Microsoft is betting on 'paradigm shift' for Windows 10 Mobile to be competitive

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Microsoft's big plan for mobile is still a bit of a mystery heading into 2017. While Redmond has pulled back on its hardware ambitions undoing much of the Nokia Mobile acquisition the company continues to aggressively build out the Mobile version of Windows 10 with no signs of slowing down. All of this to the dismay of the media and even consumers who don't see the point.

Vahe Torossian, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft and the new president of Microsoft France shed some light on the company's mobile strategy in a recent interview with France's Le Point (opens in new tab).

Microsoft's Vahe Torossian. Image credit: Executive Magazine

Microsoft's Vahe Torossian. Image credit: Executive Magazine

Torossian reaffirms Microsoft's position of retrenchment noting that the firm has lost the battle in the consumer market. Instead, Windows 10 Mobile is mostly about "focusing on the business side" according to Torossian at least for the "next few years."

The admission is an honest one as Torossian notes that the barriers to compete at this stage in the consumer smartphone market are "now too high." While Windows 10 Mobile has made admirable strides since its debut last year the argument that it offers something more than Android or iOS is a difficult one to make in late 2016. At this point, people using Windows 10 Mobile do so out of personal preference rather than any substantial advantage over Apple and Google.

Nonetheless, Microsoft is sober about their mobile ambitions. While the company is cognizant that competing against Apple and Google in mobile is futile at this stage, Microsoft does see a path forward. According to Torossian Microsoft is "betting on a technology leap in a few years with a paradigm shift."

Details about that technology swing were not given. Microsoft, however, is apparently looking at the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), Continuum, AI, and Inking technologies as some examples of where mobile computing is headed.

The next bend in the curve

Back in October 2015 I wrote an article titled The future of Windows Mobile – Does Microsoft want to reboot the concept of a phone? that laid out Microsoft's long-term vision in the mobile space.

The argument I made was that the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL were decent phones, but not representative of what Microsoft is doing in hardware e.g. Surface, HoloLens, and Band. That is one reason why the announcement of those phones was kept rather low-profile. There was no advertising nor any consumer push for those devices. And why should they? The hardware and the OS at the time were underwhelming, and Microsoft knew that.

Satya Nadella

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed some of this thinking in 2015 in an interview with Mary Jo Foley:

"Therefore, we have to be on the hunt for what's the next bend in the curve. That's what, quite frankly, anyone has to do to be relevant in the future. In our case, we are doing that. We're doing that with our innovation in Windows. We're doing that with features like Continuum. Even the phone, I just don't want to build another phone, a copycat phone operating system, even.""So when I think about our Windows Phone, I want it to stand for something like Continuum. When I say, wow, that's an interesting approach where you can have a phone and that same phone, because of our universal platform with Continuum, and can, in fact, be a desktop. That is not something any other phone operating system or device can do. And that's what I want our devices and device innovation to stand for."

I think that statement is still genuine and very indicative of what Microsoft is betting on. Truth be told, it is the only thing they can do if they're not giving up in the mobile arena.

I have been bringing this topic up a lot on our podcast recently about what comes next after the smartphone. It is evident that mobile technology is evolving and converging. The idea that in five years we'll still have the same smartphone design and functionality despite the rapid progress being achieved is woefully misguided in my opinion.

The question is what does come next and is Microsoft choosing the right path? That's up for debate.

Ironically, Google is facing the opposite problem in trying to get from mobile to the desktop (see Andromeda: How Google can conquer the desktop, figure out tablets — and maybe change Android phones forever). Apple faces the same issue with its OS bifurcation and increasing reliance on becoming only a phone manufacturer. There is also the diminishing returns on apps (read Walt Mossberg's article on why he says "the App Store is over").

Microsoft sees today's concept of a smartphone as nearing the end of its run. It's not just about running apps on a device that fits in your pocket but expanding beyond that to other screens. The HP Elite x3 is just the beginning of such a shift, but the same could be said about Treos and the Pocket PC back in 2006 that preceded the smartphone revolution.

The HP Elite x3 is just the beginning of blurring the PC and phone distinction

The HP Elite x3 is just the beginning of blurring the PC and phone distinction

Returning to Torossian and the Le Point interview, he says that the Surface line is about evolving "new types of form factors." I wrote in late 2015 that "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."

The Surface, Surface Book, and HoloLens are examples of that forward-thinking innovation. Back when the Surface was announced many in tech media dismissed it, and many investors said Surface should be "killed off" (opens in new tab) as a relic of Ballmer's reign. Just a few years later two-in-ones are one of the only growth areas in PCs and the Surface now stands justified.

It remains to be seen if Microsoft can bring that same thinking to mobile. Make no mistake that is a big 'if' too but what other choice do they have? Windows 10 Mobile as is can't compete against Apple or Google in the consumer space. Trying to leapfrog them is Microsoft's only chance. The saying is 'go big, or go home' and that is what Microsoft looks to be doing.

How do you build the smartphone for the future and not just next quarter? That is Microsoft's ambition. Let's see if they can get the vision right and deliver.

