After Announcing End Of Windows 10 Mobile Support, Microsoft Encourages Users To Switch To Android Or iOS
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that it would be ending support for its Windows 10 Mobile operating system. With the end of an era beckoning, the tech giant recently announced on its support page for the platform that users of Windows 10-powered phones would be better off switching to an iPhone or an Android device.
The update was first spotted on Friday by Microsoft-centric tech site Thurrott, which recapped the newly published end of support FAQ published by Microsoft for Windows 10 Mobile users. As stated on the FAQ, all of the platform’s users will no longer be receiving software updates from December 10, while those who specifically own devices running on the earlier Windows 10 Mobile version 1703 won’t be getting these updates from June 11 onward.
As further explained by Microsoft, Windows 10 Mobile device owners will notice some progressive changes once the end of support date hits, as the company won’t be able to do anything once certain features, such as automatic or manual device backups, photo uploads, and restoring phones from prior backups, stop working. To this end, Microsoft suggested in the new FAQ that users will have to switch to phones that run on other platforms.
“With the Windows 10 Mobile OS end of support, we recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device. Microsoft’s mission statement to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, compels us to support our Mobile apps on those platforms and devices.”
Microsoft uses Chrome code in their browser, stops developing their own voice-assistant and will retire Windows Mobile! https://t.co/jWMA68nVcc
— Alessio Signorini (@a_signorini) January 19, 2019
As recalled by CNBC, Microsoft originally had high hopes for its Windows Mobile operating system and the devices that ran on the platform, and, while promoting the then-recently launched Windows Phone 7 in 2010, had gone as far as organizing a mock funeral to commemorate the “death” of BlackBerry and iPhone. Microsoft had also hoped to gain further control over its Windows Phone products by acquiring Nokia’s mobile unit, though an earlier report from CNBC noted that the company announced thousands of job cuts and took a $7.6 billion write-down for the failed acquisition in the summer of 2015.
Looking back on the possible reasons why Windows failed with mobile users, CNBC wrote that the main reason was most likely the lack of familiar apps for those who had previously used iOS or Android devices. The publication also quoted former Windows Phone head Terry Myerson, who said in March 2018 that Microsoft couldn’t compete with a disruptive presence like Android and that the company’s early struggles with Windows Phone left it “too hobbled to ever catch up.”
