... ​I think in 3 years what we will get is a Microsoft who has more livingroom presence, a stronger skype presence, and a glimpse at a post mobile presence. And one that will be using Xbox and Bing to do that.
  • My opinion is that set in concrete plans have now ended so the HUGE ship has to turn. It takes ime to turn a company that big.
  • I think what Microsoft has done to diminish their trust is the fact that they sound "WE'RE ALL IN:" - Windows Phone - Lumia - Microsoft Band and within such a small life span they kill the cycle. I can see Lenovo thinking "They discontinue things slowly, so after getting rid of their own phones, HP is their last resort, if that doesn't work -- they will most likely stop production" Now is that what's really going to happen? We don't know. Microsoft has not given us any historical data to believe otherwise. If they don't give up -- then they aren't proving anything either, they are just surprising everyone at this point. 
  • nutella single handedly  is destroyimng MS so that the stock market graph can go up for the present! Is perfect short sightedness, and is goign to crash it soon., 
  • Utter bollocks.
  • I think Nadella was a plant from Nokia.
  • He makes no sense when he talks about mobile.
  • Companies have their ups and their downs. http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSFT?ltr=1 Microsoft seems to be in a long-term  upcycle.   
  • Yea man, they need to put full Windows on their phone in my opinion and then I believe other manufacturers will be more inclined in supporting them.
  • it's Ludacris to stop sales of lumia and put all hopes in some Surface phone, you already own over 95% of windows phone market, why do such? 950 are best windows phone there is hands down.
  • And yet, good as they are, they still suck. I own a 950 and a PRIV.  They are essentialy identical in terms of specs, but one oozes quality and and craftsmanshp and the other feels like a cheapy kids toy.
  • I didn't think the PRIV was gonna feel cheap.  Too bad for Blackberry's last phone.
  • I don't think BOTH of them are cheap. It's a matter of preference, right? I'd prefer using the phone for productivity, rather than looking the phone's design and build quality. L950 is great on photography, while Priv is great for texting (reducing typos). Both are great for productivity, yet they're lacking at the battery life.
  • Lumia 950 is from the Nokia Roadmap - its a Nokia product Microsoft are yet to make a phone themselves.  Will they? they absolutely have to, they know that.
  •   We do not know whether Microsoft has ended the Lumia product line,
    nor do we know whether there will be a "Surface Phone" or whatever. And yes, the Lumia 950 is a great phone.
    I'll stick with it for a while.  
  • If older x20 series won't support Windows 10 Mobile because it's too heavy as for be used in a phone then would kill an phone with the full Windows x64
  • Its NOT the next step...intel already axed the x86 phone processors.
  • You're assuming that Microsoft can't work with intel on a custom processor. Maybe Microsoft struck a deal for intel to stop selling phone processors to the massive so when the time comes Microsoft will have the advantage....hmmm ;)  
  • X86 won't be viable until 7nm, IIRC that's 2020 for Intel.
  • Seriously, how do you people keep coming up with such ludicrous scenarios when the truth is staring you in the face?
  • If Microsoft does start using x86, you know that means current phones will be abandoned. It will be another reboot for Microsoft. Supporting then now by buying or manufacturing Windows phones is silly. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Not really as it's only an architechture change so there would be no reboot for Microsoft so existing phones could potentially still get updates.
  • This is Microsoft and they have stopped making phones in the meantime. If the Surface Phone is x86, you can almost be guaranteed their ARM devices will be left behind. They would have no reason to support them. Sales have been non-existent. More than likely, there will be no Surface phone and Microsoft will kill W10m. There have been a few reports that Microsoft is waiting for the next evolution of the mobile market and if that is true, there is no reason to continue supporting W10m. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • The delusions are strong in this one!
  • agreed 100 percent pericle
  • No,  I am not assuming...I am knowing they are not going to do it....MS is not that smart....obviously...look at the total state windows 10 microsoft is in....
  • That would fly completely in the face of MS's "partner" dialog with Windows 10 Mobile. If they wanted to ruin partner W10M uptake entirely, making an exclusive deal with Intel would certainly do it. Every existing OEM would likely walk away for good. 
  • What OEMs? They have no meaningful ones. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I thought they reannounced the rumors for that processor?
  • Yes.  But the future of Atom is IOT.
  • Intel axed a certain product line. That's about it. Who knows what Intel are up to in the mobile market.
    Maybe, next, they produce an ARM SoC for Apple. Who knows what Apple is up to in the mobile market.
    Maybe they come up with a iPad Pro / MacBook hybrid running on ARM,
    maybe they will use a tailor-mad x86 SoC. In 2-3 years it will be a different world, that is all we know for sure.  
  • Keep dreaming, x86 phones are just another pipe dream savior like all the ones before that have done nothing to advance the platform. The problem is and always has been Microsoft's lack of commitment to the platform, period, and Nadella has done everything he can to undermine the OS so no one should be surprised.
  • x86 is not a savior for the platform it is the final nail. Doesn't seem to make sense to have a mobile platform if you're not going to support it so might as while miniturize the x86 computer and give us one that can be used instead of a phone. Considering it appears they have given up on the consumer market anyways, they no longer have to focus on thin and light.
  • X86 on phones is not yet viable, Intel hasnt been able to crack the code for  low power consuming chips for mobile. its still far.no wonder Intel "retrenched" in mobile space
  • This is what I don't get. We had 7" Windows tablets 2 years ago running on Atom (HP Stream 7, etc.) with good battery life. You're telling me in 2 years time they couldn't make a 6" version with Intel Atom?
  • Well that would be doubtful considering Microsoft biggest hardware partner, Intel, abandoned their project to move fully into mobile with an x86 processor.
  • However Intel are seriously considering entering into the mobile market again: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/814c6a18-303c-11dd-86cc-000077b07658.html?ft_s...
  • Right, Intel abondaned one project.
    Of other projects we have no knowledge of.
  • x86 phones are not the future. The UWP and Continuum are the best chance for a mobile future for Windows. x86 software can already run on Windows 10 powered Smartphones in continuum mode, trough the cloud, as HP has proven with the Elite X3. A phone form factor wil never be capable of providing desktop horse power, absolutely NEVER. Trough the cloud you can acces this desktop kind of horse power on a mobile device. THAT IS THE FUTURE! Wining about a x86 smartphone is absolutely pointless!
  • +950  Someone gets it!
  • through cloud?? Hahaha.. so you dont need a Microsfot phone to do it right?
    Why would anybody buy a W10M phone when they can do the same on Android/iOS via cloud??? see... thats the problem of this platform
  • Sure.. pull up your cloudbased data on your phone while presenting through another appplication on a beamer.. Oops.. there goes your Android or iOS phone.. they can't do it.. Windows Mobile can.. and does today.   Microsoft pulled the plug on consumer devices as there is no margin there and whatever there was has been gobbled up by iOS and Android. Enterprise was, is and will be where Microsoft rules and leads..