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

460 Comments
  • BlackBerry in the making.
  • Nah,  worse than blackberry,  at least they are still making phones.  More like webos!
  • Somebody missed yesterday's news about Blackberry.
  • LOL, timing is everything in this world. Poor Steve must feel quite the dill :)
  • Not really,  I was just out enjoying our new car.   Thats all.  I dont feel like a "dill" for that.  I think the "dills" are waiting for Microsoft to shift the paradigm.
  • No offence intended Steve. I hoped the smile at the end would convey that. Enjoy the new car, I'm jealous :)
  • Your a ***** not a dill. If you weren't a *****, you wouldn't feel that incredible urge to mention a new car. People like you are pathetic. Nobody cares *****.
  • Trent,  obviously YOU DO since you responded so strongly....I knew JR was having a laugh...unlike most fanboys here....he has a sense of humuor!   I guess someone (Trent) is a tad  J E A L O U S over my new wheels.
  • JR is a Google fanboy, though.  He is actually quite spiteful regarding Microsoft. It's no wonder you two get along.
  • Now that Windows Phone is dead, will Windows Central be coming out with iOS/Android apps?
  • There has been a WindowsCentral app for Android for a long time already. Posted via my Moto X Pure Edition using the Windows Central App for Android
  • I'm switching to iPhone.
  • Nothing wrong with people liking things that suck.
  • They wouldn't be selling vacuum cleaners otherwise
  • Barstow15: "Nothing wrong with people liking things that suck." You're right.  My girlfriend sucks like no one else - that's why I like her.  If the iPhone sucks half as good, I'll throw my money at Apple...!
  • You Sir, made my day xD
  • We have another bag here. I'm sure your not the only one she is sucking. @canis..
  • @CanisMinor does her name start with C and end with A.   She is just aweome ..whooops
  • Yeah, all those first-rate apps suck. That rock solid OS sucks. That resale value sucks. That works-perfectly-out-of-the-box sucks. That solid, proven design sucks. Actually Barstow15, you're the only thing that sucks (along with the long-dead Lumia and WindowsPhone franchise) So go blow.
  • I've used Android, I've used Windows Phone 8/8.1/10 (let's just call it WM for now), and I've used the iPhone. They all have strengths, they all have weaknesses. Use the one that works best for you and be happy that you and others have the free choice to do so.
  • Well said. Fan boys from all sides are fools. I like my windows mobile 950Xl but I'm not a fan im open to whatever that comes out that is better for me.
  • Yep,  people actually like windows mobile...
  • Such as myself which is why I have not bought any other phone OS. Now, it may be that I will not have a choice once my Lumia 950 cannot be replaced in a couple of years but, until then, I will continue to enjoy it since I only just bought it 3 weeks ago. Oh, and I have a hard budget of $300 for a phone and got the 950 for $298 before taxes. I definitely will not be spending $600 to $800 on a phone. The only reason I might feel a little bummed is because, unless things change, this is probably my last Windows Mobile phone. This 950 intergrates with my XBox One, 360, Surface Pro 3, 2 main desktop computers with Windows 10 Pro, one at home and one at work and my Windows 10 Pro NAS quite well. Not really sure either of the other OSes will give me that type of intergration with everything else I have.
  • I know.....still lots of people clinging onto hope here Barstow15...
  • Like Android and iOS? Personally, I do not think they suck but, I guess you do.
  • I like my iPhone a whole lot better than the Android devices I've used. I prefer a W10M, but until MS and device evolution meet at the same place, I've no choice.
  • Did that last year. Get yourself the iPhone 7 Plus... If one has to lay with Dogs at least lay with the "Baddest *****"
  • True, I use it. Bit I can't see up or down votes or vote at all on android app. I like the new w10m app.
  • As of like yesterday blackberry announced that they will no longer be making the phones themselves. They handed it over to Foxconn and some other companies to design and make hardware. They're now focusing purely on software or something. How times change.
  • They are not even focusing on software at least not as an OS... they are doing an amended version of android - with a few apps which will work with BES
  • They also do QNX which is the backbone for Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android.. But waiting for the HP Elite so I can get rid of this junkie Galaxy S5...
  • Blackberry is ending their manufacturing and have no own OS. Microsoft are still working on both hardware and software... So nothing alike.
  • "Working on", but not really selling in significant numbers, yet still selling software for other platforms - kind of alike...
    ​I do think MS has its hands in things that have a lot of future potential, AI, Virtual Reality, Continuum. This is what killed them in mobile - being oblivious to the future. I think they are in much better shape now to be ready for the next thing. The problem is, the next thing will likely leverage existing mobile tech as a natural extension. MS wont have that option and may still find themsleves out.
  • Blackberry is jus an Android fiddler.
  • Ah Blackberry, how the mighty hath fallen.
  • The smartphone didn't. There is not a single thing in the original iPhone that was in any preceding feature phone or early smartphone that caused Apple to have need to leverage to usher in the era of the modern smartphone. If you think the next paradigm shift forward in mobile is going to need to leverage the current to be a success, then you are not thinking large enough.
  • Microsoft is pretty much IBM now. A profitable company that consumers don't care about.
  • Meanwhile.. You're on a consumer site... Caring...
  • Yup.  I compare them as a split between Big Blue and MaBell.   Bound by the legacy chains.   My bet is that MS just ditches consumer Windows at some point, if the MS Store doesn't succeed.   But you are right, consumers don't really care about what MS is doing, generally.  Giddora, its a MS/Windows site, but either way the consumer doesn't care about MS, business enterprises are increasing wanting to eliminate legacy, however, that is not as quick a process obviously. 
  • Actually, both have managed to lose most of their customers - so they're actually quite alike. 
  • Except that Blackberry when in decline didn't leap ahead to what's next. They remained stuck in the current paradigm. Invalid comparison.
  • Focus on enterprise killed their phone efforts. For premium price everything needs to be top notch so that consumers want the phone as well. Business phone is dead. But yes perhaps Palm and its foleo would be more fitting comparison.
  • Stop thinking about W10M devices as phones and think of them as workstations first, phones second and then you'll get what Microsoft is trying to do. Because business-only phones may be dead, but business-only PCs isn't, pretty much everyone gets one to work with when they join a company.
  • That's the problem, Microsoft is still thinking of something today's consumers have moved away from, so who will be the target for these "workstations"?
  • Enterprises moved away from workstations? I should definitely tell my employer the PC I'm writing this post from is a legacy of the past then! Microsoft's idea is that instead of ITs deploying workstation PCs alongside a monitor, keyboard and mouse they'll deploy Windows Mobile devices with docks. That allows you, the employee, to take your workstation with you when going to meetings, training courses and business travels in the most mobile way possible: in your pocket. Oh, and it also doubles as a phone, imagine that!
  • What the guy really means is that consumers will always outnumber the enterprise workstation users. So no matter how many devices any business buys how many will actually get their employees to actively evryday use these w10M devices? MS should have focused on consumer first making the device desirable to all then incorporate the enterprise features that businesses wouldn't need MS to sales pitch to them as their own employees would already be the best advertisers and it'll be a no-brainer to get more into the business to do more than just sit on a desk or in a bag or pocket.  
  • what you describe can bet achieved by a 150$pc stick, isnt it? MS want enterprises to deploy 600$ underpowered workstations?   Continuum is not a workstation replacement, not today not in near future. Continuum is only useful for senior executives who just need mail, office apps etc.
  • Microsoft doesn't care if you use a $150 dollar stick or a $600 workstation. They margins in each to MS are relatively the same (and actually probably less if we are saying the $600 os for MS sourced hardware).  They care that you run Windows software. Even with the Surface - it is a glorified demo device. Sure it has turned into a brand of its own, but in reality it was created to show 3rd party manufacturers 1) how to make hybrid devices, and 2) the market was ready. As long as you are in their ecosystem, they don't care. The same can be said for the Band (conduit to MS Health), Hololens (conduit to Windows 10 + whatever custom AR software), etc. Yes they want to make money on hardware, but they are using the hardware to shift users into needing their software. This is why phones in their current state are a waste of time for them, because the hardware is not enabling the advantage of their software (except the specific callout of Continuum and why business rather than consumer may be the better play here)...even though I really want a new, A-class Windows Phone for Verizon. I had to switch to Android because I just couldn't deal with my 2 year old Icon's anymore and don't want to switch carriers. So far - Android is painful compared to Windows.
  • "So far - Android is painful compared to Windows." At some point, don't you think more Android people will find out that? (After Snap is out of faschion, that is)  
  • Unless the "workstation" supports x86 software, it is no workstation. It's like calling a driving simulator a car.
  • Someone like me. I don't need a work station, but every now and then I do need the function of a work station. Right now my 950 has replaced my desktop. It has also replaced my cable. Plug in and place the phone on the coffee table and surf net, watch tv, movies, type a memo and email it off. The biggest advantage is that I no longer have a computer at my desk so I have more space in the house. Also because I have the same setup in the bedroom I can do everything in bed on my more tired days. Working on a smaller setup for the kitchen. Now if Xbox games become available through continuum, it will be a done deal.
  • Re: STCVI,
    May I ask, how do you watch live TV? I use Windows Media Center.
  • I use a tv. I think most people watch tv on tv's. Mine is a Sony. 
  • I have a huge android flat 3d tv for that. I can do all that plus connect android smart phone wirelessly without any stupid dock, type on phone, see on tv do almost everything. Plus tv is wall mount so fors bot occupy space, great sound too. Now if android tv is available in hotel.....u guess what (same as everyone hoping hotels will allow continuum dock connection).
    Apart from that, there are great android tablets to use as primary device.
    For games, i use HTPC. So am I missing anything?
  • Think of W10M powered devices as mobile corporate terminals.
    That have communication features (phone, Skype).  
  • I know you're trying to sound clever and "snarky" but your comment makes no sense. Blackberry early success was on the enterprise sector.
  • I wanted to post this also. The consumer market was just a bonus for BlackBerry. They just became really popular.
  • I agree.  Most regular people could give a flying fig about enterprise phone.  A co-worker of mine recently got a new Samsung Phone.  She was showing me she no longer had an iPhone.  I asked "Why didn't you get a Windows Phone?"  She said "What's a Windows Phone?"  She said she was on Verizon so I said nevermind.  Her co-worker busted out and said "... Windows Phone?!  Who wants to carry around work with them all day long?!!!  I work on Windows all day the last thing I want to do is see more Microsoft stuff!"  End Quote!  She equated Windows Phone with work.  Yuk! I would venture to say that's the attitude of most people.  They want something FUN!  Not a work device.  And if Microsoft keeps marketing all their phones as some work device, anything they put out will fail.  And by fail I mean not selling alot of devices if that's their intentions.  Regular people don't wan't to see Word, Excel, PowerPoint.  They want to see some cool feature or game that doesn't seem like they are doing office work.  But Microsoft has shown they are not at all interested in marketing their phones.
  • "Who wants to carry around work with them all day long?!!!  I work on Windows all day the last thing I want to do is see more Microsoft stuff!"  Funny, that's exactly why I would prefer Windows Phone. 
  • But you're here on a Windows centric site.  I wouldn't expect anything less.  :)  The other millions of people out there really don't give a hoot about that kind of stuff.  Yes, maybe you or I may, but the results really speak for itself.
  • Amen.  And she's not the only one. Because at the end of the day "enterprise users" use their phones to take pictures, book restaurants, pay for their meals, watch tv, play games and on and on. They don't want to be limited and that's exactly what Microsoft Phone devices do: limit what you can do. #byebyelumia 
  • Not really. There is a major backlash happening now over BYOD and Security/Acceptable Use Policies. Most IT departments do not want to support a million different phones, tablets, etc.
  • No, there isn't: http://mobilebusinessinsights.com/news/byod-market-growth-expected-by-2020/
  • rbgaynor. Thats "research" not based on fact. Probably sponsored by someone like Citrix trying to push a virtual desktop agenda. It even laughably suggests healthcare as a good use case for BYOD, whereas its completely isn't. In the UK, the data in the NHS is personal data belonging to citizens, so carrying that around on a BYOD device and it going missing would be a major headache for the health service. BYOD stipends don't actually save you money, as your support gets massively difficult as you no longer support a consistent repeatable experience on a standard build to standard devices. It would become a compliance and cost nightmare. As an example British Gas in the UK dropped its BYOD as this "myth" that BYOD saves you money turned out not to be true, and drives a truck through your compliance and securty.   In the long run, cloud will drive more mobility, but there are still too many hurdles for BYOD right now unless you are a minority sport organization where it would work.
  • Microsoft's own MDM solution Intune works poorly with W10M while no issues with WP8.1 or iOS. But that is understandable, most of MS paying Intune customers use iOS on mobile.
  • vhyr. Where do you get this stupid notons from, mate seriously, you are a parasite on these forums. Please state your credentials for all to see. As someone who watches circa 3000 Windows Mobile on InTune managed every day - your non fact that Intune does not work with it is clearly ridiculous. Honestly, stop posting this jibber jabber. It hurt my eyes to read your nonsense. I can also absolutely assure you matey, that most corp IT departments (apart from some very rich ones) do _not_ use iPhone, as its very very expensive.  If you run a phone estate of 3000 handsets, you can spend 150 on WM or Android, or 500 for iPhone.  Thats a 450k spend, or a 1.5M pound spend. What does that extra 1 million buy you in real terms?  Its basically a phone, and a productivity tool (calendar, web, email). Without a business app reason, its just a 1 million pound decision, and most IT shops _don't_ go iPhone for that reason. Its a consumer luxury device.    
  • That's not true.  I am an IT Manager and I prefer BYOD, the saves money on my budget and also allows our staff to get the device that works best for them.  We have managament systems that can manage all type of mobile devices.
  • "Not really. There is a major backlash happening now over BYOD and Security/Acceptable Use Policies. Most IT departments do not want to support a million different phones, tablets, etc."
    I must disagree. My employer, a top of the heap Fortune 500 company is all in on BYODand keeps expanding it. It depends greatly on how the companies implement BYOD.
    If you rely on built-in features of the OS and try to manage this via vanilla VPN, then you end up A/ with a ton of varying devices, B/ a bunch of security holes in the OS, which you have zero control over, hence you fail or give up. C/ you still have a problem, because your information is stored locally on all of these devices, which in and of itself is a problem, encrypted or not.
    ​If you go the route of virtualization, like my company did, you kill all birds above with one stone. You allow users to bring whatever they want to the table and force them all to use a single platform, completely bypassing the OS on the mobile device, nothing gets stored on it locally outside the secure element of the app itself, it is a closed system, so if they lose the device, no data loss occurs. Moreover, you have a complete visibility into what they are doing, for the purposes of data loss prevention and internal fraud. App refresh and push updates are all much easier as you don't need to worry about users' variance in OS types or build versions. I think BYOD is a great win-win situation, as long as it is cloud-based, because you don't have to be dealing with (and buying) all these devices for your employees. If you implement BYOD without virtualization, I think you are doomed due to all the problems, whcih hardly outweigh the benefits.
  • Right.  Most are supporting iPhone.
  • Right, Microsoft is positioning thier OS with Continuum, the UWP, Conversations as a platfeom and presumably the Surface Phone(in line with the Surface/Book) for the next bend in the curve. Blackberry has neither the resources, scope nor intent to do anything similar.
  • Yes, the salvation Surface Phone. 
  • That's why MS is different than BB when it comes crisis into their mobile ecosystem like this. What I meant is, BlackBerry didn't see things forward when they're in their loss from this mobile war. On the other hand, MS did see things like Continuum, Virtual or even Mixed Reality (that's what they called HoloLens, invented), which boosts any kind of productivity (heck, even the lack of apps isn't an issue, at least for me).
  • Yeah, that's what Microsoft is doing... leaping ahead with a failed OS tied into all of their other devices. 
  • I hardly call what microsoft is doing leaping to whats next....They are stuck just as much in the past as blackberry...but one big difference...blackberry used to rule smartphones....microsoft always is a wannabe.
  • I've never seen a reasonable comment from you since I've been reading stuff on this site. If you don't care about Microsoft and it product, services and ambitions, then what a hell are you doing here? Just trolling
  • Yeah, that's basically what he and his android buddies are doing here.
  • Nothing like that at all.  The Phone business was Blackberry's (known as RIM at the time) primary business and when they stopped selling enough phones, their fate was sealed. They may be able to hang on with their software offerings, but they will never be the same company. Microsoft can continue doing what they are doing with mobile for a long time with little impact to the company. They can afford to wait for the paradigm shift that will inevitably come. They may be wrong, but they are looking past today. Blackberry didn't look to the future, sticking to making the same old phones and missed the move to touch screens, like Microsoft did. But the impact to Blackberry was obviously must greater. So, not a Blackberry in the making at all.
  • the only problem is that we here at wc forums or articles assume that Apple and Google are sitting ducks. They are very well placed to use their monopolistic position to fully make use of the paradign shift in their favor as and when it happens.
  • the fall of blackberry is almost identical to whats happening with Microsoft.    The CEO and the cronies at microsoft are just like Jim at RIM.  Jim was hyperfocused on getting a NHL team for waterloo,  just as Satya is hyperfocused on enterprise.  The rest is left to die.....At RIM there was a shift toward touch screens,  They dropped the ball developing a good functioning touchscreen phone and came out with the torch...just as MS is full tilt with enterprise and releasing subpar consumer products both mobile and otherwise.  Different focus,  same results.
  • @Steve Adams, agreed, it seems that Microsoft's mobile division is following BlackBerry down the same path. However, Microsoft has the resources to subsidise their mobile division for as long as the stockholders will allow them to. They are not reliant on mobile. BlackBerry was. That is a big difference, at least from my point of view.
  • @vhyr Another day, another troll post. You must have a low self estime.
  • Small **** Syndrome
  • *esteem
  • I wanna say, "this!", even though it isn't quite the same.  But the arguement is fair to say that this focus on "business" may be misguided.  When it comes to mobile and technology devices, "business" and "consumer" have merged together in the eyes of the "customer".  A truely fantastic device will appeal and meet the needs of both business and consumer.  Sure, you can have a great business device with a few useful business features, but if it lacks consumer features, those "business people" will be quick to toss it aside for an iPhone for the majority of their use.
  • A lot of 'consumers' cannot afford to buy the phone outright and have to bind themselves to a contract. That is another hurdle, the telcos, Microsoft has to deal with in the consumers market, and they are mostly bias to the more expensive phones to net them higher contracts.
  • I think it's disingenuous to say that Windows Mobile "can't compete" when such lackluster efforts to compete were made. To this day, Apple advertises on nearly every TV show I watch. Microsoft has NEVER demonstrated any real commitment to advertise at a level comparable to Apple. The reality is they just didn't try. And even with the meager efforts they made, Windows reached double-digit market share in multiple areas of the world. Had Microsoft truly made the effort, things would have been different.
  • Microsoft is and has awlays sucked at advertising.  The Band is a perfect example of piss poor advertising; non existant. For instance the Lumia's had Living Images long before Apple claimed it and they dropped the ball on advertising about it.  Plus IMHO everytime they shows the Start screen of a devices it was huge mess of tiles which visually turns people off because it's distracting. I'm hoping if and when the Surface Phone is release they give it the love it needs.  
  • GREAT point about the Start Screen. There was one ad campaign at the very beginning that showed how people could make the Start Screen "their own". But this was dropped in favor of meaningless tiles. Just once I would have liked to see a start screen with just 4 or 5 tiles (for an elderly parent, for example) that showed how simple it could be. Of course, the Start Screen itself is another largely missed opportunity -- a ball Microsoft continues to drop with minimal user instruction. Even in Windows 10, users tend to "work around" the Start Screen as opposed to using it to anywhere near it's full potential.
  • Yes! IIRC that's the one that said something like it's not a phone for all of us, it's a phone for each of us. That's still a powerful value for mobile Windows, and one that should've continued to be highlighted.
  • Speaking of start screens....is it possible to make the Lumia 950 XL start screen just one column wide? Looking to buy one for my sight impaired mum. She has a 1020 with just the single wide tile column. Dont want to have to change the layout...and the monster sized tiles would be super helpful for her.
    (I mamaged to do it on my 5" Blue Win HD LTE by increasing scaling to 225% - but don't have a 950 to try it on)
  • I know you can change it to two columns at least. (Found this while playing around with my mom's 950.) You can then center the tiles and that should work.
  • It's the single wide column with huge tiles that my mum needs. Though i guess I could make it work with a single wide and an additional half column.
    (Just want it to look like it has done since WP7.5 days...perfect for visually impaired people)
  • Yes, you can. In Windows 10 Mobile, you would have to change the size of text, apps, and items on this display to the largest available. Then make sure that show more tiles is turned off. I am not 100% sure if that will stretch a single tile all the way across but I am sure it will be large enough and everything else will show up as large as possible as well.
  • That is correct, the only thing is though once you adjust the size of the text, it may mess with formating of some browser pages. I have mine slightly adjusted and some times are 2x the size font.
  • I've been thinking the same thing. I rarely saw advertisements for Windows Phone except in places where they had fans which doesn't help improve market share.
  • If you ha seen the ones in UK for the 930, you would be glad they stopped. Horrendous ads. MS must have one of the worst marketing teams of the big tech companies.
