Does Microsoft Need Windows for Phones?

Unlike how Apple iOS and Google Android started, when Microsoft launched Windows for phones, it needed justification.


When Microsoft released Windows 8, it was revolutionary. The Metro UI design was new. It was a far leap away from the classic desktop UIs with icons, menus, windows and what have you. Instead, Metro was touch-centric with tiles and dynamic full screen experiences. It was beautiful. Regardless how well Microsoft tried to market the smartness of the new user-experiences, the overall change was, nonetheless, alienating.

With a new image came the need to be consistent. Thus, the same UI appeared in Windows Phones. Beautiful, yes, but it also somehow pushed people away. It was unique and had character, yes, but it was also unfamiliar. At the same time, Metro UI was not getting the praise it deserved in the desktop world. People wanted the classic desktop UIs back. The negative reactions did not help Windows Phones and, later, Windows 10 Mobile at all.

From Windows 8 to Windows 10, Microsoft failed in the smartphone space. Besides the UI as a probable cause, there was not enough app developer support for Windows on phones. As it turned out, the UI/UX part was really a small part of what makes modern smartphones great. Over time, the ecosystem was more important. Through the past ten years since the iPhone first came out, Microsoft was constantly catching up… to no avail.

Under new leadership, Microsoft has since changed their strategy from trying to be like Apple. It's no longer about putting Windows everywhere. Now, it's about putting Microsoft products and, more importantly, Microsoft services everywhere. It's more about integrating their own offerings, making sure that they can also interoperate. It's more about expanding platform support, not just Windows and Microsoft products. It's more about being open, than being a closed system.

The biggest change in Microsoft is that it's no longer about Windows for phones, and it seems like Microsoft is actually ready to abandon it. The latest upcoming Windows 10 update screams this message. The new Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will inherently support linking iPhones and Android phones, but not Windows phones. Microsoft is back to desktop and server PCs. More important, Microsoft has started to focus more on its cloud offerings for personal and business markets, competing with cloud industry leaders like AWS, for example.

Today, many Microsoft products and services are already available in iPhone and in Android. In fact, they have much more for those platforms than for their existing Windows 10 Mobile devices. Still, Microsoft is doing well, even blaming their smartphone and mobile business for most of their last financial losses. It is not surprising for Microsoft to close their smartphone OS business. IMHO, it will happen, and it will happen soon.

Regardless, I think that Microsoft will do just fine.

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