  • The point is connecting remotely to a full desktop PC is not a W10M exclusive feature as the fanboys would have everyone believe so that is not really any advantage for W10M.
  • The exclusive part is being able to do that with a mouse, keyboard and whatever screen you want or a lapdock type accessory to work as you would work with a normal PC and then at the same time be able to use your phone without the two being mutually exclusive. Add the new multi tasking features of Continuum coming next year and it just makes it even closer to the real thing, iOS and Android are not even in the same league for that kind of flexibility.
  • Android can do all that now and even has a hidden free form desktop mode. It can quickly take over that market if it ever proves to be viable. It already has the apps and they already able to scale based on screen size. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • True but Android apps MUST be written to take advantage of different screen sizes otherwise it just stretches the UI elements to fit. A UWP will automatically scale the entire app to fit the screen size. A good example is the Windows 10 settings, just resize the window and you'll see the UI elements reorganise themselves to fit the available space. Both methods work but UWP makes it easier.
  • UWP apps must be written. The android app is already written and has had the ability to scale according to screen size for quite a few years now. It would be much easier to just add a desktop layout to your app than it would be to create a whole UWP. Android will own this space if it ever proves viable. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • You missed the point, a UWP app does this automatically with no extra coding involved as scaling is a key part of the platform. Android apps have to be written/rewritten in order to scale to different screen sizes, which means that not all Android apps will scale correctly without stretching UI elements.
  • No, I get it. It automatically makes it a blown up phone app instead of having a unique UI for larger screens. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Biz only market do not exist
    Os/2 docet
  • Microsoft does not rule in mobile enterprise. Quite the opposite actually. They have almost no presence. It will be near impossible for them to grow their, especially without help from the consumer market. This Lenovo guy is right, Microsoft won't support Windows Mobile for much longer. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • They don't, but they could if they get it right.
  • Cloud productivity is better when you consider using an app that requires more intense processing like CADs and such, as they process it in their server and their output is displayed on their (Continuum-enabled) device.
  • X86 cannot run on mobile even in continuum mode.
  • How about their company considered using their server to serve x86 apps via Cloud? Everything is possible, right?
  • The way you say never is so wrong in some ways and so right in others. You can say the same about laptop vs desktop, more power nearly always come with a bigger package so a laptop will never be as powerful as a desktop. People still use laptops and because of tech advances they can do a hell of a lot. The same is true for phones, as tech advances phones will have more power than current laptops and then it's not so crazy to think about running full photoshop from a phone.
  • Please check out project symetium
  • I'm not even sure why I need to install most of these Service apps on my phone. Why can't I just call them from the cloud? Saas for mobile please!
  •   A confined form factor always will be less powerful then a less constraint one. However, the horsepower that is availble to us in mobile devices is mindboggling.
    If you compare that to a notebook from old days, it is out-performing it.  
  • Well, I see MS shifting to cloud and ARM. You see, MS is trying to create a UWP/cloud service for every current desktop app, so that it can run everywhere.
    Look at Windows 10 new settings, photos, groove, skype, office, edge, file manager.... everything. Every app is very immature yet, but they've just started this journey, and they're planning to replace everything, to NOT stay dependent on the x86 apps. I'm not saying that I do/don't support it.
    BTW all this didn't struck me but only when I read your comment. :/ And maybe that's why MS is saying continuum is the future... Because Eventually it will be... I guess.
  • X86 depends mostly on the hardware and nothing is even visible in the horizon for now. Even if X86 happens, it will be at least more than 2 years from now.
  • HP themselves said, at the very least, an x86 phone type device is multiple years away;  it's a battery power and chip fabrication issue.   Now that Intel abandoned the project, I'd say it's a decade out at the earliest.
  • Missed the boat? Do you even notice how tiny wp's market share is right now? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Lenovo is missing the boat, yes, and the market share is tiny, indeed.
      However, you are refering to the consumer market. In the enterprise market Lenovo is missing the boat,
    leaving many things to HP who do have an SKU that supports their strategy. .  
  • They aren't missing any boat. Enterprise hasn't used Windows phones in the past and there is no reason for them to start now. Galaxy and iPhone will continue to dominate the exterprise market as well.
  • There is no path forward for x86 in phones...no one is making any SoCs.
  • There is no path forward for windows 10 mobile....there I fixed that comment for you x I'm tc!  
  • MS needs a phone that runs full Windows period. Connect the phone to a monitor and that IS full Windows. Do not try adding Windows features to continuum.It will not make Windows phone popular. Now, if you say you have full blown Windows in your pocket, which is basically a PC people might get interested in it (if, of course, MS advertises the product and work very closely to carriers). When the phone is not connected to a display, it should mirror the start menu of Widows Desktop and add to it mobile phone features like better notification, transparency etc....just have a look at Android and Google and see what their phones offer...MS has to offer more and better! Future Windows phone adopters have to feel they are not leaving anything behind when they move to Windows phones (apart from apps bought for the previous OS obviously). Can all of this be done/achieved? no idea, but MS has convinced me to go back to Android...Another two years and we will see if WS phone is a fiseable product. Continum, stylus support, business, blah...not for me.
  • I've got my 950xl set up like my desktop, including the wall paper. I haven't got the task bar but hey, that's in the works on continuum
  • Would be great if I could install RStudio, ScalaIDE, Python, and other tools I use at work on my phone, that way I would not need to carry a laptop + a phone and everything could run on my phone.
  • Agreed, if Microsoft has a secret weapon that can beat Apple and Google mobile OS is on productivity and for that you need x64 applications which by the way are counted in millions, which are more than iOS and Android together.  
  • What x86 app are you going to run on your phone? That sounds like a terrible experience. Consumers and business people are not going to want to hook their phone to a display in order to use apps!
  •   MS does not need a phone that runs full Windows,
    although I would like it to be the case. Windows Phone - or rather W10M -,
    according to Microsoft's new strategy, is an enterprise game.  It will be all about apps that connect directly to Azure,
    which is much more that just a "regular" cloud. It will be about security and (internal) corporate/enterprise apps (which those will create for themselves).  It's about integration into a an enterprise IT-scape
    and it about seemless integration into (hybrid) Azure clould.  And what is more,
    it all is totally not about a "phone", a portable gambling/gaming gadget and the like.
    It is about a mobile corporate terminal that also support telephony etc..
      .  
  • Where would these mobile x86 materialize from?  Because we know that Intel abandoned that project.   If it does happen, that's at least a decade out, and by then mobile phones will be embedded in our corneas or something or into our clothing, further exacerbating the battery effeciency and chip issue. Indiana, let it go.