  • They have had some stinkers on this side of the pond as well. :)
  • I actually liked some of the earlier ads for WPs that aired in the US. Especially the 'why would you want the same phone as everyone else ads' (that Android seems to have taken over in a simular style) or the 'terrible camera' ads.
  • I was always a fan of the WP7 "REALLY?!" ads...time for a phone to save us from our phones! Live tiles at the heart, in, out, and back to life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdpQir1sqiQ
  • Brilliant comment. Agreed. The lackluster release and promotion of the 950, and poorly designed and bug infested    release of w10m does not count as trying. MS had market share a couple of years back, all be it a little, it was a base. And in my county it was way more than iOS. All these crappy decisions and retrenchments but still supporting and servicing the mobile does not count as trying. To top it off, they shots themselves in their foot when they refuse to support wp8.1 to update to w10m.
  • Agree completely. The constant reboots and repeated abandonment of the userbase drove move people away each time it happened. With the lack of advertising and effort failing to bring in new users, and the reboots and abandonments driving off existing ones, losing was inevitable.
  • For as silly as it might be to compare a phone with a relationship it's essentially what Microsoft forgot. When they started Windows Phone 7 the acknowledged how intimate that deviceis to the user. Hence having hubs, flexibility, adaptability. Windows Phone fans that left probably experienced the "you keep telling me you're going to change. . ." except they have changed but to a complete different person -- every- time. I admit that I'm eager to see what's coming but Lumia 950XL might be the last Windows Phone I own if they discontinue firmware and compatibility support again in less than 2 years like they did with L1020. 
  • Not silly at all -- a good analogy.
  • @mymarcio I agree wholeheartedly!  Windows Phone 7 had a certain intimate feeling about it.  The current version seems harsh and forced.  It just doesn't seem to have anything really special about it.  Telling me how I can do work on it is not special.  It's seems laborous.  
  • Aggreed, WP7 was great. Easy to use and did exactly what it needed to do.
  • What we don't know is when MS really decided to abandon the consumer sector - it may have been some considerable time before any public announcements: it probably was, and thus could have been the reason we didn't really see a gargantuan push to secure more of it.  Somebody knew that the W10 mobile launch would be with a substandard spec system - but didn't really care too much about that but just ensured that it remained fairly low profile. It's painful for us out in the wilds who like/love the ecosystem that we're somewhat going to be limited to whether MS is able to be the one who has the right foresight to dream what the next big shift will be.  And also the capabilities to create, build and sell this to the markets.  In the shorter-term we're possibly stuck with continuum developments that may or not retain us.  And it's feasible that continuum features will price out many of us who don't want to spend the kind of money needed for HP type hardware.
  • I don't understand why you have been down voted so much. It's true, MS would have had a much higher chance in the market if they had actually advertised the OS and phones. I rarely even see Surface adverts while I continue to see the same laughable Ipad Pro ad on nearly every advert break. MS never was able to advertise well, or they just don't put their whole effort into it..
  • I was wondering the same thing. I often get good responses on my posts while getting downvoted. I don't worry about it. People are entitled to their opinions. At least in this case it appears a few upvotes have cancelled the -3 I had before. To those responsible, thanks! :)
  • To this day, Apple advertises on nearly every TV show I watch. Microsoft has NEVER demonstrated any real commitment to advertise at a level comparable to Apple.
    I take it you don't watch many shows on the CW. They seem to have been big advertising partners with Microsoft at least since Windows 8's initial launch with tons of product placement. Apparently all the superheroes and their computer hacking friends use Windows phones, tablets and Windows 10 desktops. They would also run ads during commercials where actors, writers and producers of CW shows would talk about how useful Windows is with their personal music and video production endeavors.
  • I watch a lot of CW shows and I love seeing Surfaces. CBS had them on Supergirl and many other TV series use them. But they also cover up the Windows Logo very often, and many people will just see them as iPads anyway. I also saw some of what you're talking about. But the problem is consistency. Even though I skip commercials, I ALWAYS see snippits of Apple commercials. The only Microsoft commercials I ever see are the occasion Surface commercial (which is the only MS consumer product besides the Xbox that's doing well). Product placement without consistent advertising (or at least having the product name actually visible) is worthless.
  • I think traditional commercials would have done better than product placement. I've seen them placed in shows and movies, because I'm a fan.  The average consumer wouldn't care. Look at the scene in superman where lois is in the diner.  So obviously windows phone.  So obviously not android or iOS.  How many Lumia 900s did that sell? Not enough.
  • They WASTED MILLIONS paying for placement of windows phones in MOVIES/TV SHOWS as if anyone buys a phone because they saw it in a movie and said wow that 1/2 a second shot of that phone looked sweeet.....
  • Not only that, alot of them still on old old hardware.  "Now I see you 2"  from a couple month back have 1sec of screen time and that is WP 8.1, I guess it was a 920.  I won't be surprise if it is a 900 either.
  • it was a lumia 900 (this capacitive keys show the old windows logo) and i think a surface pro 3 appeared too. but why would they ever advertise a lumia 900
  • Was still good to see a 1020 in House of Cards :)
  • The only product I saw on TV shows thay I actually wanted was the laptop with the Windows logo on its back, but they never sold that. Something like this
  • Are you high? There were SO many shows filled with MS product placement. You cant say they didn't bother trying... Some of the surface product placement in TV shows was hilariously blatant. Following was full of lumias and surfaces, arrow, and the most recent show i remember was extant. There were plenty more too.
  • Scorpion uses the devices to drive the plot. The episode where the kid was trapped in a rockslide at the beach.  They needed a great camera, and the lumia 1020 was there.  There are times when the Surface was used to drive the story forward as well.
  • SHOW PLACEMENT IS GARBAGE/ WASTEFUL ADVERTISING EXCEPT TO PEOPLE THAT ARE FANS ALREADY. You're not going to win over new buyers from some show called arrow
  • Yep.   I love seeing my phone on tvs and movies, but that doesn't matter as far as me or anyone else buying one.
  • Before you some to that incredibly wrong conclusion why not run a simple search for Windows Phone commercials or ads and let it remind you how untrue this is?
  • SO TRUE. This is what I have been saying ages ago, while fans had been keeping blind eyes and deaf ears to what MSoft is doing at Nokia. I will wait next year for the next Nokia smartphones. Unfortunately, they seem to be made a different OEM and would probably run Android.
  • This is so tragically accurate. Posted via the Windows Central App for Symbian
  • At this point they're "planning for the curves ahead" on a road they aren't even driving on.
  • Absolutely disagree with comment that people use Windows mobile as a personal preference and no substantial advantage over android and ios. There is a substantial advantage in the business world of productivity that I live in.
  • That can be easily overcome with apps meaning business consumers can keep just one phone. If Microsoft doesn't do something soon they will be out of the desktop market too as those same business consumers choose their work devices based on what they use at home.
  • That's been my observation when consulting with clients. Windows is becoming irrelevant as my clients are asking more if they can use something "like their phone".
  • Indeed. Productivity advantage.
  • Indeed, for me the UI itself with live tiles, continuum and things like usb otg built in file explorer, universal apps and having the best camera, etc offer considerable advantages over ios and android.
  • Productivity advantage? Please explain...
  • I agree, so you would think that more people would switch from Apple and Android but obviously that type of productivity doesn't interest them. Yet Apple in now on a run to get more of their devices into the enterprise. I personally wouldn't switch because i too would miss the productivity; but that's my personal preference.
  • "There is a substantial advantage in the business world of productivity that I live in."   No there's really not. There's absolutely nothing that WP offers that Android and iOS don't offer as well and better. Including Microsoft's own services.
  • Djcbs, as much as I hate to say it, I agree. I asked the what advantage WM gives. Awaiting response...
  • I worked in a large corporation and used the Iphone because I had to when they took our blackberrys. The ease of use and integration across the board of all MS products "for me" worked best on a windows phone. I have recently tried the Iphone again and I just don't think like the UI operates. Again, I believe there is a substantial advantage and when I show my phone to users of IOS, they are amazed at the flow and amount of work I can get done with ease. Maybe it is somewhat "personal preference" on how I work and what I choose, but I can tell you that many people I know would love to be carrying the phone that I do but they don't have that choice. Even my teenagers moved from Apple Macbooks to Surface Pro when they saw how easy yet open and individual the MS world is. They still have Iphones but each say that if MS had the apps, they would move to Windows mobile immediately and many of their friends say the same.
  • One more thing to share. I am seeing more and more Surface devices and Windows computers appearing in the First Class cabin of the plane and in the concierge lounges of hotels. This is where business users and travelers dwell and I call that a good sign.
  • I use Continuum every day now at work with the wired dock and I'm getting the Microsoft Wireless Display dock to replace my old miracast adapter. I had to upgrade my phones every year in the past. I had an S2/3/4/5 but this 2015 950XL performs great and I don't feel any sluggishness in general phone use.
  • With this article in mind, it makes zero sense to me for MS to make AIO pc's. Big screens, yes, but powered by Continuum.
  • But an AIO would be used by anyone to run a full version of Win10, not just the single person who plugged their phone into it.
  • The Surface Hub in my conference room disagrees with you.
  • I find his honesty to be refreshing. It makes it less of a guessing game. Seems like this is more of a wait and see situation. I'm curious to what is next here.  Hopefully I can afford it LOL.
  • I wanna have a Surface Phone in late 2017. Make it happen, Microsoft. A phone that can really compete against Apple and Google.
  • They already mention they cant purchase the ticket to this consumer show
  • I don't agree that the hardware of the 950s was underwhelming at the time of release.
  • More about the design quality and the OS experience.
  • Sure, though it merits a clarification.
  • The design is fine. I used a 1520 since it was first released up to 1 month ago. My step mother gave me her 'old' iPhone 6 and I used that for a week. Hated it. Bought a 950 XL on eBay and have been happier than a pig in, well, you know what. The design of the phone is fine and really not too different than the iPhone. The 950 XL looks like a premium phone. Feels like one too. The real kicker is the camera. I loved and bragged about the 1520 camera. This one is so much better. While I agree that at the time of release, the OS was not where it needed to be. Now, it's nearly perfect. Battery life is the only complaint I have right now.
  • Aggreed, during the release of these phones I was very underwhelmed about the phones themselves (as most fans were). I really didn't need to upgrade my 925 even though I was disappointed that I wasn't going to be upgraded to W10M without forcing it through the insider program. I went ahead and got one during one of the past sales earlier this year and a few months in I am loving my 950Xl.
  • The build quality and design are pretty underwhelming.
  • I agree. I have a 950 XL and it beats even the newer iPhone 7 in camera and display and the S7 in camera. Win Mobile 10 WAS a mess though. If MS had promoted the 950s with the original OS there would have been enormous complaints.
  • Beats the iPhone 7 and S7? I own the XL and a Note 5. Why do you have to lie about the camera?
  • WC, iMore and AC had poles with pics on it. People voted. We are still waiting for the results. We shall see who the winner is.
  • Results are back. Guess who's last? I hate it when people straight up lie about a phone they've never used. Samsung optics are a step above the Lumias atm. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Yea I still don't understand this argument. Specs wise, it was a great phone for its time, and I believe it still is. Sure the design of the phone may not have been everyones favorite, but that has nothing to do with hardware in a pure sense. Besides, most people cover their phones with cases anyways, so I really don't get it lol.
  • I was referring to the design, not so much the raw specs.
  • I like the design. It is squarer so there's more screen space than the Apple / Samsung devices. I actually worry they'll make the Surface Phone out of metal.
  • I bought into this idea two years ago- even last year. It sounded good on paper but Microsoft failed to successfully predict the "next curve". Sadly Apple had it right to keep their desktop and mobile OS separate. The irony is they have better integration between the two with handoff than MS does with w10/wm10. I'm going down with the ship but MS got it wrong.
  • No way Apple had it right. MS is headed in the right direction here. It is not easy developing for two fundamentally different operating systems. The integration game just started, and I am betting the Mac will very soon just become another Linux if Apple does not find a way to encourage iOS developers to develop apps for the Mac. I mean, as an Apple developer, I'd rather invest in iOS rather than the Mac anytime of day. That will gradually starve the Mac of valuable developers. Just look how easy the Xbox has gained apps almost for free from the UWP. Even WM10 is really kept alive because of the UWP and MS's dominance in the desktop. Same with HoloLens. Suddenly a Windows developer in a few years would practically target any MS platform with minimal effort. Try converting a standalone iOS or Android app to a desktop app with the same amount of effort. This is a brilliant move by MS imho.
  • If what u say is true windows store should have been overflowing with apps
  • I believe this move is in the right direction in the long term, but that doesn't automatically mean that windows store will be overflowing with apps right away. The problem is getting people to move away from what they are already used to, which getting people to change is very hard (especially being the third runner up in this case). 
  • Apple does indeedeilydoo have it right.  Have a proper OS for desktop laptop.  and a proper mobile OS.  trying to combine the two creates comprimises.  Just as we see with windows 10.  Apples devices work perfect with each other.....not so much with windows 10.
  • Keeping things separate is easier for Apple to do but in no way helps their Desktop share. For Microsoft, it is in reverse. They had good Desktop share but no mobile share. By keeping things same, Microsoft ensures that mobile gets the benefit of the Miniscule who would do apps for all form factors.
  • iOS and macOS share nearly as much as W10 and W10M. Having only one kernel to support is a good thing. The bad thing for Microsoft is, that they are still miles away from trimming fat out of the Windows kernel and that they are miles behind in the ARM game.
  • A Kernel alone does not make an OS, otherwise Linux distros would support Android apps with no extra work. iOS and macOS may share a Kernel, but they don't share the UI and UX APIs, which makes iOS apps unable to run in macOS. That's the brilliance of UWP: you can run its apps on all different kinds of devices.
  • Well what differs Apple from Microsoft is bringing the idea into reality. Whereas Microsoft is just "vision".
  • I use Continuum every day now. Please stop living in the past.
  • As a company they should try to have a market, but as a consumer I'm done. How many failed and rebooted mobile strategies do I have to be apart of before something sticks?
  • UWP is going to stick since it integrates everything. How can you not see this? I also use Continuum daily now. It's amazing. Most people won't need a PC with this kind of device.
  • Furyritchie, is UWP going to stick like it did for w8.1 and wp8.1?
  • W10/W10M UWP is an evolution of Windows 8.1/WP8.1, so yes it should.
  • oh seriously? tell me friend, can you run a plex server on it? can you install normal apps, desktop apps? you have one browser only that sucks, no multi window support, no working L2TP VPN, no games etc etc...but why am I even bothering, you are clearly a fanboy
  • Not that I'm a fan of all MS strategies because their marketing has really been awful, but... marlus your criticisms sound like you missed the entire ignite conference that just happened.
    ​
    Continuum got some major improvements, includng multi window support. Continuum has already had the ability to VPN. Gaming has always been a limit of hardware: You can play mobile games in Continuum but you're not going to play GoW4 simply because the phone can't run it. While I agree that what Continuum really needed was win32 support, I think intel squashed those dreams for MS and now MS is back on the drawing board again (hence another 6-12mo delay on surface phone following intel's canceled mobile plans).
  • well continuum works for those who just need a pc to check mails and run a few offc apps for now.
  • I used continuum every day 2 years ago it was just called windows RT then!
  • CNET's video on the Surface Phone pretty much sums up Microsoft nowadays, nothing but a cheap laugh.
  • The fact that you laughed at that tells me you probably watch CBS comedies.
  • I don't see any problems with that, do you?
  • Yes, yes I do.
  • Oh I would love to hear this.
  • Laugh track and all
  • I personally will watch a show regardless of which network it airs on if its good enough to watch. =P Seriously though, I don't understand your comment. Every network has had good shows and bad shows. I do like a couple of CBS comedies (How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory are worth it), but most are crap. I can think of many, many others that are crap on other networks too.
  • Only if you don't use their products.
  • Sad thing is, I do.
  • Strange, then you should acknowledge the work going in to their products.
  • To be honest, IDC.
  • Why'd you spread your negativity in the first place then? :-o
  • I don't see any problems spreading the fact.
  • So why spread made up facts if you don't care?
  • C'mon mate let's be real, even if you sprinkle all your positivity on Microsoft's scr0tum nothing will ever change.
  • No, I just know what the competition has and when you compare... They don't have much at all.
  • Haha...they hold ALL the cards!!
    Google have the mobile space sewn up. Apple have the high end. Microsoft have the desktop space...where no one cares about apps - and where pretty much everything happens through the browser.
  • An opinion is not a fact
  • most of the tech sites see the truth about MS and their crap,
  • M sure windowscentral also sees it, but being a MS dedicated site whose popularity depends on their ability to reach out to MS better than others, they surely want to be on the side of the fence where MS stands and hence the refusal to acknowledge facts that they know are correct
  • "what comes next after smartphone" A wearable, a hearable and a viewable. And after this, an implant. But how much money will not be earned by Microsoft, how much stronger needs the vendor lock-in into App Store and Play Store to grow? What if Google develops a means of managing Andromeda users, that is equal or even better (read: easier to maintain) than Active Directory? And how much business is a phone OS, that is still the worst when it comes to VPN, and who cannot even talk to SMB shares?
  • In microsofts case,  what comes after the smartphone is NOTHING.   leaving the market and concentrating on becoming the next IBM would be high on their list of the next paradigm shift.....
  • Lol MS you ruined the one chance you had to make W10M live by destroying your hardware.. Where do I go from my 950? To an expensive HP? Or go down to some cheap 650? I'm so pissed off after being a hardcore fan since I got my 3 different 920s>1020 & now 950.. It's been a game of catch up and wait
  • What's the hurry? Hang on to your 950 for a year or two and see where things go.
  • No need to hang on, just read this french dude's full interview, he has very clearly mentioned that they are exiting consumer phones business.
  • The HP isn't that much more expensive than the 950XL at launch?
  • It's not at all. The Desk Dock adds $150 to the base price, which is all people notice. People are confusing perceived value (a judgment based decision) versus cost (market value for a bill of sales, hardware, profit margin).
  • True.
  • Tech journalists are easy to "dismay" Daniel. Few, present company not included, seem to be able to reach beyond, software bugs, sales figures or product launches to see bigger pictures or trends.
  • I'm sick of lack of support for Windows Mobile--I'm going to switch to Blackberry Passport.  They seem to be on sale right now for some reason ;-).
  • You can't use sarcarm around here, mate. 99% of the people won't get it lol
  • Haha, can't agree more
  • well to be fair it is difficult to decipher sarcasm on the internet without an obvious "/s" being used, especially when the internet is full of trolls lol
  • I guess it's iPhones and Androids until/If this vision ever pans out.....
  • I use Continuum every day now. It's practically already here. They're just going to keep adding features to it. Redstone 2 features coming to Continuum:
    * Ability to customise start screen on second display
    * Pin apps
    * Windowing and snapping I imagine we'll see inking stuff for the Surface Pen too. Give me SMB shares and Edge extensions and it will be near perfect.
  • Twint, this!!! This is me. After 5/6 yearsI recently jumped to iOS because I feel this the best to offer. W10m feels like a mess to me now. Buggy OS, no apps, and a lack of consumer direction. I want a phone for me, not business. But you know, if ms becomes successful and I see what I like i will just jump back.
  • Buggy OS? Sorry but I can't see a bug on my Lumia ;)
  • I guess it's iPhones and Androids even if their visions hit the jackpot. It's really difficult to imagine any significant portion of iPhone and Android users switching to third platform for any feature. Most of them/us can live without, the rest can wait for 12 months ;)
  • Hands up all other companies doing retrenchment.... Sound of crickets....
  • That one made me chuckle ;-)
  • This is a question I'm asking to myself for years: what comes after the smartphone, what is coming next?
    I can only think about the wearable tech, but wich device? A watch? A band? Another thing? I dream with a device that I saw in Terranova TV Series a couple of yers ago. A curved display that some actor used to fit their wrists. But I dont think that we'll see something like that in the next couple of decades....
  • be nice when companies stop saying hey just use your web browser since you are windows anything. that's the thinking in corporate america, hey your using windows (desktop, mobile, whatever)  just use the web browser.
  • It will be nice when people quit thinking apps are everything. Apps are making more and more people lazy tools
    Apps are nice at times but don't carry all the information gained from browser sites. Edge works fine for the most part. Apps do not
  • I don't think people want to use a browser that works fine, "for the most part". The advantage I find over using apps over websites are the ads. Websites are so obnoxious in the way a whole splash page ad takes over the site, and I've run into issues where you can't close the ad. While there are ads on apps, at least they're not usually in the way.
  • I fully agree. If I can't find an app on my Windows phone, I just pin the web page to the screen for convenient access. With Reader mode in Edge you can even get a nice clean view without all of the ads. I have corrected tech reviewers who criticize the desktop Windows app store for poor selection. Who cares? You can install whatever you want. 
  • Yeah, use that logic when you need to reprogram your Harmony remote or want to make a deposit in your bank. Oh wait, you can't with Windows Phone.  They don't have the apps.
