Submitted by If you’re still rocking a handset running Windows Phone 8.1, it is important to note that mainstream support for the operating system is ending tomorrow, as Microsoft previously announced. Prior to the availability of Windows 10 Mobile for select handsets, the last major update to Windows Phone 8.1 was Lumia Denim, which started rolling out way back in December 2014.
A select number of handsets can get Windows 10 Mobile, but the vast majority of users (about 80%) are running Windows Phone 8.1.
So, headlines that state Windows Phone died yesterday are clickbait – but only because Windows Phone died years ago.
Another sign about Nadella keeping effort on native ARM code -non messianic.
Focusing resources where prizes on the horizon are.
It’s still kind of sad because Windows Phone was pretty good actually (nothing to see with Windows Mobile that followed PocketPC in the early 2000s).
With the now Linux compatible Windows 10, Visual Studio that allows coding on Android and even iPhone, they could NOW have borrowed some attraction.
So they were both a bit too late on the mobile market and developer’s front.
Ballmer, any chanting while jumping on stage ?
Blackberry tried the same approach in offering the ability of porting apps from ios / Android to blackberry but that did not go well.
It’s a shame for them as well.
Problem remains that google and apple have their services so tightly integrated that it’s hard to move things forward without their support.
Agreed, Windows phone 8.1 was the only part of the new Windows experience that didn’t jar. Really like our Lumia 520, it does the job and it feels like a solid phone.
It doesn’t feel like Windows though – and that was good – for a phone.
Line me in, I still use one. After it dies I will see what is on offer. I mainly use it for whatsup, hear music when commuting and, gasp, phone calls. Indeed, no hurry.
Everyone who hasn’t moved to iOS or Android from Windows Phone already, will do so now for their next phone.
No, no they won’t… You obviously speak as someone who does not own a Windows Phone?…
In fairness, hardly anyone knows anyone who owns a Windows Phone.
In fairness, hardly anyone knows anyone who owns a Windows Phone AND uses it anymore
There fixed it for you
I know plenty of people who got Luminas but the experience soon dulled and they abandonded ship and went back to Android or iOS.
Now that the range of phone hardware running Windows 10 is even more limited there reaction is ‘why bother’.
IMHO, MS are flogging a dead horse here. A shame really but they were just far too late to market despite the H/W being pretty good at times their lukewarm commitment to it clearly shone through despite their ads, promos etc.
How many people bought certain models of Lumina on the understanding that they’d get Windows 10 only to find later that MS had changed their mind.
People have long memories.
Personally it is time for MS to give up hoping that they would have even more than low single digits of market share and call it a day.
The Tiles worked ok on a phone. I really, really, really hate them on a non-touch desktop. Again MS is just being stubborn here. They want everyone to use a Touch interface. It ain’t gonna happen. There is no way I’d want my fingers anywhere near my two 4K screens.
My wife has the Lumia 640 and frankly its a great OS, IDK why more people didn’t give it a try. the phone has GREAT battery life, decent camera, good screen, and most importantly everything is laid out logically so even someone like her who isn’t tech savvy can instantly find where they need to go without assistance.
The texting prediction is better, Cortana is miles ahead of whatever they call the android version as even with a bunch of external noise it gets it right about 90% of the time, all in all its been a great phone and the only way i see her getting rid of it is if we find a deal on a Windows 10 phone with a better camera as 8Mp is okay but not great. But as a daily driver? Honestly its a heck of a lot easier to use her phone on the go than my Android 5.1, especially one handed.
I still use my 3+ year old Lumia 520 as a daily device and I am very very pleased with its stability and performance. In fact it behaves the way it did when I took it out from the box many years ago. The battery still lasts a week. Very pleased with WP8.1 and for now I continue to use the device. Good to know that there are no updates (read changes) planned for my device anymore. Of course this is all possible because I do not use 3rd party apps in the phone.
Only reason to have smart phone instead of feature phone for me is the availability of qwerty keyboard to type SMSes on. And very rarerly I might need to look up something from the internet and for that the IE will beat Opera Mini any day. Nokia Here maps are also great to use.
That said, I can totally understand that for 99% of tech-savvy people such a use-case and therefore the device would not be acceptable. For me it is simply the best phone to date.
Oh and at work my table is full of iPhones as I write apps to them. In fact it is very refreshing to use Windows Phone platform in contrast to iOS.
Edited 2017-07-12 15:40 UTC
I really enjoyed using UWP, specially the mix of .NET Native and C++/CX, but it was the multiple reboots (WP7, WP8, WP8.1 Universal Apps, UWP) that killed any willingness to keep targeting the platform.
Eventually people get fed up to re-write their apps to the same OS, specially if the market share is measured in a single digit.
My family still uses Windows Phones.
Started out with Lumia 520 and moved to 640 XL mostly due to having a bigger screen and better point and shoot camera.
The amount of questions I get from them regarding how things work is minimal comparing to Android at the same price point.
Still it is end of life for 8.1 and looking at how services are being migrated to Android / iOS (basic ones for paying your bills, raising question to support, buying tickets), this will no longer be a valid option in future.
I started with a Nokia 710, then went to a Nokia 520 and now own a Microsoft 640XL.. I’ve tried owning some Android devices in between but quite frankly they are terribly overrated with inconsistent user interfaces that never feel like a complete experience. Windows 10 Phones are FANTASTIC IMHO, I just wish more developers would get on board.
Microsoft was always planning on moving everyone from 8.1 to 10 on phone, just like they did on the desktop. All you were going to need was a phone that was capable of running Windows 10 mobile (enough diskspace for the upgrade and enough RAM) which would allow about 80% to make the transition.
Then the Nokia deal was written off entirely and suddenly only a handful of phones got the upgrade path from 8.1 to 10. This list of supported phones recently got even shorter because some phones are left at the 1607 upgrade.
I am one of the lucky people that has enjoyed a whole bunch of upgrades and still love my 1520. My 1020 is now my sons toy and still plays the games he likes. The app-gap has never bothered me and my phone still feels fast, takes good pictures and lasts 4 days on the battery. But I started to receive messages from my banking app that it will not get updated anymore and Microsoft has clearly shown that nothing new is coming for my phone. Their own latest phones are > 1.5 year old although they promised at that time to release 3-6 new phones per year.
* Windows Phone hardware … stopped years ago
* Windows Phone OS … stopped today
* Windows Phone apps … there was never a mountain, and the hill is eroding
* Windows Mobile hardware … stopped 18 months ago unless you count the HP Elite X3 (too niche) or are still dreaming about the Surface Phone
* Windows Mobile OS … seems to have gone into maintenance since 1703 because even on the insider rings nothing interesting is happening
* Windows Mobile Apps … Sharing code with the desktop hasn’t really helped to improve the UWP platform. Centennial apps don’t run … Older Windows Phone apps are disappearing …
Or to summarize all of that detailed analysis: Yes, Windows Phone is dead…but I like my zombie too much to let it go. Other phones just haven’t convinced me to spend a pile of money yet