  • You didn't read news, Intel has restarted their investment on Mobile CPU's this was announed in Windowscentral a few weeks ago.
  • Microsoft has abandoned the originally planned Surface Phone in May. Sorry, but "mini PC in a phone" won't happen.
  • Intel's mobile restart is about ARM, not X86.
  • Amd?
  • With Microsoft giving to IOS/Android technologies like Windows hello and Cortana,I would also doubt what is the purpose of Microsoft with the phone OS already apple don't ported any of their apps even apple music isn't in here Google is no applications in here so in a company where have no route i would also think that the phone os go to nowhere
  • The problem with iOS and Android is they don't support full OS applications like MS-Project, Outlook, full Office with Excel Solver, etc. This is the advantage of Microsoft vs iOS and Android and why I think that full x64 Windows 10 on modular phones can be the next big thing in technology for the enterprise and business users. (Also college students of course, which require to use Math software and scientific software which is still unavailable in iOS and Android)  
  • Disregard those downvotes you got, this website was called windowsphone.com before it was renamed windowscentral.  Readers of this website have invested lot of money on WindowsPhone and Windows Mobile, so i understand how they feel about this platform.  But I agree with you, next step is to put full x64 (not x86, since its 32-bit) Windows 10 on modular business phones that become workstations of the future with full Continuum support.  
  • Truth to be told, I did not invest a lot of money into Windows Phone.
    My Lumia 950 was pretty darn cheap.
    Worth every Euro I paid for it and more.
     
  • The same with Acer with regards to Windows 8 tablets. The idiots (initially).
  • I made a mistake when Windows 8 was launched, I purchased a Atom 2 in 1 thinking I was getting good product, but my Iconia W510 with 64GB of storage and 2GB of RAM only lasted for 2.5 years, after that I couldn't sell it anymore since to repair it I had to pay around $400 US dollars, and for that thing I had already paid $725
  • Miss what boat? MS keeps sinking the boat half way across the river and then telling you to swim back and get on the next one that they launch. Don't worry. This boat isn't going anywhere and there will be another one. Zune, Zune music, Xbox music, Windows Mobile, WP7, Skydrive, Windows 8, OneDrive with place holders and unlimited storage, Windows 8 Phone, Lumia, MS Band, Kinect... Next is Groove music and Continuum.
  • The enterprise market is different, very different. Completely different set of rules, completely different set of demands. You are arguing from the consumer side of the market
    (the SnapChat/Pokemon point of view),
    which in this case is irrelevant.
    Completely irrelevant.  
  • Lenovo relies on their x86 tablets*. HP has x86 tablets plus a contrete W10M strategy, including a for-real SKU. Of course, Lenovo must tactically speak against W10M and Windows Phone
    because Lenovo in this respect Lenovo finds itself in a very disadvantagous position against HP. Every single HP Elite 3 sold to an enterprise customer poses a business threat to Lenovo. So, if you don't have anything and are two years behind in a certain aspect
    it is best to create some FUD. Try to drive away customers (especially direct A-acounts) from the idea of using W10M devices. FUD is cheap. And media absolutely loves it. 
    FUD is better than any real news. Whatever:
    Lenovo is afraid to loose big direct customers to competition (HP in that case). .     *(I have a ThinkPad 8, which was not made for W10, and it is a desaster with W10).
  • Not surprising. I'm not totally confident either. Having abandoned so many other products recently, I would be very careful planning any device. Just remember Windows RT, Band, etc. Every new MS product i have bought into has been axed pretty quickly. Really disappointing to see this kind of thing, because it will affect peoples confidence levels buying any MS based product. As we can see it has a big impact on OEM's as well.
  • Yes, noone trust anymore in ms after nadella
  • Big networks are replacing windows with linux due to platform neutral solutions...
  • I guess they have no concerns over security then?
  • Links please? Why on earth would any company do such a thing which equates to throwing money away.
  • Nutella doesn't even care. He's got his bonus now.
  • He does.
    And that is why he gets his bones.
  •   You know, I am not a 100% confident in Microsoft either.
    Never have been, never will be. In IT, this is the best mindset you can have.
    Therefore I apply this mindset to other contenders as well. Having said that, Microsoft is communicating to enterprises entirely different. 
    They are communicating directly, and in person, with their customers. So, we do not know what is going on "behind the scenes". 
    It is behind the scenses because we are not part of the communication that goes on there.
    And most people proably also would be bored to death by it as it is none of their business, literally. The enterprise market is not getting into a crace about Pokemon nor Snapchat
    or the latest version of a ego-shooter game etc.. Different world ... .  
  • Hmm, I'm sorry but sad and so true. Microsoft didn't convince me too, although I can' live without my 950xl.
  • That is Microsoft's own doing. Instead of being behind the curve it's time they use their recourses to get out ahead, in particular regarding Windows 10 mobile. Get X86 / 3 in one, ready with mobile VR and AR, be a true third player in mobile computing, press ahead with a spec giant of a futureproofed all boxes checked Innovative Surface Phone.
  • Not so sure whether and when AR and VR will be successful. I guess both, AR and VR at first will be successful in "serious" applications.
    Business applications, so to speak.
      Currently, AR and VR are too expensive for the masses,
    and as of now there are no real convincing killer applications for the consumer world
    other than amazing people of what technology can / could do. For business / industrial use AR and VR are way more promising
    and certain market segments can shoulder high costs. I guess that AR and VR will first need to be perfected in the professional arena
    and once technology gets even better and costs come down
    AR and VR can make a broader entry into the consumer space. .
     
  • Key message to MS: Your actions speak louder than words. Killing Lumia with no announced replacement is making w10 mobile look like the walking dead... Product planning at ms needs serious work.
  • Exactly
  • Another problem, worst is "for business" or "focus on enterprise".. Everyone knows about black berry and os/2(ibm)....
  • I miss OS/2...
  • It's not a look.  It's actually dead.
  • imagine ending lumia sales and saying you're commited to mobile and enterprise? nonsense
  •   So far, Microsoft has killed the INHOUSE PRODUCTION of Lumia phones.
    That is what we know for sure. Regarding everything else, MS pretty much keeps things unpleasantly "indifferent" and kind of open.
       
  • Can you blame them ...
  • yes
  • I knew that and believe me that surface phone will be android based
  • Lol. 
  • Sorry mate, that ain't happening
  • If thats' true,  then I would buy one!
  • you wanna make jokes join the circus
  • You mean the Andromeda joke? Chrome and Android merger, how ridiculous that can get!
  • I hope ms soon deliver us android os on windows Phone
  • They already have, Almost every Microsoft App is avaiable in Google Play Store
  • You can't blame someone for making profit out of the majority.
  • That's Windows phone man only Windows OS....