  • Or control your roku, or pretty well any wearable/smartwatch,  or or or or or or or........Its more of a web browser device than the ipad all microsoft fanboys claim that is just that.   ha ha.  tables....turned!
  • Really? I do not have a piece of crap roku and my Band 2 works quite well. Really? The only fanboy I see here is you Steve Adams, do you own Apple Stock or something? Me personally, I am a fan of Microsoft products and as long as they do what I want, I will continue to use them. I have solid intergration across the board and in fact, they are a ton of things that it can do that I am not even aware of or have even used. Ah well, enjoy your Apple iToy. Edit: To be clear, I do not have issues with Apple or Android products, just your crap attitude about something you clearly know nothing about.
  • clearly I know ALOT about it...band 2?  how many piece of **** straps have you gone through....and you actually like that tumor on the bottom of the strap???  its looks like a 1980s digital watch compared to the offerings from others.  Roku works great for us,  plus it has a full autism programming channel....a real bonus for US!  and the only toys now are ms products since the OS  has neutered any functionality they had in the past with windows 8 and windows phone 8.....
  • Clearly, you seem to know NOTHING about it but, that is cool, it is good to admit you do not know everything. Also, although I did have one issue with the tearing of the band, thankfully, that has not happened since. But please, tell me how all the other watches, which are the shape and size of those old calculator watches, are better than a watch that can be worn to bed for sleep tracking. Oh, and well you are at it, how about telling me how all the other ones will do GPS run tracking without the phone straped to your arm. You can use the Roku, good for you but, you will notice you are the only one seriously putting a product down that others make great use of but, then again, I am sure you already know this and take great pleasure in it. Seriously though, what is an autism programming channel? Notice you also leave out the edit part I posted way before your post. As I said, and this time I am serious, enjoy your iToys which, except in specific work circumstances, is exactly what they are. (Hey, they may be toys but that does not make them unuseful.)
  • to correct your false knowledge you can control your roku with W10M/WP, they do have an app for that as I actually use it right now
  • wow must be new....can you beam your windows device to the roku?  
  • i moved to the s7 edge android becasue using the web version is no longer acceptable to me.  Paypal left a few weeks ago just after here maps and myfitnesspal.  That was enough for me.  Now i have pay pal, a bank santander app, i can pay via wireless nfc phone, i have a couple mopre games i didnt have before and well a reliable you tube app.  I loved metro tube but it becaume unreliable and crashed alot in the last few months.  Also i had to use cubecast to cast to my tv which i no longer need as you tube official has it built in and you tube notifications for new vids is great. I couldnt go back to windows unless they app gap was completely closed now but i cant see google apps there ever. And well while nokia made gorgeous devices the 950 and 950xl werre not part of that. If windows users want more apps its too late, microsoft rebooting their os is the real issue and personally i think 8.1 needed new features and improvments not rebooting, it was great on the mobile front but a reboot and unclear message to the public is the reason windows 10 have 1% market share and the reason pay pal and others are leaving the os store.
  • They are very heavily dependant on UWP. I think a lot of it is dependent on how that is accepted in the desktop world in order to bring in developers. W32 may be great but it's limited to desktops none of the other platforms they want to push. So the tech they are waiting for is definitely not x86 to run w32. I would say screen/battery are big ones. Imagine you could put on glasses that give you the power of hololens imaging tethered to your phone. Just a cheap and portable version of hololens glasses that acts like a monitor for continuum and gives you your privacy. No need to have any processors on the glasses as they use the phone. If they could do something like that, it would be neat. No one wants to put on a big clunky hololens unit in public. It could even be like those snapchat glasses to fit sensors and stuff, but make them less goofy looking.
  • If they can do that while not having a weighty block like the display dock in the system, that's a really great idea.
  • There's a wireless / miracast display dock too...
  • Yeah likely would be wireless. I find the lag for wireless is barely noticeable when doing regular work without gaming.
  • I use the fixed dock at work - and would anywhere with a permanent desk etc. However, I'm using a 3-4 year old Netgear Play2TV to push it to my TV. I've ordered a Microsoft Wireless Display Dock because every time it connect it says there's an incompatibility (and I want to be able to push it to all TVs too).
  • In other words: "Microsoft is hoping for a miracle and that, if it happens, they won't be late to know about it like last time".   Can we now proceed with the mass for Windows Phone /10 Mobile? Or are we waiting for the Elite X3 to flop with enterprise and HP to announce there won't be a sequel before we do it?
  • How about you stop with the "we" bit first. This is not a team, no one here are friends. You speak for you.
  • It's called nosism. You should look it up.
  • I read it as the editorial "we". You know what can avoid the confusion? First-person pronoun.
  • Hmm.... I just thought she/he had a mouse in his/her pocket  ... 
  • I'd like to think your ideas represent my own most of the time, hence I would be honoured to call you friend.
  • But  they will.  there will be another "paradigm shift"  nice cubical catch phraze btw!......and they will just sit and watch it happen and then develop a hack job of whatever the "next thing"  will be.
  • It's likely already happening, with Uber, Amazon, Google and Apple all developing autonomous vehicle technologies.   Nothing about it from Microsoft except for some in-car infotainment partnerships with a couple of automakers.
  • Ford Sync.....just about as good as a wireless bluetooth clip on at this point.
  • Well done for writing a reasonable length article,something a certain unnamed contributor is incapable of. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Dude don't complain! Ward's articles make work go by faster...
  • Fine I'm with them now justify why they are releasing exclusive android ios apps...justify why they are releasing updated apps of their own on them...leaving windows users in dark..
  • Treating dedicated MS customers as second class citizens. Solution: Update all OS versions of each of the apps at the same time. Fair treatment.
  • In other words, they don't know what to do to make mobiles flourish. However, just squashed the argument that Windows 10 mobile as a dead OS. They are going to continue supporting Windows 10 mobile.
  • What I love about these articles is the revisionist history in the comments section where people pretend that there was ever a moment in time when Microsoft had a chance.  Remember 2013?  Those were the good ol' days.  Nokia even sold 8.8 million Lumias in a quarter!  Windows Phone was on a clear path to never ending sucess. ...and by that point, Android was already doing over 1 million activations per day. This stopped being a race that Microsoft could win a long time ago.  You can debate which losing strategy was better, the Nadella losing strategy or the Ballmer losing strategy.  In the end, they're both losing strategies.  So yes, I'm very interested if Microsoft can find a way to be ahead of the next mobile shift.  There's really nowhere left for their phone business to go.
  • Re: HeyCori,
    If the profit margins were good, but the sales numbers were small in comparison to the others, would that be a success to you? I just don't think success is just about volume.
  • I would count that as a succss.  Unfortunately for Nokia, their best quarter with WP still wasn't enough for their phone division to turn a profit. 
  • Yes (posting way late but it's been a busy day and taking a while to catch up.) As I love to point out, by the time WP7 shipped to retail, the iPhone had been out for over 3 years, and Android had been out for 2 years.  Heck, it came out more than 6 months after Apple started selling the iPad.  When WP7 was released, it was competing for 3rd place in a two horse race....
  • If Microsoft wants to position itself for business only then why are they not working on an x86 phone? Why bother with ARM? Is there anyone in the world who believes that Google cannot do continuum?
  • They were. Intel pulled the rug. Also, I'm not convinced such a device would actually be good.
  • Continuum team already said that any attempt so far has been too hot, too expensive and too power hungry.
  • @mbrooks78 people forget that phones have a extremely low power budget and very little space to dissipate heat.
  • Boom and bust, boom and bust. Like our economy really!
  • This is 2016, to most of us our phone is used for both business and personal time. Focusing on one is pointless. This article just reassures me that I should leave the platform. I've had a windows phone since the HTC Arrive and experienced the rollercoasters, it's time I get a device which just works all the time so I can stop being that guy that doesn't have an Android or an iPhone.
  • A well documented article. But, what battle?, there never was a battle. In my job as an investigator/troubleshooter for a national accountancy company I have sat in many very tense situations in boardrooms across the country, It's a difficult job in many ways as there is firstly a dire need to get people to talk, this is incredibly difficult, secondly agree where things have gone wrong and why, who to blame, and what they see that can be done to change direction. In many many heated debates where there have even been tears, I have stopped the proceedings and asked one broad reaching firm question where no one leaves the room without an honest answer, "do you believe in this company, do you believe in your product, do you believe in your staff, if it's unanimously no, then we foreclose, no arguments. This may sound harsh but it's the sensible way to end/wind up. This is the last course of action after long reviews discussions and investigative auditing.
    In my humble opinion Microsoft have a terrific product which they failed miserably to promote, it seems almost incredulous that this was allowed to happen, the key word allow. Line up an apple handset, an android one and a large screen windows, I personally don't know anyone who hasn't said that Windows is fantastic eye candy, It's tremendous, simple, innovative and has endless expandability, I just don't get it, this is why when I read articles such as this that something tells me that we are not hearing the truth. From a professional point of view the writings on the wall, as I have written here before, I for one will hold on for a few more months to see where this all goes. Certainly as it stands to date it's far from inspiring, completely and utterly their own fault.
  • Re: mgd 57,
    I agree, Microsoft and Nadela have failed with the great opportunities of Windows phones. Hopefully, looking to the future, they will recognize the value, innovate with it and most of all promote/ market it.
  • "the company continues to aggressively build out the Mobile version of Windows 10 with no signs of slowing down."
    Really? Two years on, and no sign of Cortana around here... Bluetooth all busted... Office apps better on Android and iOS... Yeah, they're REALLY aggressive with Mobile Windows. Not. And what's this "cooperate"? There's no such thing in the mobile world. People, including employees, will demand what they're used to, developers will develop to market leaders and cooperations will adopt the platform that suits their needs, usually the one that provides the greatest flexibility and the happiest workforce. Meaning they'll choose the mass market leader...
  • 22 builds of Windows 10 Mobile were released including one yesterday vs. how many for WP8? So yes, really.
  • Full of bugs and no new compelling features!
    How do you accept a camera app working 80-90% of the time and slowwwww?
  • My camera on 950 works 100% and is fast. Takes better pics than ever since latest firmware and build.
  • so.... thats 1 picture out of 10 that you can't take... be a man, deal with it.
  • Be a man, deal with the fact that 1 out of 10 failure rate is very poor indeed.
  • I'd like two builds a year, but polished and tested by engineers not by insiders, than 22 with bugs.
  • This
  • Daniel,  Quantity does not mean Quality.  Every release breaks something that was working previously.  And gets no better.  
  • .
  • I think there is a lot of wishful thinking going on at MS. I don't see what their mission is with mobile, I have the feeling they are keeping the OS on life support hoping that someone will come up with a miracle idea that will bring the OS back to life. For now it feels like a steer less ship to me. Or maybe I'm just missing the bigger picture?
  • I am told by a few sources that there is a plan for Mobile. What that plan is is what we're trying to find out. Some of it is explained here. But no, they are not just winging this as much as it looks like.
  • People either forget or don't understand that if they're very open about it from the get go, before they even have a ready product chances are the competition would quickly copy it and the plan would then go down the drain. It's bad enough that there's already some speculation that this merging of Android and Chrome OS would allow Google to provide a Continuum-like experience to their Android phones, Microsoft really doesn't need to clue them more on their plans.
  • I think the difference is though Microsoft can't afford to wait unitl they're ready. Lots of people that were big supporters have given up on them in the mobile space as proven by their marketshare. Once people jump to another OS, why would they come back if it's been too long, and you've gotten comfortable using something else. No one says they have to give us the specific details, but why not at least acknowledge that next spring there will be a Surface Phone? Them officially saying that could be enough for some people to hang around a little bit longer.
  • You awe less the public if you're even slightly open about your future plans, unfortunately. I mean, would the Surface Book get that much attention from the press when it was announced if information about it had leaked before? It sucks, but that's how it is in marketing.
  • I think that's slightly different though. You're talking about a tablet/laptop with the Surface Book, an area that Microsoft doesn't need any help in. They could afford to wait and surprise people there. In the mobile space, they're hemorrhaging users at a rapid rate, why wait until the thing is dead if you can slow the bleeding now?
  • W10M is already dying, a death by 1000 cuts, and final death knell would be if Nokia comes up with a superb camera phone.
  • Have your sources said when we might expect to hear something more concrete from Microsoft about their plans? I think hearing the "rumors" of things like an AIO or Surface Phone is almost worst than not hearing anything at all, because once you hear the rumor of these things, the mind starts to imagine and anticipate, but without really having an idea of how far off these rumors will turn into a reality.
  • Something u have been saying since 2 yrs
  • I am not so naïve as to not see just how big a mountain this "if mountain" is for W10M. It is entirely possible that the future will unfold in a way entirely incompatible with MS's strategy, and -AT THAT POINT-, there really will be no hope for MS's mobile ambitions, and precious little hope for their other platform ambitions 10 years down the line. But that's -AT THAT POINT-. That's ------NOT NOW------! For now, at least for the moment, Windows Mobile is no more dead than I am. Windows Mobile is not even any more terminal than I am. Windows Mobile's position is anything but glorious. Granted. But if I can be perfectly blunt, I think there's way too much myopia to the future concerning it. Nobody will be in 5yrs where they are now. The smart phone paradigm as it stands today will be a relic. Google, Apple, nor Microsoft is going to have the luxury in 5yrs to be employing the model they're currently using at is stands, but will all have to move. And as long as MS sees a way forward, it will continue to be building their mobile platform and ecosystem (which is why analogies with Blackberry, and WebOS totally do not work). MS is constantly working on their platform, and are working on paradigmatic hardware and software, as well as cultivating 3rd party relationships. Consumer space is lost...but only lost for now. In time, they will take another go at it - and will likely be in a much better space to do so. I'm still -VERY- optimistic for the WM platform - given you're willing to take a patient, very long-view stance - something a disgustingly few in the tech news scene, and even more among the consumers (and commenters on these threads) seem to be willing - or even able to do. However, the tech "professionals" really have no excuse, where the pleb, we always have that excuse, so it's less infuriating to me. Microsoft and Google are being very proactive and taking very big risks to create holistic, unified ecosystems that move them from their "Island of dominance" to other parts of the land where they are not powerful, and in WM's case, not healthy at all. Their strategies look and work very differently, both driving the opposite direction on the highway....but both driving the same highway, and both with the same goal in mind - being a player in the cities on each end of that highway where only the one or the other have much footing right now. They will both look very different in 5 years. Apple already has a holistic ecosystem, and let's be honest, one that works pretty well, even if being a little limiting, being all siloed off and disjointed like its sectors are. The thing that scares me about Apple is I don't see them really beginning to pivot in any big way, but only hunkering down, and continually refining the system they have - but will that system work in the new world? Frankly, as one who has, uses, and loves all three ecosystems, it's not Microsoft I'm the most worried about at all....it's Apple. They're the ones I see the blackest outlook for. Google will probably do well, and of the three is probably the most likely to succeed at world domination. But even their Andromeda approach as we currently understand it is fraught with potential dangers, and as such, we just can't see the future yet. But why don't we all just let it unfold before we start ringing death knells, huh? Cheers!
  • Excellent post, well done! In all honesty, I hope both Windows 10 Mobile and Andromeda succeed in some level, it'd do wonders for the IT market to have both OS monopolies - Google in mobile and Microsoft in desktop - broken.
  • Thank you, Tales! Yeah, I agree. But even from my perspective as an enthusiast consumer, I just would much rather have a world with three "frenemies" that are all big enough to be healthy, but not big enough to where they start killing and eating each other. So I'm okay with disrupting strongholds in this lopsided industry. :-) Cheers!
  • That was an excellecnt post indeed. I would love to see three healthy companies competing too. After all, competition breeds innovation.
  • Exactly! And even setting innovation aside, it leaves people three very different "flavored", but comparably competent ways to do all their everything. And it just makes the tech world so much more interesting. I'm a big old school gamer, and as much as I genuinely love the current generation of gaming (and I REALLY do), my favorite eras are still the 3rd gen ("8-bit era"), and above all else, the 4th gen ("16-bit era"). One of the reasons the "16-bit console wars" was so much more interesting in Japan than in America was that you had three super solid contenders, Super Famicom, Mega Drive, and PC Engine, and they were all strong. Where in America, while we did get all three systems (under different names of course, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Turbografx16, respectively), only the two were strong here, and the TG16 pretty much went nowhere. But having a three-way contest was soooooo much more interesting, and enriching than the simple SNES vs Genesis thing here. I don't know if we ever will, but I seriously hope we get to have something like that with our tech scene here with Microsoft, Apple, and Google. Also, though I've never really been able to do more than dabble with it, I'd really like to see the Linux scene (as typified by Ubuntu) become more than just the fringiest of things. All I know is that Linux users swear by it more vehemently than I think I've ever seen from any of the big three's fans....and something tells me there's something legit behind that.
  • For selfish reasons, I do wish MS had some desire to satisfy the limited consumer base.  As a Verizon Icon owner since release day 1, it's frustrating to use such a beautiful phone and OS, but have it not work well together (heating phone when in use / significantly crippled battery life) - and no future phone to look forward to. Daniel, any idea / suggestions for Verizon users? (besides switching to AT&T) - Thank you in advance.
  • Meh!
  • What is making me sad is, I love the win10 os. But I think that for my next phone I will have choose between an overprice one (Apple) or an exploding one (Samsung). Or to get a business win10 phone ☹
  • Go for a one plus 3 or xiomi mi5, sometime later you might be able to load a w10m rom
  • With Apple partnering with Deloitte to push in the enterprise space I hope MS dont screw things up or take tooooo looooong to push forward.
  • I've worked with Deloitte several times.  Partnering with them is not a guarantee of sucess.
  • It's a horrible strategy, and one I predicted after attending Future Decoded last year. Trying to sell to businesses phones that are unique in the sense that consumers don't want them. One where the majority of mobile software providers won't support the device as standard. Asking a growing number of software developers who have decided that the ecosystem isn't big enough to justify the cost to continue supporting it with a much smaller addressable market. Microsoft are turning into IBM. Pushing cloud services and hosting, while investing in wild future technology in the hope something sticks. Their developer story has been irratic. What I don't understand is why a company with so many good people, and so many resouces, can be so toothless.Their mobile strategy today is now "We're going to wait around and hope something comes along". Actually rather than waiting for disruptive hardware, they should have, and should be, investing in disruptive software. What we have had instead was application support which was inferior to the app experience on Android or Apple. The whole thing is very frustrating. Especially since WP7 was a great entry OS, and although it was behind the others, there was real potential. It was very stable. The developer experience is still better than the alternatives 5 years later. Windows 10 mobile has solved a lot of the limitations of WP7. It's time to think in terms of strategy and vision, not give up because it's hard. Sadly, I don't think anybody in Microsoft has that vision.
  • Best comment in this article so far...
  • When you have a vision only CEO this is what happens. I've seen MS going from a decent company to one that delivers mediocre quality products: windows 10 and mobile full of bugs and updates that break stuff, ultra expensive 2in1s that have severe problems, total lack of true quality testing, and Satya's speciality: layoffs. WP 8.1 was a stable OS with a great future in the hands of proper people, but it failed because those great people were fired and replaced with no one or at most interns. I see the new IBM coming forth. Going business only will be their doom. These days, the business user and the consumer are two extremely close related terms, a thing that MS fails to see.
  • They can "reinvent" the phone as much as they want. It makes no difference if no one knows about it. If it's marketed properly, then people will buy it, then developers can see that, join in and close the app gap, then they can level the playing field with Apple and Android. If they just expect people to just magically show up, Surface phone will be doomed before there's even a picture of it. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • They marketed the Surface and Xbox well, right? When the believe in the product they will market it heavily. It's that simple.
  • True, but frankly the phones feel like accessories now instead of actual devices. Like, if I'm not using continuum, why would I buy that phone? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • the problem is if they continue waiting for the next bend in the curve, apple and google will get a best continuum-like integration by that time and more... all that strategy of "waiting" is a big slap in the face and they will always be the third wheel in that case.
  • the problem is if they continue waiting for the next bend in the curve, apple and google will get a best continuum-like integration by that time and more...
    Perhaps a better expression would be that they are creating (and not waiting) on the future with UWP, Continuum, Inking, holographic, and more.
  • MS have been creating some new and exciting things recently. However, it also depends on whether the consumers at large accept these things or not.
  • Yes they have, but quality and commitment should also come with those exciting new things. Consumers, by the looks, are not impressed and not willing to buy into these new things. Some of us have had enough of bad quality and lies from MS. I've been framed too many times by MS with their products being killed off...so pardon me for not trusting them anymore.
  • As I stated before. Android and IOS are not in a position for tommorrows technology. They just aren't. Windows 10 mobile is. I said before full programs are the future. Not apps. Apple lost PC race because they ignored business. Watch MS win again because they put business first. Most consumers work in business to a degree. And will always choose the best platform that makes their business life easy. 5 years from now MS know where the mobile industry is going.
  • Well said.
  • WOW LOTS OF FANBOY SPEAK IN THAT POST Richard Loveridge.  MS has no CLUE what tomorrows technology is....if they did,  they would have it out and marketed.  Why wait.   IOS and OSX have it right...not one os to rule them all!
  • Most people work for a company that has their own IT and systems, unless self employed. Almost all companies have some percentage of Microsoft software both Apps and Operating systems. As those companies update to Surface products and particularly the UWP they will be adding their own internal business driven Apps. That is turn will push them towards having mobile devices that easily support their own Apps. They may in turn compensate all or partially the cost of their employees to have mobile devices that easily support their day to day business operation. If most people get a mobile device given to them or at least partially compensated for, as their jobs require. Will they likely spend more money unnecessarily on buying another mobile device? To me it looks like MS is doing and sort of End-Around, that will take several years, but inevitably gain a substantial consumer market share. MS has an overall plan of standardizing their base operating system platform which is turns minimizes the amount of Application code that has to be developed. They aim at having all devices, Servers, Laptop, Tablets, Phones all running the same code. For a business, buying or developing new Apps is not the big expense. Maintaining those Apps on the long term is the big expense. The less code, the better. The phone is just another device that runs code and not the panacea that consumers make it out to be. Consumers need to understand that inevitably they will be paying a monthly service fee, just like cable, for the cloud and Apps they choose. All companies goals, where the consumer is involved, is towards perpetual income and consumer dependency. Smell the coffee.
  • So, is there any reason right now for any consumer to use WM anymore? Knowing MS' strategy (or lack thereof), the app store is not going to get any new apps. We will see more of the current apps abandoned by the developers. Why should someone suffer through the dead app store and keep waiting for the next bend in the curve to happen? Is that anytime soon? And what is the guarantee MS would be able to capitalize on the opportunity when it comes?
  • So, is there any reason right now for any consumer to use WM anymore?
    Definitely not, just personal preference and if you like the nascent stages of a UWP platform and some synergy with Microsoft services.
    We will see more of the current apps abandoned by the developers.
    I've seen more official apps announced in the last few months for Mobile than leave. In fact, feels similar to last year.
    Why should someone suffer through the dead app store and keep waiting for the next bend in the curve to happen?
    What dead app store? I see plenty of apps for Windows 10 and Mobile and it's growing day by day.
  • Most of what you speak to has some element of a lagging indicator. MS has to have a growing mobile phone market share to remain relevant. It's that simple. MS should have killed the last Nokia with the 830 release and delivered a new brand name covering the low / mid-range brand. At the high end, the Surface phone should have been released a year ago instead of the 950 a series. Like the original Surface, they could've done something really cool and then refined it over the next couple of release cycles. Finally, the MS of today seems to have zero plans to make Continuum x86 compatible. Therefore, the rumored X3 based Atom Surface phone from a year ago made zero sense. Intel has no future in the smartphone market. They figured that out a year ago and promptly cancelled the Broxton Atom with MS fully aware of what was going on. If there is to be a Surface phone, it will be so late to the party that it has zero chance @ having any affect on the business mobile landscape. I just don't see MS presenting us with an incredible device that is so compelling in all of its MS integration for the business world to really take notice, especally with MS falling over themselves to make their apps iOS and Android friendly. Nothing MS has been doing in mobile hardware for two years has made sense. I mean absolutely nothing.
  • There is really no reason you should be using Windows Mobile now. Even the ports for Microsoft owned applications such as Outlook and Skype pale in comparison to the Android and IOS versions. It's quite embarassing really. Not to mention if you break the glass on a 640 or 950, even a Microsoft store can't help you in that regard to replacing the glass.
  • "Paradigm shift," just sounds like "reboot." That's, what, 5 OS reboots for MS now? WP7, WP8, WP8.1, W10M, W10M R2. Hard to make progress with no consistent focus. They manage mobile like they have ADD.
  • That's not at all what it means and I can't make this more obvious than pointing to what the Surface has done to the concept of two-in-ones. Or look at the rise of modular computing with Kanagroo and PC sticks. You need to think about where this technology is going. Again, I ask: Describe to me what a smartphone looks like in 5 or 10 years. If you say "The iPhone 12 and it's thinner with a better display, still running apps" I think you have a very myopic view of the future of technology. You're still thinking of the OS. That's here, it's Windows 10 (or just "Windows"). Now you need to think about the experience and where it can go.
  • "I ask: Describe to me what a smartphone looks like in 5 or 10 years." Not much different than what it was 5 years ago. It'll have a faster processor and that's about it.
  • Then let's take the 10 years ago look. Who ruled the smartphone business then? Not Apple, the iPhone didn't even exist in 2006. Heck, smartphones weren't even a mainstream thing, the big phone vendor then was Nokia with feature phones.
  • Smartphones are as good as they can be. Sure, there will me minor improments, but I don't see any major shift. That's why I think Microsoft better get into the game now, instead of waiting for some imaginary shift in the future.
  • I don't see any major shift
    I didn't see the world shifting from BBSs to the web, stationary phones to mobile phones, feature phones to smartphones or Blu-ray to streaming, but some people did and invested heavily on those. Bottom line is, we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss Microsoft's bet, it may end up paying off in the long run.
  • These comments are exactly why I believe that only a few of us can see far enough in advance to know that today's phones will not even be close to the same in 5 years. They will be devices. Just do a search for why the app model is dead, and come back and give a more thoughtful answer.
  • and that's why you are not working at Microsoft.
  • Microsoft HAD the next shift and then cancelled.   Mclaren if they released it on time,  etc would have been AMAZING!  however....ole baldy up there decided that we will wait,  see what happens...now he knows!
  • Great Article Dan. Whilst most will moan and compare W10M to other OS's, somewhat persistently, MS realised a long time ago that this was only going to end up as a dead end. You can't compete with them. It is pointless. They are almost quango's, where any form of competition hasn't got a cat in hells chance of competing. It's almost as farcical as the US presidential debate, where the two options you have, aren't really the best for you, but you are stuck for alternatives. MS need to get a wriggle on with any new 'curve' chasing devices. I don't mean late next year or 2 years. The smartphone has become very staid. The all have the same form as they did years ago. The only reason Apple and the like keep selling them with a dated form, is by adding gimmicks, or, laughably, remove the headphone socket and force you to buy their wireless buds. Samsung introduced the curved screen, but, is it a game changer?The phone is still the same old thing, albeit with a more modern SoC, but essentially, still the same. MS need to change the game with something unique. It really needs to run the full W10 OS, it needs to run it in continuum as well. There was, recently, a Chinese manufacturer showing an Android device with a projector built in! The biggest downer recently was Intel killing off the chips that would have bolted straight in to such a device! As for apps? Who knows. The way things are heading, unless UWP is taken up in a, not huge, but reasonable way, it could be more of an issue than it already is. Alas, the future isn't so bright, that I've gotta wear shades. It's more erm.....cloudy with a chance of meatballs
  • Good points.
  • I don't think x86 programs will be a game changer. In continuum yes but also, you have to consider that PC monitors don't come with extra HDMI/display ports in the front or in the back. It isn't like a TV or an amplifier receiver.
    To use continuum, you would have to disconnect a monitor connected to a perfectly working PC. Microsoft are just lazy, they want instant dominance and when they don't get it they curl their tails and hide. So what if you sell fewer phones than anyone, who cares... Just sell.
    Every market has a volume seller.
    You don't tell kids not to erect lemonade stands on the side of the road because the neighbours have coke in the fridge.
  • "MS realised a long time ago that this was only going to end up as a dead end. You can't compete with them. It is pointless." That's just defeatism.  
  • No, that's the harsh reality. Show me a single effort in the last five years to get a third mobile ecosystem in the market that paid off. There isn't one, and it's not just Microsoft that's backing off now: both Mozilla and Blackberry killed their mobile OS's initiatives.
  • This is one of the best articles in recent years that describes the problem of Windows Mobile in the consumer space which is now dominated by Apple and Google, thanks for WindowsCentral and Dan for saying the truth about Windows Mobile platform, now its time for Microsoft to look at what their strong at and that's in business, lets forget about consumer Surface phones for a while and start to think in what full Windows 10 could give to phones, modular phones could be a solution for this problem since ARM architecture doesn't run business apps that are made for x64 architecture, imagine running full desktop Office with a module for your phone that has inside a Intel Core M chip with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of fast storage, this could easily be the mobile workstation of the future that you can carry to make phone calls when you're at your car or in the street. Just my 2 cents.
  • So what if there is no major paradigm shift in the next 5-10 years? Are they just going to do nothing and wait? 
  • They have to create the paradigm shift somehow starting from now, and hope that the market accept it. MS really cannot afford to hope for the shift to happen by itself.
  • that is EXACTLY what is happening.  They are ready to WAIT!  and when that shift happens....they will.......WAIT.
  • Great article and feedback Daniel thanks!!
  • I believe had they concentrated on one model from the outset and developed a top class OS that always works and promoted their product the situation would be a lot different today.
  • i agree, that's the correct path.
  • I just think Microsoft is going to abandon the consumer market and allow those companies that want to build Windows phones for consumers can do so. I guess I'm good with that if that is the plan. MS wasted too much time getting Moble off the ground, switching around development tools and such compressed any momentium the mobile OS had. 
  • Well,am a Microsoft fan but my next phone will be an android for the first time...
    I can't buy a business phone while am a regular customer.... But I will still keep my 3 Lumia's .
  • "...the company continues to aggressively build out the Mobile version of Windows 10 with no signs of slowing down" LOL That has got to be one of the most hilarious things I've read in a long time. There's nothing "aggressive" about what Microsoft has done with their mobile os this year. And no, the number of builds does not count as a measurement of aggressiveness. As for their strategy, I think them abandoning their 3% will prove to be one of the biggest mistakes made in the history of Microsoft. And yes, I'm aware there's a huge list of mistakes to compete with. If Microsoft is betting that continuum is what will drive that next 'paradigm shift', then we already know that this 'next big thing' will simply be an evolution of today's smartphones. Not something that will suddenly take the world by storm the way smartphones have done. And that also means that this next big thing will probably be an evolution of the current smartphone ecosystems. That's also where these constant comparisons with their 'successful' Surface strategy breaks down: with Surface MS has their classic Windows os and the ecosystem that comes with it. For everything else, they have nothing: no market share and no development interest. It's telling that so far the only bridge that seems to be gaining some use is the one to convert desktop apps to store apps. But those apps still remain confined to the desktop. This is the problem they need to solve. And they won't solve it by hiding in a corner ('enterprise') away from the big bad world ('consumers'). Looking at their position in the smartphone market as 'winning from Apple and Android' is wrong. Of course they are never gonna do that. That doesn't mean you can't gain a meaningful foothold. And they were doing that. And then they just threw it all away in search of some mythical next big thing.
  • MS will always be what we will need at last ,when we realized that we deserve best
  • Hey guys from India. We have update available now for L650...MICROSOFTMDG update...
  • Creating a new device category alone won't matter. The biggest roadblock MS has is retailer support and education. You can make a great device. Do product placement in TV shows and movies. Buy commercial air time all day long. As soon as that customer goes to Best Buy/Wal-Mart/Target/Costco/etc. and they hear the salesperson say "We don't carry Windows phones. They suck anyway. Here, look at this Samsung phone with Android on it.", most customers are going to buy something else. Sure WE all know what's up, but we are also commenting on a website dedicated to Windows news. My entire family doesn't know or give 2 $#!+s about Windows phone. Even though it does basically everything the competition does save for catching Japanese cartoon monsters and looking at self-deleting home-made porn. When they go to ATT and T-Mobile to upgrade their phones, do you know what isn't in the store? 950 and 950XL's. The option isn't there, so the customers won't choose it. I don't care how much marketing they do. Surface succeeded because you can walk into a computer retail store, try the device and walk out with one. (or try it out, then order it on Amazon from the Best Buy parking lot) Of course, even this doesn't help when the salespeople say stupid stuff like "Oh these Surface things don't run full office. They can only use a mobile version" <- Real comment I overheard at a Best Buy.
  • You are quite right here.  Microsoft's marketing of Windows Phone has been an absolute disaster with no chance of succeeding.  It's as though they themselves never believed in Windows Phone.  That's what absolutely must change if another Windows Phone reboot has any chance of succeeding.  I recently switched from Windows Phone to Android, and while it is nice to have some apps I didn't have before, I miss how well Windows Phone worked without needing apps for everything.  The problem with Windows Phone has never been the technology.  It has always been a lack of commitment to market the product to meaningful market share.
  • My word, even the fans are talking about WMobile in comparison to Blackberry. Be careful MS, if you lose the faithful you lose the game.
  • Microsoft makes it difficult to be faithful.
  • I have to agree with that statement in context. 
  • I wrote in late 2015 that "Microsoft is not about creating hardware for the sake of creating another thing."
    This notion is impeached by the existence of the Lumia 950/950XL
  • If you think that then haven't been paying attention to recent developments. That said I'm fine with just another thing, until the next big thing from MS.
  • I'm not certain why everyone thinks that Windows Mobile is so bad?!? Because we don't have Snapchat? I say meh to that! Let's be fair Windows Mobile 6, 6.1, 6.5 sucked! But ever since Win7 and up we have simplicity and we are finally going to have real apps that neither iPhone nor android can compete with. Yes I do concede that it has been a work in progress though. Until the Surface phone comes to fruition my next phone is going to be moving up from my 950 to a 950XL or an HP Elite x3, with the latter looking really sexy right about now!
  • I think Satya Nadella has done of good job of accepting reality.  I think waiting for the next bend in the curve is the right strategy.  The question is, when that bend comes, will Microsoft be willing to invest to market that vision to the extent required to carve out significant market share?  Their marketing of Windows Phone in the past has been woeful.  Nokia was pretty good at it.  Microsoft was just awful. 
  • I'll start to be interested when I can carry 2TB of files and run Adobe Premier and Audition from my phone to a 4k monitor. Until then It's just a consumer phone.
  • Everyone is noticing that Blackberry, the business phone company, had that strategy and is pretty close to announcing the end of it's hardware businss. To be fair Microsoft have ended their hardware business. They are selling the Lumia's in the channel, have withdrawn all advertising, laid off staff and have said there are no more Lumias. Only the hint in the air of a "Surface Phone". However it's not even as solid as a hint of a possible rumour because the most Microsoft watchers have got is "Surface device" sometime (unspecified) in 2017 possibily. Blackberry are at least calling it. Microsoft are keeping Windows 10 Mobile almost because it costs very little to switch the compiler to update the core OS now it's a part pf Windows 10. I will give them that. They are prepared to make builds of the core OS. If you have Continuum then all you need is a keyboard, screen, mouse, docking station, power cables...... oh wait just taking a laptop with you is the same! Other than some very specific scenarios I am struggling to see why you want Continuum. Would an iphone 7 user trade in his phone for a phone with Continuum. More likely they would want their iphone too and see the Windows 10 Mobile "device" as another computer. What would a Windows 10 Mobile device be competing with? Windows 10?  Praise where praise is due. The Surface line has produced me too products. Even the ipad pro seems to look like a Surface. However it took 3 iterations and a $900 write down on Surface RT. In the new Nadella business focussed Microsoft, as opposed to the try stuff Balmer Micrososft, will Nadella allow more than one crack at a paradigm shifting device? So Windowsphone, as conceived, was the iphone killer and aimed at consumers. They managed to mess up all the consumer services from music to video and rebooted the franchise 3 times. They made iiterations largely non-upgradable. Bulit a series of cheap end phones with largely unmemorable names. They had an advantage at the beginning with a massive global distribution system under Nokia but focussed on the needs of the market which wasn't buying - the USA. NFC was built into all the Nokia premium phones from day one ready for a tap to pay infrastructure so Microsoft left if to Apple and Google to grab that market too.  Late in the day they added things business wanted like encryption and VPN. They managed to change their own Skype IM from being standalone to integrated to standalone to being taken apart. Who knows where it is now because everyone else won that one while Microsoft couldn't decide about instant messaging and closing down MSN Messenger that was being used.  The record for Microsoft on paradigm shift and watching the curve is fairly mixed. They dont seem to have had a clear vision on mobile at the outset or really used the partnership with Nokia to play to strengths.  
  • Good one on the NFC. Lazy bastards...they've had it right there but failed as usual to deliver and be the first.
  • i'll be ready when they are truly ready
  • They should dump those software buttons add their version of 3d touch and gestures and they would be the true future! Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Re: Timo47v,
    Very nicely said. I think Microsoft needs to develop and innovate much faster if they are going to have any hope of getting any sort of foothold in the enterprise or consumer markets.
  • "All of this to the dismay of the media and even consumers who don't see the point." As a Windows Phone/Mobile fan who had to sidetrack to Android since Verizon has no Windows Flagships, I can't quite say "what's the point" but it is so hard to really get excited and keep waiting and waiting for something to happen.  I have a review copy of a 950xl that I perhaps might be using daily if Verizon would allow it. For now, I move along with my (replaced) Note 7 and really, really hope to see some new traction and as you say, a paradigm shift, with Windows as a mobile platform. Fingers are always crossed. :) 
  • Really sad something cant be worked out for Windows phone lovers on Verizon network
  • I am not really surprised though and it is the very reason I left Verizon. Between their higher prices and limited phone selection, I have had enough. Heck, I would go into Best Buy, see all these really good looking unlocked Android phones at good prices, thought I might want one and then saw, NOPE, not compatible with Verizon. Screw that. Now that I am on ATT, I can basically choose whatever phone I WANT and not what they say I can use or not use.
  • Android is already working on this as well. Andromium app and a device called the Superbook does exactly what Continuum is designed to do. Chromecast will aslo do this as well in the not so distant future. Microsoft won't be alone in this. Our phones will be all the computer needed for most folks.
  • And then Apple will come late to the party and claim they are the first.
  • and will sell millions of devices
  • Interesting. I for one am optimistic for the future of the mobile platform. I think given the chance people could see the benefit and ease of use that is Windows Mobile. And if I'm wrong and they pull the rug out from under the mobile platform then I'll be one of the last few using the OS until I'm forced to another option.
  • Apple and Google are past the peak.  There is a lot more opportunity to offer a consistent platform across product types than most people are even aware of.  And before people douse the idea of a Surface phone as more "me too" in the Surface line, look at what the book did.  It did not invalidate partner devices.  The XPS 13 hit one out of the park and people know it.  But it gave some real wow to the next stage up from a tablet.  It spawned a whole slew of convertible small notebooks from practically every vendor.  Surface phone isn't meant to be the only phone.  It is there to offer a vision and spawn ideas in shops like Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer, LG and even Samsung.  Apps to some degree are being replaced by built in features.  Many older apps are dying off - unsupported by the few who used them.  The entire sea is changing and Apple wants in on Enterprise and Google wants to figure out desktop.  But if you use Windows mobile you are already home on both these topics.  And just like Surface, the device will do very well in business and be quite at home when you get home at night and need a restaurant or groceries.  It's taking a while to make it right, but we'd prefer a well done product right?  Isn't that why we still feedback on the Insider releases?  And don't think this means a world without Apple or Google.  It will just become more about flavors and goals for devices.  We don't all buy the same cars but we sure love to see the choices out there right?  Same thing.  Everyone will be bringing their best to the consumer table and everyone gets to eat.