  • Dear, Microsoft - It's time to get off the sidelines and make your move. If you have something big up your sleeve you need to do it soon. You can't have one of your largest hardware OEMs telling people that you're about to stop supporting a platform that you fully intend to support. 
  • Yes, but nadella is not a trustable ceo
  • Microsoft does have something up their sleeves,
    but they only tell people who have singed a high-level NDA. It's not for us, it's for enterprise.
    The people who need to know, do know (already).
    And they keep mum.  
  • Considering Lenovo's track record with security I'd not trust them with the amount of data stored on a phone let alone actually being able to create a secure device without crapware installed. That and they're banned from many sensitive installations and government bodies.
  • Considering US companies track record on security: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1241YT
  • All countries do Intelligence Gathering, have been since of the dawn of time. All companie are required, by law, to comply with the legal infrastructure in place to gather that data. Apple, Google, Microsoft and other companies have complied in the past when given a court or legal order to do so. To think any company is innocent or even any country is naive in the extreme and shows a complete lack of understand of how the Intelligence Community works. What we have with Lenovo is a company that's own by a Chinese company and is known Totalitarian regime that cracks down on free speech and restriction of freedoms. China has been caught many times over, at least,  the last 20 years, with some incidents more public than others about stealing Western Technology to advance their own to compete with the Western world. German, UK and USA Governments have all banned Lenovo machines at certain levels when dealing with classified data due to concerns being built into the BIOS or low-level infrastructure and the numerous security 'breaches' that lead to backdoors or compromised machines for remote access.
  • China a "totalitarian regime"?
    Hmmm, I do not know. Chinese poeple I know never ever made any comments in that direction. Maybe some Chinese reader should speak up about this. Normally they just ignore this kind of talk, have better things to do ...  
  • https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china/
  • Congratulations Nadella! Great job!
  • Can't say I blame them. If MS does follow through and continue to develop the OS and hardware gets to the point where a single device can be your Phone and while docked a fully featured PC then I think more Co. will then start to show interest. Will likely take MS releasing an all in one "Surface Phone" to get things moving though.
  • The continuum idea is cute, but the general public doesn't care about that feature and don't want it. I got the continuum dock free with my phone and I've never opened it. Continuum is a way to cling to the past where we had to have a single place to get work done. Now phones are powerful enough that we can get that work done anywhere without needing a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Microsoft needs to focus on the consumer devices. If they want to follow the Blackberry strategy then they will end up in the same place they are. i miss the innovative days of windows phone 8 and Nokia. At least they were pushing the market forward then.
  • And where did you glean that 'factual' piece of info from?? Most of the world doesn't even know about it. How can you not care for something you don't know exists?
  • Point proven...the general public is NOT screaming I wish I could plug my phone into a monitor keyboard and mouse and do very limited things with it.   They would rather just have a full power desktop/laptop, a dedicated tablet...not a 2-1 half baked windows 10 shitcan,  and a dedicated phone....trying to blend all three creates comprimises....again,  where windows 10 is at now. 
  • Screw the commies.
  • Commies in China? That is just folkore.
  • When the ruling party is called the Communist Party of China, you can see why people think that there might be communists there.
  • I don't blame them one bit. The signals are loud and clear from Microsoft. What a shame.
  • Trust is a big issue.  With the russians banning windows on governemtn computers, Lenovo will probably be forced by the chinese government to slowly ween off of Windows in favour of whatever they are developing.  I can understand as the NSA and US government want back doors and hack thier own companies in secret.  Trust is a big thing, look at IoT hacking, soo insecure.  We need an Open Source system to defeat these idiot hell bent on spying on everyone using fear as a tool.   Lenovo not supporting Windows Phone? no surprise, others will follow suit soon.   Having said that (and removed my tin foil hat :P) I think as more and more UWP apps come out it is only natural that the phone side will grow organically.  We need amazing hardware though.  The X3 is one, we need to see a Surface Phone pushing the envelope.  I dont blame Microsoft like most as the Nokia roadmap (it takes a long time to develop devices, iPhone 7 has been in development before the iPhone 6 was even released and iPhone 8 is in develpment already) was complteely cut to a full stop while the sale went through.  When it did it takes a long time tio assimilate and they released old hardware that hadnt been worked on for a while, not by people who cared anymore.  Result is all of the recent Lumia devices. Big question is.....Does Microsoft have the stomach to do what Apple and Google have done and have thier own branded device ie the SP.  I also think the way they support HP is going to say a lot to all of the other manufacturers, the ball is well and truly in Microsofts side of the court.
  • "more and more UWP app" Like what?  UWP is a compete flop.
  • Russia moving to Linux within their administration? Proably a good move to finally to rid of Windows XP installations that have not been updated for years. Russia also has developed their own CPU etc (made in China) to run the government OS. The Russian government is free to set up their IT as they like, of course. 
    Let's see how it will work out. The city of Munich moved from Windows to Linux many years ago.
    After all those years it seems to work seamlessly.
    Other than that you do not hear much about it, not many have followed suite. Private Russian business will stay away from the offical government recommendation
    as much as they can.
     
  • Who gives a crap! Next news! We will have plenty of windows phones soon
  • If Microsoft is not making them, we need OEMs to make them.
  • Xiaomi
  • Armand Litz,   MICROSOFT FANTASY LAND DWELLER.....
  • "I'M NOT YELLING. THIS IS THE WAY I TALK."
  • Ah, hating on users now. Not enough for you to hate on Microsoft, you now have to insult the users on here!!!!!
  • Any chance of a teenth of what you had?
  • Lenovo must know something. I have a feeling MS will pull the plug in mobile. When? I do not know.
  • Thats actually not possible with Onecore and windows everywhere.....an app made for XBOX, for Hololens, for PC, Tablet etc will also work on a a windows mobile device without too much of an effort.
  • Its obviously more effort than Microsoft is letting on since a large percentage of Universal apps are universally on desktop only!
  • Agree, thats why it needs time, as soon as MS push harder into enterprise more apps will be made for the workforce, in turn companies will want more Windows based mobile hardware (they already do tbh, iPhones and Galaxies are a nightmare for CTO's) then these devs will spend a few hours and make the app work on mobile too, thats the beaty of OneCore, its very easy to port, the fact they havnt bothered is due to the 1% market share.
  • Hololens is few more than a new band... Nadella want to kill xbox, outside us and uk only playstation sell Big networks are moving to linux due to platform neutral cloud solutions MS is fu..ed also on enterprise The only market sector good is pc gaming, but with nadella....
  • Would you like to join the queue for the head banging wall? ;-)
  • End is near. Hp failure is evident and it was the last chance.
  • Stop watching TITANIC :D
  • Watch bollywood
  • can't  its like a car crash in slow motion here...you want to leave,  but its just more fun to watch the carnage go down here.  really....it is like the titanic...slow dragged out failure!
  • Band is not playing while ship sinks. Already gone.
  • do you mean band 2?  i like what you did there!
  • Took your time to get out under that rock :P
  • Of course, Lenovo knows something. They know, that they are 2 years behind HP. Therefore, should one day a Microsoft-made "Surface"-branded device come to the market
    (Q2/Q3 2017, maybe even later), Lenovo will resell this MS device to their enterprise customers. HP is already knocking on the doors of the major direct Lenovo accounts.
    Tough s.... they do not have a product to compete, somehow need to bridge those 2 years
    and create some FUD to win time. .
  • Lol, ofc, hmm....
  • Microsoft killed its own phone department.... killed nokia killed Lumia killed windows phone 8.1 and leave its own customers to oblivion....why Lenovo should trust them???? why Lenovo should invest on windows phone??? most of us bought windows phones back then because of the build quality and uniqueness of nokia... will you ever buy a cheap windows phone from Lenovo??? i will not...
  • You trust a Chinese company guilty of loading all sorts of dodgy software on thier machines without people knowing?
  • Who cares. I know how to get rid of that bloatware. Replacing a 32-Bit UEFI BIOS with an 64-BIOS is a different story, unfortunately.
    A Lenovo machine that comes with a certain varitety of a 32-UEFI BIOS
    will remain restricted to 32-Bit OSes for good. Nothing one can do but to purchase a new machine. .  
  • I agree. I love my Lumia 950XL but Microsoft doesn't inspire any confidence no matter how much they say they will keep supporting W10M.
    What they say and what they do is completely different. Starting with slow OS development, adding features to the apps on other platforms first, removing Nokia developed features and coming up with their own implementations which are half as good, killing their own developed apps. And with the market share crashing at 1% or less no one believes them at this point, not even their fans probably. But it's their own doing.
    The Enterprise focus BS won't fly. There will come a point when not even companies will want a phone that won't even have an updated Teamviewer app.
  • Exacty board and nadella are killing ms as whole in the long term, just wait and see..
  • No they aren't killing the company. The company is doing very well under Nadella. It's just the mobile market that they don't seem to care about, but that started with Balmer. Balmer decided to throw money at the Xbox red ring issue instead of jumping into the emerging smartphone market. The mobile strategy didn't start with Nadella, but he hasn't done much to improve it.
  • Exactly right.  Getting out of the consumer market doesn't kill the company.  It just changes it.  
  • Now, you're saying that Xbox which is doing well, was a mistake. MS can't just bring a product to maturity, for example zune, band, Lumia was already great until they kill it. Xbox could've been different but the always on kinects and the NSA backdoors cripple it.
    All of my family are using Windows phone, 6 devices. I was waiting for a mid range devices like L640 to upgrade the kids before anyone cries 650, they need to realize that phone, unlocked, runs on limited network. I love Windows Phone but at this point its hopeless.
  • I hear people saying this. However, I am pretty happy with my Lumia 950 on Preview fast.
    Preview is not for everyone, works fine for me. So far.
       
  • What, you mean he doesn't believe in the best strategy in the world, retrenchment? Sack him, pronto! /S
  • F-him, he wasn't on board even when he had certainty.
  • Microsoft already said they will make the phones if nobody else will I trust them
  • Even partners don't trust nadella words... He say a thing and do the opposite
  • Crazy COO can't see the future Windows Phone... We will rock the floor... Even if Lenovo doesn't support us....
  • Another MICROSOFT FANBOY FANTASY LAND DWELLER....rock the floor,  more like drop to the floor....
  • LOL
  • HE IS NOT ALONE!!
  • I agree,  there are many MICROSOFT FANBOY FANTASY LAND DWELLERS here for sure....and its really funny to watch the comments....everytime theres a device cancellation, app drop,  feature removable....its always NEVER USED THAT,  or WEBSITE IS BETTER.....cop out answers!
  • Saying they're not going to support phones is like saying they're not going to support Windows. It's quite clear that as far as Microsoft is concerned they've become one in the same.
  • Um...no. Lenovo needs to keep making Windows computers to stay in business.
  • In fact Lenovo said nice things about Windows on PCs at the same event, it's just mobile that they have no confidence in.
  • Go Nutella!!!!
  • Mmmmmm...nutella.
  • This is hands down the biggest dirt bag CEO. Sell us devices that he has no intention of backing.
  • at last some one speaking :) 
  • This doesn't bother me, they would have likely put out a mediocre phone nobody cares about anyway. There are alot of windows phone options already, why do we need Lenovo too. I just picked up a x3 at a Microsoft store to replace my 950xl, what a great phone. Who would have thought I would own an hp phone, but damn is this thing nice. I am just waiting for a surface phone to replace this phone and my laptop.
  • I'll wait for the surface phone. I don't want a phone from a company who barely makes Phones anyways
  • Yeah just like HP!
  • windows phone 8.1 was a stable and fast os but instead of upgrade and add features to 8.1 they choose another reboot of the platform... another 2 wasted years and customers where used as beta testers. the remaining few developers had to rewrite most of the apps . windows phone lost the simplicity and fluidity once had. also Lumia phones and nokia behind was the main reason that customers give a chance to Microsoft and used their os. why a new customer will try a Lenovo phone with windows 10 instead of an android??? I have a Lumia 1020 and a Lumia 1520 M$ killed them by the way... will I ever buy a lenovo windows phone???? I prefer to buy a used Lumia from ebay............
  • Yea, I really think the reboot has been awful. It seems completely pointless when it just killed off so many apps that we had, and hasn't brought along all that many new ones.
  • Those 13 partners shown at BUILD were never really aboard. They did their utmost to kill off Nokia/Microsoft as a competitor by promising their own devices. Microsoft has absolutely no leverage in the consumer space, and they continue to waste time and resources with double efforts (all "for business" products are really unnecessary distractions) and pet projects (Continuum). The whole OneMicrosoft vision is still completely flawed, with some online businesses and the mobile business being political footballs between different divisions. And this is Nadellas real fault: having not converted to a shallow product team structure reporting directly to the CEO.
  • Apparently all you need to do to be listed as Windows phone OEM is to fill in a few web forms. Like that one man 'OEM' from Connecticut WC been promoting.
  • Really....i need a retirement fund....OEM windows and kickstarter....oh wait....windows phone.....I will make 5 bucks.....damn.  there goes that!
  • 5 bucks?? You mean one can actually make money making Windows phones?
  • there are 20 suckers in here who would buy one!  that about how many wharton Brooks phones that will sell....Still think its a cash grab for kickstarter...Just like the earl GPS.  Guy comes on a few websites spewing about how he loves adventure motorycling/overlanding..."develops" a cool waterproof GPS that runs various maps etc..."markets" said GPS on Kickstarter,  gets over 2 million dollars in pre orders....then buys a ferrari, and jet sets around the world.  I think thats exactly what MR Wharton Brooks is going to do as well.....