  • Microsoft is great at innovation. They are not a "me too" company, and it just fails for them more often than not. The surface has now been cloned by literally every PC manufacturer, and stands as a beacon of growth in a declining PC and tablet market... and you know when you've made a great product when Apple and Google copy it! They just need to do the same in the mobile space, and continuum is a great start, and I have always found Windows Mobile the best OS for business. They may not please everyone in the consumer market, but growth in business would give them a fantastic strong hold, after all windows still accounts for most of the worlds PC use, despite the massive growth of android.... the reason is that android is just ***** to work on.
  • I think Microsoft must stay in the race over smartphones. I think they are in the right path, thinking of mobile as an extension of physical storage, eg. Office Desktop, Office Server, Office Cloud, Personal Desktop, Personal Drive or Personal Cloud. Right now there's a big challenge in Cloud for Business, and I have seen big movements from Microsoft to stay a step forward. The dual concept about smartphones is right for me; Is the way it has to be. About the app store I think the amount of apps have to be narrowed to those really usefull and helpfull. There're too many trash out there. AI is a good complement in technology for everyone lifes. Personally I think Microsoft should work closely to manufacturers, partners and developers to asure the propper spread of its OS. And by propper I mean Microsoft have to create a team who evaluate the products of their third party allies, including hardware architecture, software architecture and apps architecture, in order to be sure those match in their Platform; that way end-users experience should be identical, no matter if they are running Windows OS in a Microsoft or non-Microsoft device. In the topic of competition, I think the big difference between Apple and Microsoft in the consumer market relies in how they reach the audience. And for me the key is the way Apple share its new products and features to the public.
  • Microsoft knew exactly what they were doing when they aquired the Nokia Wireless business because they needed hardware in order to push their Windows Mobile agenda, and now that they've moved beyond the consumer hardware developement phase and onto the enterprise hardware phase, the consumers can now go lick their wounds, or shell out top dollars if they want to stay with the platform.  It's all part of their marketing scheme.
  • Re: DeltaHotel,
    I disagree. I don't believe Microsoft has had a consistent vision and most certainly has never had any consistency in their marketing strategy. There has been no "grand" plan. These are the problems. Great ideas, poorly executed.
    That all said, I'm sticking with WP 8.1. At some point I'll move to 10. Hopefully it will have all the 8.1 features / functionality by then.
  • For me 8.1 now looks like an ancient OS, missing a lot of features of 10.
    Actually 8.1 is missing a lot of features of 10.
    What are you exactly talking about when you write 10 will have all the 8.1 features?
  • As Microsoft fan I love to hear and see Apple presentations because of the detail they show their innovations, beginning for the location and followed by the stage and the staff members who transmit what they have. They put magic in the words they use, with the power to captivate and convince the audience. The way they speak is like harmony that goes directly to the ears and catch your attention. Besides they transmit confidence. You can try by hearing Mr. Ive presentations. By telling this, I hope Microsoft can emulate this behavior in its presentations. Is something Apple can't patent. Microsoft should bring coaching to its exhibitors training. Other than that I would expect more marketing efforts to get more customers.
  • Ah, the old "technology leap/ paradigm shift" combo. Well played, sir... My takeaway from everything is this; MSFT is basically saying "OK, we fold on mobile. We were too little, too late, too soon, whatever, it's not gonna happen. Mea Culpa. But smartphones won't last forever, and whatever comes next wer're gonna jump on like a fat kid on All You Can Eat day at Krispy Kreme. For now, like the Reapers, we will retreat to the shadows... watching... waiting..."
  • Everytime i read an article like that, i would say, thats it im moving on to a different platform, but i can't because i will always have hope for a Windows mobile phone. everyone wanted a phone that works as a PC, when MS introduced Continuum, no one wants it anymore. not sure how does a right click on an iphone is more appealing than a phone that works as a PC to some level.    
  • People of this era are hard to please
  • If MS would just put windows 10 on phones...instead if a "mobile" version....it would take off
  • If it were only that simple... Microsoft doesn't do that for a reason: the classic Windows apps you know are built using the old Win32 API, which came with Windows 95 and runs only with x86 processors. Phones don't generally use x86 chips, they use ARM ones; Intel tried to build suitable x86 chips for phones, but they failed to keep up with ARM in power and battery saving so they killed the project a few months ago. So long as x86 chips can't be used in phones with similar value for money they can't reasonably put full Windows 10 on phones.
  • So far the paradigm shift has been Surface, Surface Book and HoloLens. Just have to wait and see if they are what they talk about. It has become so hard to keep everyone happy these days.
  • Windows is alive and kicking, all of you are just thinking too small. your handheld mobile device is not the end all be all device.  Microsoft is KING in gaming industry in terms of competing with Google and Apple.  Microsoft is KING in PC, and Office.  And before you brag about anything else, Microsoft is pocketing for all of those patents being used by Apple and Android.  all of these trolls comin here like Microsoft is dying, please.  Microsoft is playing the leeching game the same way Google got up there leeching off Microsoft OS with their Google **** on the PC.  I just wish Microsoft could ban every single Google product on the PC just to show them who's boss.  We dont really need to be running Chrome on a windows 10.  They need to ban Chrome, FireFox, and Opera because if Google doesnt want to bring their services into Windows 10 mobile, we dont realy need them leeching off Microsoft.  For those microsoft loyalists, you too can survive without any Google products on your Windows 10 PC.  I havent used one in over a decade.  Not even Google.Com
  • Same with you buddy,haven't used any here myself
  • Thanks Daniel for yet another interesting article. Reading through the comments (unfortunately many of them pessimistic about Microsoft's future) I notice a general assumption that a business focus is at the expense of a consumer focus. I'm surprised that these comments assume Microsoft is this shallow or ill-informed or naive. The concerns with business are security (ensuring access to the physical compute devices is secure as well as the security of the data), deployment (shipping 1000's of preconfigured devices to employees around the world), and package management (updating the devices with company approved apps and configurations - corporate server access to communications and information). I may be wrong but I don't think anyone comes close to what Microsoft are doing in this space. I'll use two simple examples: OneDrive and OneDrive for Business is the first. OneDrive, as we all know is a very elegant consumer focussed app that spans the widest range of devices and has effectively blown the competition out of the water. OneDrive for Business now offers the same consumer focussed functionality and ease of use but ruining over SharePoint. This means that any company with SharePoint can set up their own OneDrive, unique to the company, managed on the company servers, with all the security the company wishes to throw at it. This is a business focus that is also consumer oriented. The second example I'll use is the Windows Store. The store now has the flexibility to offer essentially a corporate store. In other words, your store account can be used to present you with apps that your company wants you to install if you wish. I don't use this as a restrictive example (although I guess a company could equally limit what you can see in the store) but more a positive example where the company can offer you their apps without them being available to the rest of the world. I don't see a business focus being at the expense of consumers - rather addressing the issues of business while also understanding we are all consumers.
  • Very interesting comment.
  • I understand why MS needs to stay relevant in the mobile space, but it didn't really try its best when it had the chance. The mobile world is now Android-iOS duopoly and I don't see things change any time soon. MS needs to pay developers $$$ to port their apps over or just quit it now and build forked Android instead.
  • The MS mobile Titanic was in full swing with the release of the Nokia 830. Nice design, hohum hardware at a premium price. MS followed this disaster with the 950 series release, but this time reversed: great specs, hohum design. Compare this with key Chinese smartphone makers. Great design @ great values. Had MS released the 830 @ $249 it would have done much better. Had MS released the 950 & XL @ $299 and $399, they would have stood a chance. This of course is completely separate from the W10M release for this phones which was horrendous. As such, MS only has their self to blame. They have the ability to sell phones @ less than 5% net margin, in affect subsidizing them. And they certainly have the ability to create a heart tugging consumer advertising campaign like Apple and Google do with their platforms. Instead, MS seems to be focused on everything business when it comes to mobile. Wake up, MS, put the great, low-cost plastic case of the 650 with the 950 specs and sell it at a price that shakes up the market, and you'll stand a chance @ increasing your market share. At this point, their delusional if they think business customers are really going to take to W10M on 3rd party hardware like HP. Just don't look for sales numbers from MS and HP by years end. It's going to be ugly.
  • Also they retrenched from markets where WP was doing very well due to Nokia's popularity, they shd hv concentrated their marketing there, instead they turned down interested customers with no stock messages n killed the distribution network that Nokia had. Their next range of devices will mostly be limited availability(geographically)
  • I agree with both of you,retrenching from market where they were doing well is ludacris,I purchased Lumia 650 for my mom,I have 950,the design of the Lumia 650 is best hands down,sleek,great to hold,that with 950 specs and good price point,I smell sales
  • they are using pc manufacturers to make their phones now. hp, accer, asus, maybe dell? maybe they can try to run x86 UWP app on mobile now if these phones can run a x86 chip in them.​ Windows Phone is unique in the sense that mobile apps and desktop apps and xbox apps can share a common app without having to use a completely different app whenever you change platform. More consistent interface and seemless. With iOS the apps are unavailable on their desktop and vise versa. i would like to see more features to combine pc with mobile for cross sync or control    
  • It's understandable that they want oems,they wanted oem for years but why end Lumia line,when you own 95% of mobile market,also 950 the best Windows phone around to get at great price point,bundle it with other products
  • True. They can coexist Asus phone = transformer of phone
    Hp phone = spectre of phone
    Accer phone = aspire of phone
    Lumia = suppose to be surface pro of phone Ms ass effed up this time. Not pushing devs to make uwp and apps then marketing wm selling point
  • This article is the most obvious MS defending like ever! MS failed in a pathetic way! All they say now is nothing but pure crap. Ever since Nadella came they put ZERO effort in mobile, bringing the market share to a near zero percent. Also, the windows 10 mobile OS is a mess, a junk compared to 8.1 in terms of performance, battery life, stability and reliability, mainly because MS decided to work cheap, using insiders instead of experienced DEDICATED testers, as proved by several articles at that time. MS did not fail because the stakes are too high, they failed because they simply ignore quality, they have the worst PR ever and are now lead by the worst CEO of all times. Having only business targeting is not a solution and it will fail misserably! This is not the first time MS is telling something and doing another. How can a CEO of such a huge corporation come and tell crap stories about phones for three targets, and now simply to change his mind, after a short period?? This proves nothing but the fact that MS is iresponsible, cannot be trusted in anything they say...again it's not the first time they talk crap and lie to users! Ever since WP7 we have been lied and used as guinea pigs for their projects, an incredible pathetic way to behave with your customers. NO other compan is doing like this! NO OTHER, not even Apple, at least they deliver what they promise, nothing less, nothing more. I am curious about fanboys and their stand over this? where is your precious MS promise over future phones? The Surface Phone is still a myth, and if it will come to pass, it will be an ultra expensive device with nothing to offer, not even for businesses. MS failed with windows 10 mobile, they delivered a junk hoping the market will chew it.Well sorry MS but not everyone is that stupid to be f$%^d so many times! two words for MS: Pathetic, trustless
  • Wow, I'm not sure where to start with this. You'll probably accuse me of being a fanboy (as if it's bad to support a company/product/ideal) without konwing anything of my past, background, experience. You present points with such an emphatic bias that it's difficult to respond without it seeming like an argument. I don't consider myself a fanboy, but here goes: "MS failed in a pathetic way..." In what way did Microsoft fail? Their share prices are up, they are market leaders in most of the busness areas they operate, their products are widely used and highly regarded. Are you suggesting that the lack of market penetration of their phones means the whole company has failed? Their hardware (devices) is a very small part of the company. "ZERO effort in mobile..." I think you'd find a large group of Microsoft employees quite offended that you suggest the past two or three years of work, effort, innovation equates to ZERO effort (assume that's even worse than zero effort). "windows 10 mobile OS is a mess, a junk..." I challenge you to present the numbers. Get the latest build in W10M and WP8.1 and produce the numbers that show performance, battery life, stability, reliability is now worse. I suggest you are being subjective (or worse - rehashing old and untested opinion from others). Your comment regarding the insider program is interesting. It is a bold move by Microsoft to include users in the development process, and it may prove to not be a good move. This will most likely be because of users like you, abusing them for allowing us to guide and shape the future development. Would you prefer them to close the insider program and then wait months until they reveal the surprising new features for you to criticise? I enjoy getting the chance to test new ideas and provide feedback on ideas for future development. If you continue such negative public criticism I predict they will shut the program down. Your comments regarding Microsoft's future products should probably be ignored, but I can't help myself... You say that they promised "phones for three targets" but lied and are now not going to make phones? How do you know? Have they said they will not make phones? You say the "Surface Phone... will be an ultra expensive device with nothing to offer..." How do you know this? How do you know there will even be a surface phone?
  • Highly regarded products? Everywhere I see, I notice nothing but complains over windows 10 and mobile. MS Failed by lying to users so many times, they failed by delivering broken products and updates, they failed by loosing trust. I don't give damn about their stocks, I do not buy a product because it's maker has high value stocks, I buy it because it works and I can trust that maker to deliver working updates and quality support. 90% of comments all over are complains about windows 10 mobile and how great 8.1 is compared to it. Yes I've had many 8.1 devices and a 950. Windows 10 mobile is nothing compared to 8.1 in terms of speed, stability and battery life. Not to count the bugs that are forever in 10. I also enjoy being able to test unfinished software, but I surely do not enjoy using a product that was tested 90% by insiders because the CEO dumped the dedicated testing teams: proof? search google, there are articles with official statements regarding this "smart move" that Satya made. ZERO effort in mobile: hmm well let's see, they launch some x50s phones, to average Joes out there with a beta broken OS, they are unable after a whole year to fix many bugs, their marketing was almost ZERO. etc want more? They care about their apps on other platforms more than their own one. I am not gonna call you a fanboy, but clearly it's obvious you haven't been framed by these moves that MS made as much as me and so many others, because if you would have been, I doubt you would be so gratefull to them for delivering what exactly? Seriously? what? Don't get me started with the latest surface book and SP4 that were put on sale with severe SW bugs...
  • nintendo is a good lesson for ms lol Nintendo: a home stationary console business entering portable handheld. MS: a home stationary pc entering mobile portable phone. maybe they can do what wii u did and have unique design for windows apps on pc to have a second screen where the tools, and setting of the application can be thrown into the phone screen while the pc screen is for the main view. for example maybe comments section can pop out in phone as companion while the viewers continue to read article or watch video. or maybe when there's too many desktop on the pc, the surface pro user can snap the other window or application into the phone screen to avoid screen squishing together??? cmon ms where's the innovation?!
  • They are still in denial, stating things like it's too hard to get into the market.  Well, Windows Phone had TONS of opportunities to get into the market.  They failed to promote it, failed to get apps, and failed to roll out a quality non-Beta-esque OS.  After sticking with Windows Phone for the past 4 years, I've gone back to android with an edge 6+ and it's quite amazing what windows users are missing out on.  Sorry microsoft, I defended you for awhile and gave you tons of chances, but at the end of the day I was left with a phone that could barely pull up web pages correctly on Edge and a Windows 10 platform that was buggy to say the least.  What a shame.
  • Good, seems like the good old business pocket PC with powerful Windows Mobile is slowly making a return. Windows Phone 7 - 8.0 Smart​Dumbphone was a pathetic iOS wannabe.
  • I was here for Nokia and the Lumia series. I'm not buying any enterprise device to use continuum or the fabled Surface phone. I don't have the patience for jokes and endless reboots. If I had the money I'd buy an iPhone and Macbook. Since that is overpriced I will just get a Note 7. Maybe after two years Nokia will be delivering a premium device for me with Android on it.
  • And how is Nokia delivering an Android device(in 2years time specially for you) any different to MS delivering a fabled Surface Phone? I fail to understand your logic, care to enlighten me please. Or is it your sarcasm? Also, I don't presume anyone is holding a gun to your head forcing you to use a device with continuum on it that is a matter of your personal choice. Get an iPhone or an Android device your problem solved. Don't be sticking around for the ship that has a breached hull.
  • Don't worry about me mate. I already have a Note 5 that's my daily driver. My only loyalty was to the Lumia brand. Now that's gone I'm out. The day my 950xl dies is when I'll leave this site too.
  • Because there are actual photos,  comments from nokia, etc that says they are developing an android phone.  NOT just fanboys saying "when the surface phone (unicorn),  gets here....look out"!  Nokia IS working on a new android phone,  they hired back the imaging guru from MS....they say for the 360 camera development they have,  but you can be assured that his hands will have touched the imaging for the new phone.   I am guessing right now thats what NOKIA is doing right now.  Getting the imaging in the camera set up.   NOKIA android phone with awesome camera REALLY COMING SOON.    Not like the surface unicorn thats COMING SOON™
  • Lumia 710, Ativ S, Lumia 830, Lumia 930.  My Windows phone history.  I also had the L930 running an early preview of WM10.  I see no reason whatsoever to return to a mobile Windows platform.  I have a Windows laptop and a high end Android phone and everything from my 365 account is available on both.  If platforms go down the continuum dock style route then I would choose an Android device that docks and gives me access to Microsoft services all day every day.
  • Microsoft's position that it is too late to compete with Apple, Samsung and Google is BS.  They apparently didn't think that when they introduced the Surface tablet, a new device that faced already stiff competition from the Apple iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and others.  But Microsoft promoted the product with print, Internet and TV advertising, while creating later versions that were even more advanced and powerful.  And they succeeded in making the Surface line a major force in the market. Microsoft has expended virtually NOTHING to advance Windows Phone/Mobile to the general public.  Where is the print advertising?  Where is the TV advertising?  Where is the web advertising?  No one will buy a product they have not seen.  No one will buy a product where they have not seen a demonstration of its advantages, especially against its competitors. I salute Microsoft for demonstrating in their TV ads how the Surface tablets and laptops are great products with features real people can use to achieve their goals.  Why isn't a Windows Phone a device that deserves to be highlighted as well? I personally believe that targeting the enterprise market for Windows Mobile will have only modest success.  Expecting that people will be happy to carry two mobile devices, a Windows Mobile device required by their employer and another mobile device they prefer for personal use, is a delusion that will NOT have a good outcome.  And expecting that corporate America will want to deal with disgruntled employees who are forced to carry a Windows Mobile device against their wishes is also a scenario that Microsoft has NOT thought through clearly. A great opportunity has been squandered, and only a radical change of course will salvage Windows Mobile.
  • Agree
  • Well, I do agree in part. When Windows Phone was first introduced, it was a good time to infiltrate the market and compete. The Problem was, IMO, is the fact that MS lost focus, especially during the time of Ballmer's pending involvement with MS and it's future. While I do believe more aggressive advertising would have been nice, on the other hand, why aggressively advertise, when the direction was unclear. Now, their direction has been made clear. They need to do more advertising of Windows 10 Mobile as a business first, but average consumer friendly. For instance, they could do a commercial that shows a business person using a HP Elite X3 or Acer Primo to get things done at work using Continuum, then quickly show them using the phone for something cool, useful and average consumer friendly, while out on the town that evening. As for the Surface device, I think you missed the main point there. MS introduced the Surface as a tablet that could be your laptop replacement and yet, still be used as a tablet. That idea was new and that's why MS pushed so hard. That was the next curve. Despite mixed feelings about the device, Android and iOS still haven't quiet fit that market, yet. As a result, other OEMs have followed their standard. MS's head stated that he did not want to just put out a device that was like other devices. For MS, this is has become their standard. As much as I prefer Windows 10 Mobile over Android or iOS, and it's clear that we all realize that MS has to put something out that will not just have a wow factor, but more of a, "DAMN, THAT'S A SEXY AND MUST HAVE FEATURE!" The enterprise market is their bread and butter. Well everyone want to use Windows Mobile? The answer to that is, "no". Does that mean they shouldn't focus on enterprise? That would be another, "no." I do believe that the next couple of years will bring about technology to the average consumer that will change how we view mobile devices. I don't know what that is, but it's going to be pretty cool, I'm sure. The problem is, Google and Apple are doing the same. If MS can continue to develop evolve Windows 10 for all platforms, while reducing bugs, tweaking usability and take full advantage of any new tech that comes out straight out the box, they can be very competitive. Fortunately, they don't have the old Blackberry mentality. They are constantly trying to move forward in areas that work and has potential. To be fair, I don't recall anything recent that Apple or Google has done that was game really changing, within recent years. They've improved on things and that's always good. They have the market...true. But, things do change. For anyone to think that MS should just give up is silly. They are a tech company and as long as they have the means, they will keep trying to innovate and develope current products. It's what they do. I'm not saying I've agreed with every move they've made, but then again, I don't have to.