  • Personally I think, that the problem with the phone market is that international versions of Microsoft services are hardly limited. For example, in my country (Russia) you have a very limited Windows store (without music and movies), no Cortana (that's why lots of essential phone services like "Quiet hours" are broken here). I see a phone like a tool for consuming the services the company offers. That's the point of "Best on Windows" concept. So, while the services are not properly globalized, the platform will not be popular.
  • True
  • Hmmm, if you are really mostly about "consuming" content and services,
    you really might be much better off with a nice Android phone
    like a Huawei or a OnePlus phone. .
  • Well crap...
  • Who cares about Lenovo? Nokia is releasing flagship phones in 2017. Hopefully running W10! Lol.
  • Sorry John,  All NOKIAs are going to be on a real OS....android from here on....they got burned once by Microsoft,  not happening again.
  • No, Nokia phones will run Android
  • For what we know those Nokia-branded phones will run Android.
  • Shouldn't we all be doubting W10M future? Ideally MS brings full Win10 to mobile devices with it auto-adopting to the device it is running on (I would die for such a device!!!). W10M a temporary place holder? Any thoughts?
  • There was an article from Daniel a few days ago, where he mentioned about an interview with MS France VC. he pretty much cleared teh air, he said that the ticket to consumer space is unaffordable for MS so they are now gng to completely concentrate on enterprise. if surface phone is ever released. there will be a small prtion in the stores for enthusiasts n that too in US only probably.
  • If you keep up with the news, then you know about One Core and that Redstone 2 Mobile will offer an even better desktop experience on a larger screen than it does today.
    Mobile is the future, so it is an easy guess that some day the Windows Mobile branch will take the lead in development over desktop and then the phase out of the desktop branch, while dropping "Mobile" as a name qualifier.
  • BOOOO!!! Lenovo COO...Booo!! Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Really *****!!
  • Exactly. just because these companies make pc's doesn't mean their phones will be good. I'll buy and keep older flagships before I buy a new one I don't know of it will last
  • Dear Microsoft, Talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words. The 950 line wasn't marketed at all, and you don't have any plans to release another phone for more than a year after the 950 launched. Did you really think the OEM partners would pickup the slack for you? The Windows mobile market only has a share because of the advertising blitz in the windows 8 era. It's time to start advertising again. Show off the various Windows phones to make the public aware that they have a choice and that it's more than just Microsoft supporting the platform. I had someone at work last week ask me about switching from Android to Windows, and I told them to wait until the spring if they could. I'm a staunch supporter of the platform and will use it until Microsoft stops making mobile hardware, but you need an ad that says "Hey! We're still here and stronger than ever." When people try out the 950 they really like it, but that requires someone to know a Windows phone user or have a store near them. Neither of those things are likely. Despite me being a supporter, I'm no longer confident in Microsoft's direction in the mobile space. Windows phones used to innovate and cause the marketplace to catch up. Now it's just silence and occasionally doing barely enough to keep the fans happy. I'm preparing myself for the 950XL to be my final Windows phone. It would be a shame after owning the 920, 1520, 930, and 950XL. Please prove me wrong and don't make me go back to iPhone.
  • But why advertise someone else's product? Advertise the OS etc, but as for advertising for HP etc I cant see that happening. HP would be suing for dropping sales if MS promoted them!
  • DEAR Lanci "You CAN NOT See what is True".... sorry lenovo future....
  • well said lenovo well said, let them first fix issuess of battery management, firmware, dirvers, little little settings working properly wihtout people having to hard reeset etc on their flag ships.
  • In my opinion, one of the main reasons why businesses have Microsoft products, and especially Windows, is because in the old days when they had to decide on what software to use, they choose the software that was most commonly used. Because it meant less user training. There is an entire generation growing up with ipads and androids. By the time they are old enough to enter the business market, probably none of them will have ever worked or seen a windows device. If Apple or Google have valid business solutions by that time, and I'm sure they will, then it will be game over for Microsofts stronghold. So MS just can not afford concentrating only on the business.
  • You got a point mate, don't drink too much CocaCola thou, that stuff is bad!
  • Could be that some of Google's plans on that front will be revealed in a few minutes time. If rumors and speculation are to be believed.
  •   Once you need to get some real work done
    you will put your smarphone aside
    and use some "real" IT. Even it does not support Snapchat or whatever.
    That's what you have your smartphone for.  
  • its depressing just reading all these comments all of the time! I know its kinda true but this doesnt help anyone who is still interested in the platform!
  • Hey girl! I'm still here, take my hand ;)
  • Seriously, you put me off making comments. Don't be knob
  • Well this past month has done wonders for MS's brand loyalty.  Lumia: Dead.
    Band: Dead.
    W10M Market Share: Plummeting.
    Windows 10 Market share: Down.   Windows 10 Mobile market share is a drop in a bucket. Lenovo can make a moderately crappy Android phone and outsell Windows 10 Mobile flagship handsets. It's a numbers game and they are playing to win. But hey, Microsoft executives are still getting their multi-million dollar bonuses, so things must be OK over in Redmond.
  • Windows 10 is becoming a great OS. What hurt it's reputation was how and when Microsoft issued and developed it.
  • Folks Microsoft CEO Nadella has to respond to this  in 2 ways 1= by stateing publically Microosoft will Continue support Windows 10 Mobile smart phone OS Development which they are beause anybody in the Windows insiders program will tell you that Microsoft is improving the Windows 10 Mobile OS  2= Retire the Lumia Line of Smart phones that are not selling well these days and Selling a High end flagship "Surface pro" smart phone and a cheaper affordable "Surface" smart phone that runs Windows 10 mobile OS. Microsoft can well afford to sell just 2 Windows 10 mobile smart phones to show thaat are commited to Windows 10 mobile. folks throug the MS Universal Apps program a business can make a MS universal app specific to the Companies needs and it will run on a Windows 10 mobile smart phone and also run on a Windows 10 desktop/ laptop / Surface Tablet or other full Windows 10 OS Tablets. Microsoft Universal Apps unite the the Windows 10 mobile smart phone to all Windows 10 Computers which are now 400 million in nuber and that number is still growing. these are not obsolite smart phones they are the best to worl with windows 10 Computers because thay use the same apps 
  • Paragraphs and punctuation are your friends.
  •   No, this works differently. Lenovo does not have a device that could even remotely compete with the HP Elite X3.
    Which will/might be a problem for its enterprise business.
    So create some FUD and try and protect your business as best as possible. Microsoft is communicating to their enterprise customers directly (in person via a Key Account Manager),
    this communication is private between both parties. As it is usually the case.
    Anything else is usually considered a betrayal of trust. So we do not hear much at all.
    Same holds true for HP and their customers,
    and of course it also applies to Lenovo and their communications and meetings with their direct customers. The very fact, that the Lenovo CEO steps forward and makes a well-crafted public statement 
    is a sign of weakness. It means, he had to say this, apperently had no other choice.
    Lenovo likely had been approached by their top direct customers regarding W10M
    and Lenovo does have nothing at their hands, nothing they could offer for like 24 month.
    So create some FUD to win time. Lenovo is afraid (rightly so) that HP is using the X3 as a leverage
    to open up-unitil-now closed Lenovo direct customers
    and start evaluating certain internal enterprise projects. Once HP has a foot in the door of a previously closed account
    Lenovo's business is endangered. If you were the Lenovo CEO, what would you say to your customers?? Microsoft does not have to say anything in public.
    As mentioned before, Microsoftt talks to their direct customers directly, as does HP. Absolutely no need to take this public (with the remarkable exception of Lenovo of course).  MS does not publicly care what the Lenovo CEO says, they take it with a truck load of salt.
    MS know WHY he really says it, have to say it (for serious business reasons).
    The communication, that you wish to be public, simply occurs directly between the involved parties. As alluded to before:
    The Lenovo CEO statement is a sign of weakness and fear.  .  
  • You really think Lenovo customers are asking for Windows phones? There has been a few to choose from, why aren't they buying those? No one is asking for Windows phones. Microsoft barely sold 2 million last quarter. Even the Galaxy Note 7 is outselling them and they explode! Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • One of the so called "PARTNER" has broken the silence..
  • Never see 90% of the commuity agree on one thing.  Can't believe Ballmer/Gate and coop allow this to happen.
  • Im a fan of the Microsoft who makes Windows with live tiles, Xbox, windows phones with tiles and surface. Before XP and Xbox I wasn't a fan of the company. And as of now I still have those options. But it sure seems disappointing that MS isn't pushing for mobile market share. I've seen more brand loyalty because of there phone than anything else outside of console bias. What I mean by that is that fans of phones will become fans of that product. I.e google, apple, Microsoft. That's the danger Imo of not pushing mobile first.
  • Insert com- oh.
  • Microsoft did this year we will not focus on Windows phone
  • While even I'm skeptical of this explanation, it could be that Lenovo is just trying to keep HP from getting marketing share on PC's with the Elite X3. We know that HP developed that for its enterprise salesforce to use to bolster sales with existing customers. HP, Dell, and Lenovo are constantly fighting for those sales. Perhaps the Elite X3 is also a competitive sales tool against Lenovo ("We can give you everything through mobile at a lower total cost of ownership, by eliminating the extra cost of a laptop"). If that's the case, then Lenovo's logical response would be, "We don't think Microsoft is even serious about that OS" and deny that they are planning to follow suit, else it would just validate HP's claims. The one thing that gives this credibility is: why else would Lenovo say that? It's a really harsh thing to say against Microsoft as a partner and probably is going to take a few high-level talks to smooth that out. But if they thought it could save them a few tens of millions of dollars in enterprise business, well then maybe that's worth it.
  • The problem is MS changes direction of their ship too much.  It's like they have no idea what they want to do next and abandon every previous decision/product when they make their next decision.
  • They really have no direction.  They are lost and most likely will never be found.
  • If I were lenovo I would worry more about why my stock has declined more than 40% this year and why I had a net loss of 100 million dollars than making predictions about firms that make more than 10 billion a year profits.
  • Jump ship to Android.... What are you waiting for ??? Leave Daniel and the others fanboys on WC to wither with MSFT and their failure of mobile OS
  • Richard Dawkins is way more articulate than you. .-
  • <<<<read this
  • Nadella killed Windows Phone.
  • To be honest so many mobile phone users here claiming its the end of MS. The mobile market is small. IOS has under 100 million unique users. Android a bit more. Do you know how many windows devices there are? About 2.4 billion. And not sure you all even know that there are more windows tablets sold each year than Ipad and Android. While yes MS are trying to find the best way to gather Phone users, they are dominating PC and tablet. And just got a massive boost in the console space.
  • According to google there were 1.4 billion active Android devices SEP29 2015 http://www.androidcentral.com/google-says-there-are-now-14-billion-activ... According to The Verge there are over 1 billion active IOS devices.  http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/26/10835748/apple-devices-active-1-billio...  
  • There are more people who have a mobile phone than people who own a nice PC / notebook.
  • This know-it-all should shut up if he has nothing to say.
  • The HP Elite X3 is a threat for Lenovo's direct enterprise business, 
    hence his statement.   
  • It's a very hard statement. Someone is hiding something. Or Lenovo already knows that MS is going to drop Windows Mobile, or MS is going to release some x50 line substitute in the next few months. The only thing for sure that HAS to happen is an official response from Microsoft to this statement Lenovo just made; IF Microsoft do not agreed with Lenovo, a direct response is more than needed - A DIRECT RESPONSE, not some crap like "we are committed to make something... soon".
  • Hasn't Lenovo said this before?
    Likely a matter of words. Support for Windows Phone is likely to end soon, but Windows 10 Mobile is the future and the device Microsoft will come up with won't be just another smartphone.
  • Also, Mobile currently is not just about phones, ever heard about the Surface success?
  • glad i just bought a dell laptop instead of Lenovo
  • You know this is the same thing Lenovo said more than a year ago, but at that time the reason was Microsoft had enough apps on Android. I think the bigger issue is no one know where MSFT is taking Windows Mobile definitively. It is troubling to see the head of Windows have to reiterate support because of headlines, but when you say one thing and the platform seems to be doing another you have to. The reality is Windows Phone didn't get traction and when it did it wasn't in an area where the platform could grow and get healthy hardware competition. Yes everyone loved Lumia but Nokia was the only one doing consistent hardware. Windows Phone as it was concieved did not work and thus we are in the place where we are.
  • I'm tired of Microsoft "phone soap opera". I can't believe that MS annouce support of a partner while partner itself is annoucing no trust to MS Win 10 platform! It's clear to the world that MS strategy in the mobile market is an EPIC FAIL! Win 10 mobile is a great OS. Lumia had 95% of Windows phone market. A company that decide to shut down their own market and believes that had 3rd party hardware partner support should be 100% sure of the slides they use during a global conference. Now it's clear that Lenovo does not trust MS strategy in the mobile arena....and Lenovo is a big player. A few years ago Nadella convinced me that MS could have a bright future on phones. I dislike the fact that MS bought Nokia because I was sure that MS has no culture to substain an industry like Nokia...i was right. They shut down nokia business...and now they are inside their own made caos...out of the consumer market...ready for a busines one...sure that tons of company will adopt their dead OS. "Mobile first"...on competitors platform! Thanks Satya and goodbye from a consumer, Nokia Lumia 920 and Microsoft Lumiua 640 XL...it was a great story until you decided to pull the plug. Ms has no marketing campaign for their phones (no one at least as old Nokia ones...direct marketing and indirect ones like Kate Perry video with Lumia 1020 inside...or movies with Nokia phones and so on). Ms has also poor communication style.....controversial statements are the daily bread in MS (look at Lenovo statement, MS France statement and so on).