  • While I agree that Microsoft seems to be more fixated on the enterprise market because it is generating most of their revenue now, they CANNOT give up on the consumer market.  Arguably one of the reasons Apple has seen so much growth is their ability to sell into the education market, giving students and teaches experience using their products that leads to sales of their other products for use at home.  Now Apple is making significant inroads in the enterprise because of the number of customers who have iPads or iPhones and want to use them at work.  If Microsoft does not have a large and influential presence in the mobile device market with regular consumers, they will find themselves squeezed out of the enterprise as well.  If 95% of your workers are coming to their job with Samsung or Apple phones in ther pockets, it is going to be hard for corporate IT folks to convince upper management that they should force their employees to use a Windows Mobile device to conduct the corporation's business, despite whatever perceived advantages a Windows Mobile device may have for integration with a corporation's existing server infrastructure.  And that task of convincing upper management to use Windows Mobile is made all the more difficult if the CEO and his staff are all using iPhones or Galaxy phones as their primary personal devices.  No one wants to have to deal with the differences and quirks of two different platforms to get things done. One other point: Microsoft was not in the browser market AT ALL at the beginning.  Netscape had a lock on Internet browser usage.  But Microsoft committed to becoming the dominant browser, devoted the resources to develop Internet Explorer, and completely changed the face of Internet browsing in a short period.  All it took was determination to become a major player.  Obviously, the situation with a hardware product is more complex and more resource-intensive, but if Microsoft wants to recognize a return on the investment they have made in Windows Mobile to date, they need to go "all in" and make a major push to gain acceptance with average consumers.  So far they have not done that with Windows Mobile, and without such a push, the future is not looking rosy.
  • I agree, I've told many that they've actually done NOTHING to market Windows Mobile, they launched XBox One S,so much commercials,bundle 950s with them at great price point,get it in hands of many people,why end Lumia line of phones and focus on enterprise only when you're main oem for Windows phone on the market? It baffles me beyond compression,the 950/XL is best no compromise Windows phone on market with 950 at better price point, people won't go after HP elite x3 only fans,950 works for casual users and enthusiasts alike. Plus Elite x3 won't be for everyone (small hands ppl) , and oh yeah us Lumia users have Glance
  • My phone hasn't exploded! ;) :D #winning
  • Missed when this website was WPCentral.com and Balmer had a vision for phone.  The design was perfect, hubs, integration, sleek design.  All of that is being thrown away.
  • Yes, and now clumsy hamburger menus requiring two handed use.
  • Really? I just tried it on my 950 and do not seem to have the problem you are mentioning. Perhaps you are speaking of the 950 XL or 1520? Those devices would be too big for one handed use even without the hamburger menus.
  • Welp, I just purchased a Lumia 950 on September 10th for $298. (Payed $250 up front and the $48 a week later.) I also switched from Verizon to ATT because I do not like to be told what phone I can and cannot use. Long story short: It is a fantastic device. I had been under contract with Verizon and wanted to get out of it. Also, I have a hard budget of no more than $300 for a phone, not including tax, and will not pay a montlhy fee just to have a phone that will be obsolete within one to two years. (I like the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S7 / Edge but, they are not worth $799 ever.) I find that if I will ever need an Android device for specific work related functions or apps, I will buy a $100 to $200 device and use it without the sim card. However, I have not found any reason to do so at this time since I have only found one instance where I needed an app to setup a wireless camera and there was no other way to do it. Also, I found that although I was amazed that there were so many apps and I could download what I wanted, almost everything but the Microsoft apps where one and one for me. (Downloaded, installed, tried once and never went back.) Therefore, I have no reason to switch and sorry but, I am not into the got to have what everyone else has scene either. For those who honestly think that having their phone of choice makes them better than someone who choose something else, you will get over it and probably end up with buyers remorse if that is the only reason you did it.
  • Why the hell is my posts being placed here and not at the last post end like they ought to be?
  • Re: ManofGod1000,
    Sometimes happens to me too.
  • MS poor period. Release a half-baked OS to bonafied Windows OS fans and didn't expect a backlash when they give shoddy work. Expect anyone going to a restaurant and asks for a well done steak and it comes back almost frozen that they'll say "it happens"? I wonder if this enterprise venture does not work out as expected will some genius then say we should've worked on mobile for consumers more then pitch to the enterprise?
  • Maybe Samsung will do something with that Patent with Win/Android on split screen....allowing a cosumer experience (droid) with the business side (Win)...really sad how the consumer market has been lost, when it comes to work, I dont even like using my personal phone...
  • I hope this isn't the same as when Dan Mattrick thought the X1 would be at the forefront of a paradigm shift that never quite came...
  • ..
  • Coming Soon®™©
  • What is the chance that Microsoft uses a declocked, neutered, slightly customized Core M type processor in the Surface Phone until Intel can get the proper chip developed in the next ~3 years? Thats about how much time would be needed to not only launch a surface phone, but also 1.5 years or so until the next iteration would be expected.
  • Double spaces.   1.  The Surface Unicorn Will not be developed....2.  Intel has no plans to develop an X86 mobile chip.  let alone develop the proper chip.  They are NOT developing one,  just as Microsoft is NOT developing the surface Unicorn.
  • You write with such certainty. How do know this? Are you working for both Microsoft and Intel in their development departments. (I'm being sarcastic because I'm certain you don't work in those departments - you'd have breached your non-disclosure agreements and been fired and possibly sued).
    Please don't make such emphatic statements when you don't actually know
  • Please give us the proof that they are....INTEL has publically said they have stopped development of x86 chips for mobile....PROOF!  MS was betting on said X86 chips for their magical surface unicorn and publically said they were working on such a device.....PROOF. Does not take a rocket surgeon to figure out what is going on.  
  • MS has no long term goals and commitments and that explain the constant flip flop .   Amazon started by selling books only but the CEO has vision and Commitment .   Amazon was not in the Cloud business but now they are #1 .   MS CEO was head of the Cloud business for a long time but never could make it # 1  .   That means he should have been fired from the company for lack of leadership and Not promote him .   But that is MS and that is why stcok never advances in comparison to Google, Apple , and Amazon  The management is incapable .    If Jeff Bezoz is appointed CEO tomorrow the stock would jump at least 150 points
  • As a consumer I can't wait for the next great thing. I need my phone every day, and yes, it still is a phone for most of us consumers and even business people! There are just too many scenarios where having a very portable mobile device separate from your workstation are critical, whether at home or work. I personally loved Windows mobile up to W10, which was a step backwards in terms of functionality and form. But, the bottom line for me was being able to get stuff done and W10 mobile was falling further behind--not gaining ground.
  • I've had Windows phones for several years.  I really like Windows10 Mobile, but it's beyond clear now that the platform will not be getting several important apps.  It's also clear that market share will continue to drop, current apps will rarely get updated, and Microsoft isn't very concerned about the average consumer.  I don't understand why Microsoft bought Nokia only to end its phone production.  It's all sad really.
  • Are you serious? Far from inspiring? Have you used any phones with Nougat on them yet. Now that is far from inspiring. iOS and Android keep spewing out the same thing over and over and over. I currently have 4 gens of droids, from KK, LP, MM, and N. I have been there from the very beginning. It's the SAME thing spit out time and again. When I started playing with WP 8 and now 10, I can truly say that they have something special. People can't see far enough ahead beyond whatever current device that they are using to even care. But me, I can see the usefulness of W10 whether it be Mobile, IOT, PC, or any of the many devices that are going to embrace it. Why? Because Google and the OEM's can never get everything to work perfectly together. And for that brief moment when they do, they release a new OS, or update that breaks everything. I feel bad for everyone buying into this Android TV, car stereos, and other junk. Believe me, you might get one update if you are lucky and your fancy device is left for dead. Sure it will still work for a while, but then one day it won't and if you want the latest and greatest you will need to buy it again, just the same as phones. W10 does not work that way. So far all I have seen is MS trying to bend over themselves to keep things going and updated, and bugs fixed. They even told ALL of us tech heads and geeks that 10 was to be a constantly evolving core. And so far it is. For all the people giving up this early in the game, well, enjoy the other side. MS is only just getting started with this evolution and I know it is going to be one of the biggest game changers in history.
  • Tell that to the Lumia 800/900 users, surface RT users and 100s of Lumia users stuck on wp8.1
  • Quite old phones you're talking about there
  • Yes, old, but they all faced MS's pathetic way of rebooting their OS, or killing it, after promoting these devices. Lies all over.
  • My lg has had 3 update s since April 2016 purchase. One was last night. That said, if WM can get the apps I'd come back I'm a heartbeat. I will say this the apps that are on both my wp and droid are not equal. The droid apps are far better.
  • I would really like a way to see new pc numbers versus pc being built. Custom wise. Soooo many people I know and have heard of are going custom route now and not buying overpriced off the wall towers. There's so many figures out there saying how pc growth is all but stopped now but non of them include computers that are part picked and built. Which is a vast amount nowadays.
  • I was doing that in 1998.  thats nothing new.  
  • See you guys in 2019. 
  •   Uh-ohhh...  are we back in the early 2000's again when MS didn't (seriously) take up the challenge of getting their mobile pathways sorted out then and there, or is it just another MS high ranker stepping out of the current stance of Microsoft's direction. ​I know that Windows mobile will continue and the whole enterprise thing will be there, but usually the enterprise pickup is from the consumer ranks when there is a good enough product to interest ICT decision makers. That's how I came to introduce Windows Phone to the business I was in the position to direct purchase choices.  Plus those in the enterprise are consumers first. I am waiting for the official word... and isn't there something happening this month on a reveal of a Surface or two still? Maybe we find out more here.  
  • Microsoft + W10M = Bla, Bla, Bla... Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I wanted and got a wp for the live tiles alone and had bought an HTC with the original Live Tiles from AT&T. Sorry Microsoft, but "Live Tiles" is still a killer innovative piece of thinking. True others had more apps but if you continue along that line with the development of the bridges it would not matter to quite a bit Windows consumers. Those bridges for the developers to port their work over is another great idea and show brainstorming, just don['t give up, for mobile will always be there and as Apple and Google bottom lines show it is quite rewarding. Apple just put a new phone on the market but why do consumers already look for the next device? I'll say this eventually those Apple consumers are going to get tired of being played and realize they were simply donating to the bottom line without getting alot in return. Even Android we haven't seen much innovations but when you look at Windows we see quite a bit from across many devices including apps being on a different platforms connecting to Windows 10. 
  • Do it for fun - make a pleasing, good looking adaptive OS for the future foldable Phones and their large Displays.
  • Well as it seems the Desktop App Converter goes well. Like kodi that it became an app through the store and later they might make ita mobile app too if they trun truly in the UWP and i think they do :P. I hope these tools only get better because i was thinking what would it be to get apps from the store but its so much better that googling stuff and all the inconvenience that comes :P. Plus many apps if are great will rise to the top of the store so its a plus!! the only thing they lose is non W10 pcs
  • No matter what you say,windows 10 mobile's getting worse.im beginning to think that denim is better.whats the matter MS?!?
  • had to laught at admiral strides.  No wireless pay still and that was promised on my lumia 930, Rebbooting skype on mobile while skype preview on desktop misses key features and options still. No fingerprint scanner when all other flagships had them, loosing apps like paypal, here maps, myfitnesspal, I really wouldnt call windows 10 a os with admiral strides, hell 8.1 had gestures beta a awsome little app by microsft that isnt even suported in windows 10 mobile or even in their touch settings.  I think microsoft people are deluding themselves at this late stage.   When you tell the last of the die hard windows users that your gona take away onedrive space and the reason is unrelated to mobile users then you bring out a plastic flagship phone weeks later and offer free space, your kinda on the road to self destruction.  honestly doesnt enyone else think some people working at microsoft that allowed these things to happen should be sacked??  its simple stuff and they keep fing up.  To think the exposure of the surface book looked like microsoft had turned a corner, shame the reast happened a week after lol.  I dont mean to laugh cause i love windows 10 when its not got a update that screws something up, but my patience left this year for microsoft.  If i had a viable option on desktop id move there too cause i want my mobile, tablet and os all working in sync, while microsoft makes strides towards that aim, mac already introduses newer features to increase their already dominant  cross device intergration.
  • Honestly, my only disappointment is that the Lumia 950 may be my last Windows Mobile phone. :( I have a hard budget of $300 and those other phones are looking to be a lot more money than that. Missing apps do not bother me because I do not use my phone for credit card purchases, paypal access or doing any major online banking. (I can do everything but deposits for the banks mobile site anyways and Paypal mobile is fine as well.) I like the fact that when I scheduled a hotel room for next April for the Seneca 7 run, Cortana immediately added it to my calendar without any prompting from me. Also, any ups or fedex tracking numbers are also accessed by Cortana so I can track them automatically. There is a ton of stuff I have simply never used but is absolutely amazing. Basically, at this time, why would I buy an Android or iOS expensive phone when all the apps except for a select few are one and done for me.
  • Google Now does the exact same thing as Cortana, only better.    I went on a business trip lately and without prompting it pulled my itinerary, flight schedule, hotel stay and rental car reservation right from a couple of emails, into easy to read Google Now cards. It was brilliant. I've used Cortana, and find it to only do *some* things better, like handle Alarms, but on average  I prefer Google Now more, even on an iPhone.
  • Maybe I be back on Windows on mobile some day after the paradigm shift. But until then I have pre-ordered a Sony Xperia XZ that will have all the apps I need. Still using Windows on desktop. But for mobile I have give up for now.
  • Even if you're betting on paradigm shift, its no reason to end Lumia line of phones, the 950 & XL are best Windows Phones around hands down.
  • Coming soon.
  • Although, it does bear pointing out that this is just a more truncated version of what Jason Ward has been saying for a long time now.
  • Why is so difficult to convince Samsung and Sony to make a Windows phone?
    Sony is looking to resuscitate it's profits send shrinking electronic and device businesses, they could do with some help.
    Sammy, who knows what issues they have but royalties can be sorted out.
  • Simple, the crap quality of the OS. What major OEM is stupid enough to invest in a dead platform, where not even MS cares about, a buggy junk OS.
  • We have android central for you buddy.
    Your account works there too... Try it, might like it better
  • First of all microsoft is a software company not a hardware one, but one thing i want microsoft to do is to get their game on... come on we talking about windows here everything is possible, there's no need to battle it out with Android & IOS all that microsoft needs to do is get rid of xap and brings exe to mobile when that starts to happend then it's goodbye android & ios, windows 10 mobile will be the same as the pc , but only apps & games will be different, Xbox games should be made for windows 10 mobile & tablets, but different from the pc, so there no need for microsoft to run around and wonder what to do they have everything right infront of them they just have to begin with it and soon.
  • I believe MS are making one of the smartest moves ever. Laptop manufacturers would soon be making a lot of windows phones; the likes of HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Asus etc. There would be a turn around in the smartphone market and these guys are going to give android and iOS a run for their money. I mean, many people will jump ship and automatically move to these guys because they will making solid phones on windows os. Just imagine having a phone that's thrice as solid as the HP elite x3 in a few years. Phone manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and the rest will be compelled to put windows OS on their phones due to high competition they'll get from HP and the rest. MS windows mobile store will be revamped automatically, lack of apps will become a thing of the past. UWP will become clearer. Get ready for a revolution in the smartphone industry! Oh boy.. I can hardly wait ;)
  • please, do tell us what have you been smoking?
  • I think he's smoking,  shooting, snorting,  and drinking all at once....that is the most dilusional fanboy post since windows 10 was announced I think!....good one brother!  Either that he's joking.....at which point...GOOD ONE!
  • After 5 years with Windows Phone I switched to Android.  This issue is not the hardware or software, its apps, period.  The whole WP10 experience is fantastic, but the core issue is apps.  Don't be fooled, business users will wnat that as well otherwise they will need to carry 2 devices.  MS needs to solve for this, bringing the business equation to mobile while also supporting the consumer side.  I just don't understannd the disconnect.
  • Game over MS
  • I will say it again - I have 435 D-Sim and with the latest CU I still don't have "share internet over USB" and "auto-take shot" whenever face or smile is detected... for example. And those features are available on android 4.2 ... Stop telling me bullshits about Microsoft and their BIG jump to the future. Oh, I forgot, the topic was about "we are business focused right now". What about this constant bug about calendars live tile that don't want to update... MS is perfect for PC... and that's all folks...
  • Why does Microsoft cling to this "retrench from consumer and focus on business" thing, as if people are going to carry a Win10 phone for work and then switch over to another device for nights/weekends.  People tend to have one phone. It's not their phone for work or their phone for play; It's just their phone...period.  I think the trend of companies providing phones has been in steady decline for years, in favor of BYOD.  If your message is "we're only interested in business" then few are likely to consider a MS powered device for BYOD.   I don't think the fall of Windows on phones is all the fault of apps.  It's pure product mismanagement, in my opinion. It's a such a level of mismanagement that one would assume it was on purpose if not for the resources used to update the base OS.  That's also resource mismanagement.  To spend the time, energy and money to create and update an OS and then not to support it with even IN HOUSE apps (I'm talking to you Sway...and others) or Microsoft sponsored app (eh hem, Microsoft Garage), seems lacking in logic.  Sure, those who have their fake MBA from the School of Comment Section will chime in about "market share" and "where the users are", or copy/paste a definition of Microsoft as a "software company" or give wonderful insight like "businesses need to make money".  Most of those posters don't understand fully the subject matter that they are copy/pasting, nor do they have any perspective of how things ALWAYS change and that a company on top today, could struggle tomorrow and vice versa.   Microsoft could turn this thing around, but they don't have the passion for it.  The Garage is a great example.  They should have a startup mentality...where the ACTUAL market share is zero.  The company and its employees should be on a unified mission to build this thing up from nothing. But hey...keep "going where the market share and users are", giving away FREE apps that don't seem to have an effect on converting those users to paid subscriptions or services.   Microsoft literally has its head in the clouds.  Perhaps when they get AI up to speed, a bot will send Nadella an email, alerting him of the mismanagement.
  • Sick and tired...
  • This is a huge bet. Microsoft is betting that Google and Apple are not going to be drving that next shift. Microsoft is no longer in a world where it is the only big fish in town. I can't wait to see how this plays out. Considering Microsoft is no longer chasing the consumer market, i'm thinking it's time to kill off Windows Mobile and produce a device that is in fact an Intel based computer in your hands that can make phone calls. Make it thicker and heavier and able to dock to become a usuable desktop with applicaitons that need the power running off Azure. Since they don't need to please the consumer market or compete with Apple for slim and light, why not put something out there in the 5-6inch space that shakes up what we currently consider a phone to be. I'm sure this device could have some kind of low power mode that suspends all background apps so that the battery could last more than 10-12 hours in phone mode. The fact that you would be using it as a PC and having it docked most of the time might reduce the need to have all day battery.
  • MSFT windows phones for business users need to be better than what has been offered to consumers. Less bugs and glitches. Less reboots. More stability. From my observations, the vision of a smaller pocket-sized personal computing device is cool, but too far ahead of hardware and wireless computing capabilities (by 5 years) -- just like the concept of a "tablet" was visionary in 1998, but nothing anyone could properly deliver for another 10 years.
  • Even though I have left Windows Mobile at the moment I long to return to it. Mistakes were made at the initial launch following too much of the apple phone route (which works great for apple) rather than the android and traditionally windows more open route to 3rd party software. The OS should also have been free fromt he start to compete. I think Microsoft is absolutely right to continue and the way to re-enter is through businesses. Continnum is seen as a nerdy feature by many but realistically a one device many screens future is likely the next tech move. Businesses will likely lead this trend as it will reduce costs and simplify deployment. This can lead into the consumer market later especially if Microsoft make it simple to have a personal account and business account on the same device.
     