  • To be honest so many mobile phone users here claiming its the end of MS. The mobile market is small. IOS has under 100 million unique users. Android a bit more. Do you know how many windows devices there are? About 2.4 billion. And not sure you all even know that there are more windows tablets sold each year than Ipad and Android. While yes MS are trying to find the best way to gather Phone users, they are dominating PC and tablet. And just got a massive boost in the console space.
  • Everything you wrote is just simply false. Do you have any links to back your absurd claims? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Windows 10 is used on more than just phones and mobile is about more than phones as well, so no proof is needed.
  • Actions speak louder than words Microsoft, when you take a massive axe to the phone division and reduce resources it never looks good. Especially losing one of the major coops that they got with Nokia D&S acquisition (the camera guru - Juha Alakarhu). As I have been saying time and time again, perception if anything is key. RS2 has to hit out of the park as -beyond that I doubt majority will not have the patience (WM6.x -> WP7.x -> WP8.x -> WM10). Sure they are doing alot behind the scenes but as it stands they are on extremely shaky ground right now.
  • The current development of Windows Redstone 2 is primarily focused on mobile devices and 64-bit support. We're just now getting high end phones from HP, Alcatel, and Acer. Both HP and Alcatel are delivering new Windows phones with Snapdragon 820 and 4GB RAM. Does it make sense for Microsoft to release a first party phone at the same exact time and kill any chance of sales for their hardware partners? Given the limited market for Windows phones it probably makes more sense for Microsoft to release new Windows phones every other year if they want to develop a 3rd party market for Windows phones. HP, Acer, and Alcatel all developed much better 3rd party phones for Windows than we ever saw in 2015 and 2014.
     
    Microsoft's biggest problem in my opinion is that they are not evangelizing UWP enough and they are dragging their feet with HoloLens. HoloLens and Windows Holographic attracted a lot of development excitement, but it will be almost 2 years old come January with no consumer release date, no consumer price, no hardware improvements, and no hardware partners. Microsoft's relevance in mobile computing hinges on HoloLens and Windows Holographic devices getting to market early and at a mass market price. The first-mover advantage is critical. If MS is smart they are developing Windows Holographic OS with partner devices using both Qualcomm and Intel. If they ever hope to shrink HoloLens down to sunglasses size and become useable anywhere then I don't see how they can afford to ignore Qualcomm support of Windows. Given the software that works on HoloLens (only app store apps) are there any advantages at all to the device using Intel or x86 chips? Continuum for HoloLens could also make that device much more versatile with a dock turning Hololens into your desktop PC.
  • Relax.  Have you ever seen some of Lenovo's designs?  They were so awful I'm kind of glad they haven't joined the market.  At least HP knows how to make a nice looking phone.  Heck HP even improved on Lenovo's flip hinge concept.  It's probably just Lenovo suffering Envy...  Anyway they want to sit it out for a bit.  Don't worry.  They have plenty of Win 10 devices and many of them are class acts.  They have the first OLED convertible and it's pretty stunning to see in person.  So give them some room.  This is all the same talk that happened both prior to and post the first Surface 1 and Surface Pro 1.  "MS is dead"  "MS can't make it in this space"  Well they aren't being ignored now are they?  And yes the surface took a mega write off as well.  That again spawned more "when are they going to quit" on the tablet side.  Yet 2 in 1's are so huge that Apple needed the Pro series to have even a play in the game.  So be patient (and by that I mean more than week to week).  Our phones are ok now and we have selections to choose from.  Many people waited a long time for the HP phone to arrive.  Acer can cover you if you can't spend that much.  And you can still obtain Lumia's in some places.  We have impending changes that might well force this to be a waiting game for a bit longer.  Win 10 is getting refined still - though it is pretty day to day good right now.  64 bit is probably incoming.  Next year we also get batteries in the marketplace that are likely double the capacity of current batteries.  (Go look up MIT improvement to cathodes of lithium's to find more on that)  And the 830 chipset may well come out in the spring.  Memory is getting cheaper, and the real flag bearer to compete with may well be the Galaxy S8 which also comes in the spring.  So roll with this one.  
  • I think the strategy at MS has changed. Before they were thinking of setting up the framework and attacking mobile next year, at least that was how it seemed. Now, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the surface phone got cancelled. An article on Thurrot makes out that MS are giving up on new customers, and only targeting existing business customers. If that's the case, then forget about phone/mobile; it's all over. 
  • WOW, he hits the NAIL on the head... Even owners of Windows Phone devices feel that Microsoft is not doing enough to support it's own OS and down the line is a lot of question marks for the future of WIndows Phone... Fan boy ? Look at the facts, he is not the only one who feels that way and Microsoft is not giving any app support or general support for the OS (W10M bug fixes dont count here)
  • I have to agree with Lenovo on this. Windows Mobile future is undetermined as of right now. Loving my 950XL. I hope the Band is resurrected as an actual Smart Watch.
  • "I make Android phones, I should say a potential competitor isn't serious about thier platform."
  • Ha Ha Ha. I see others following soon.
  • Anyone today saw the similarities between google's pixel smart burst and Nokia' smartcam that Microsoft discarded when they took over. That's a shame.
  • Unfortunately I agree with Lenovo.
  • Yea.. It's only abandonments happening in microsoft all over... And after band 3's news, I am doubting that I would trust on microsoft's future plans for mobile and mobile os..
  • As far as I can tell, 2016 is lost for phones. Microsoft won't compete with android, IOS or its developers because the costs are too great. So they will continue to build the most innovative apps for both platforms for now, that is IOS / Android. I suspect they have a plan for Windows Phone, but we won't see it materialize for a few years.
  • Funny how this kind of noise can be more damaging then facts. So, the news of the smartphone that was suppose to be exclusive to China will not materialize. This type of thing happens all the time.
  • About time a known OEM is giving MS the "go f%$k yourselves". Nadella is living on the idea that everyone is happy with the new junk OS windows 10 on pc and mobile and that happy everyone trusts MS :)). Well, many are not, because...it's crap! MS has long lost the trust from users. Many of us have had enough of their crap quality, ZERO commitment and lies over lies. Great response Lenovo!
  • Agreed.  Great Response is right.
  • Is Lenovo wrong though? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • What a clueless man!