  • "is apparently looking at the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), Continuum, AI, and Inking technologies" My opinion is MS is even behind in AI. Because of bad Language Understanding i am forced to use the Google App which understands better and often gives better answers. Look Googles Demonstration of Google Home with Google Assistant and you will see that not MS but Google is shaping the Future.
  • I get it, I do, but it don't think it will make a posite difference on the regular consumer. One of the things that makes me think this way is what MSFT consider as business. I'm upgrading my license to drive Über, but MSFT does not consider that "business". I'm studying and earning my flight hours to became a professional aeroplane pilot, but the apps that can help me on this career aren't available for WP, i'sn't aviation a business?! My girlfriend has a fashion blog, which is her job, and for her Snapchat, a very efficient and updated Instagram and Pinterest are her working tools, but MSFT does not see that as a business. I have many friends that own food trucks, work with marketing and sales, music, and arts, so they "need" the social media apps I mentioned above, but MSFT don't see that as business. So, all these friends of mine can´t even think on getting a WP because they need to advertise their products and their art and having all the social media they can is mandatory! I know a lot of people will say that this is something that should be taken care of by the apps own developers and so on, and we would go round and round on this endless subject. But we all know that MSFT has more than enough influence and money to change things among the developers. Another thing that makes me think that shifting won't go "my way" is that here in Brazil is one of the few markets where Lumia devices are still selling alright, not great, but I see them quite often, opposite of what I saw in the US and Europe, but even then there was NO advertising on TV, internet, bus signs or wherever. No ads at all! In my class of 15 people there are 2 other guys beside me that own WP, but there were other 2 that didn't even now Windows Phone existed.... It saddens me because I really like WP and don't want to buy an overpriced iPhone and its hipe, and I find Android messy and just not practical, it was good to have a different option. I hope MSFT change its mind and do whatever is necessary to make WP get the sales and attention it deserves.
  • Agree this is what's happening, but frankly not everyone needs more than basic apps. Everything I want to do on a smartphone Windows Mobile has, that's two fifths browsing, two fifths content consumption (audible, Netflix, Spotify etc...), I barely use other apps, but when I do its mostly twitter, Facebook etc... And Windows Mobile has fairly good apps for those. There are plenty of games, albeit not all the ones your friends might be playing (but that boosts my productivity) and of course Minecraft. In addition I get the best camera on the market and the best compatibility with my desktop. I love that if I buy a game for my toddler I can use the same game across all devices or a task list manager like 2day. And of course office too.
  • I still think they could have done so without ******* up the Lumia line. Shifting support to a 3rd party company, discontinuing the devices. And when? 4-5 month from the next release of a W10M device. Such actions were very unnecessary.
  • Satya has to do something to make the change happen, but all Satya is doing is a whiler lot of nothing but allowing other platforms to highlight things Windows Phone had years ago and not doing anything to make W10M unique. He's cancelled several items like the surface mini, the McLaren with 3-D touch, etc, sighting not enough differentiation from the competition, but what has he done to make W10M unique? It's taken 6 years to get panorama from a company that specializes in software; this is why companies like Lenovo and Coship don't have faith in Microsoft and diehard fans like myself are agreeing with them. Microsoft itself won't even make apps for its own OS, so why should developers?
  • Too many businesses have dedicated software for Continuum to make a mark any time soon, so until it can handle legacy software it's a moot point.
  • Bummer. I thought MS had something cool in mind with WM and bought the best there were (950xl) to find out a year later that they're "done" with it, in this rather lack luster state, and will maybe pick it up again when they find some new way to be "unique" -like that ever helped them.... I'm rather jaded, even so far as contemplating trying an iphone :-$
  • I don't know much but all i know that Microsoft never give up, its not in their habit, that easily because right now its one of the companies in market who actually provide innovation which actually invented Hololens a future in augmented reality. The same way Microsoft Surface was not a good tablet till Microsoft Surface 2 but after the launch of Microsoft Surface 3 the tables have turned and now Microsoft surface book the real innovation again nailed it and made Microsoft again to raise a profit of 1 billion for them. In the end all i want to say is dont underestimate the power of Microsoft just wait and watch Microsoft taking over the whole market again same as he use to when windows xp, 7, 98 and windows 95 were introduced. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • So the strategy is we know our last phone sucked but we took your money anyway and we think something magical is going to happen to undo all of the bad choices we've made in mobile. Seems legit😂😂
  • Neen more Win phone models and brands. Dont understand why Microsoft doesnt hear the costumers...
    Need dual with big screens devices with better appariene, easy to find in more stores. Win Phone 10 is a much better OS than Android. Less ads and no **** apps. Google Play have a lot of userless apps therefore the quantity
  • I love my Lumia 950 and Lumia 650. But, Windows 10 Mobile is dead, as much as I do not like that. We will have no more phones with it and the apps that we were using are dying off, one right after another. I hate the idea of having to use an Android phone just because but eventually, that will be my only option. No, the iPhone is not an option for me because I am not willing to spend $600 on a phone anymore.
     
  • You think people will want a slab phone in ten years?