back to article No, Microsoft is not 'killing Windows 10 Mobile'

Microsoft has scotched reports that it has "abandoned" Windows Mobile. Windows 10 is in perpetual beta, and on Thursday the software giant issued new versions for both PC and Mobile, accompanied by some ambiguous notes from Insider Preview manager Donna Sarkar. Then everyone went home for Easter. Sarkar had written: The …

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  1. Baldrickk

    2014's flagship Lumia 930 is no longer eligible for new versions of Windows 10

    Technology moving on is one thing.

    Stable technology needing no updates is another.

    Forced obsolescence due to lack of updates is another entirely. I spend that much on a bit of kit, and look after it, I expect to be able to continue using it.

    I upgraded my mobile at the end of last year, having destroyed the screen in a rather unfortunate drop, and the upgrade worked out cheaper than my previous contract, but not as cheap as the sim-only deal I was going to go for - using the same hardware because it was, prior to it's percussive demise, still working perfectly.

    Companies should support devices for their expected lifetime. With current technology, that should be at least 5 years. - They should expect to do this, and imho should be held to do this - especially with security issues being a worry - just how many unpatched phones are out there right now?

    I don't have a Windows Phone, but I experienced exactly the same with my first, and last ever iDevice. This abandonment is one of the reasons that I'm not going to buy another one.

    1. big_D Silver badge

      Re: 2014's flagship Lumia 930 is no longer eligible for new versions of Windows 10

      And a 2014 flagship Android device? Is that even getting monthly security patches. let alone new versions? The same thing is happening with all mobile operating systems.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 2014's flagship Lumia 930 is no longer eligible for new versions of Windows 10

        Yes, some are (sorry if this doesn't fit the agenda). My wife's Samsung from back then just got a security updated for Android 5.1 (it was a 2017 security update).

        Interestingly, internally amongst their most loyal partner companies, Microsoft are saying otherwise, that Windows Mobile has been abandoned, and not to promote or develop for it, and not to lengthen it's suffering any longer.

        Bizarre the internal Microsoft message and external message is about as polar opposite as it can get, but then this IS Microsoft....

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 2014's flagship Lumia 930 is no longer eligible for new versions of Windows 10

      Which iDevice did you have that you claim had a short support life? Apple is typically supporting them for around five years after initial release.

      1. tfewster
        Facepalm

        Re: 2014's flagship Lumia 930 is no longer eligible for new versions of Windows 10

        I'm not the OP, but I bought an iPhone 3 just before the 3S came out; 18 months later, Apple dropped support for the 3 in IOS updates.

      2. Baldrickk

        Re: 2014's flagship Lumia 930 is no longer eligible for new versions of Windows 10

        "Which iDevice did you have that you claim had a short support life? "

        The original iPod Touch, bought not long before the second generation one came out.

        It had two OS updates, both of which I had to pay for (iPhone users got them for free) and support was dropped before the copy-paste update which was never brought to the first generation iPod Touch.

        I don't know if IPhone support for the 1st Gen was dropped there too.

        I did keep using it for a bit, for a while, the apps in the app store were backwards compatiable (or rather, they were forwards compatiable from the last version, and had not been updated). It didn't take long for the majority of apps to be updated and non-installable though.

        When my phone contract came up for renewal, I packed in the old Nokia, bought a HTC Desire, and haven't looked in Apple's direction again.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 2014's flagship Lumia 930 is no longer eligible for new versions of Windows 10

      Even Microsoft have abandoned it..

      "[Update 4/18/17 3:08pm Pacific: A few people have asked if this works with Windows Phone version Microsoft Authenticator. Windows Phone makes up <5% of the active users of our Authenticator Apps so we have prioritized getting this working with iOS and Android for now. If/When it becomes a big success on those high scale platforms, we will evaluate adding support for Windows Phone.]"

      https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/enterprisemobility/2017/04/18/no-password-phone-sign-in-for-microsoft-accounts/

  2. AdamK

    They will next year...

    They only promised two years support for Win 10 Mobile or whatever it is this week. . The "Creators Update" is only available for 40 and 50 series phones and as an apology to the few OEM's who produed a Windows phone, less Samsung. Next year they'll can it when all of the last Nokia phones reach the end of their warranty. I don't do Snapchat, so it works for me.

    1. Mage Silver badge
      Alert

      Re: They will next year...

      Agreed.

      Not killing it yet. But soon.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: They will next year...

        Yeah, it will be done soon. No new models are coming out. There is just no incentive for them to hold a press conference to say that Windows Phone is no more. It will just go the away slowly.

    2. Albert Hall

      Re: They will next year...

      So, it's not dead. Just restin'. Or pining...

  3. hplasm
    Meh

    'No, Microsoft is not 'killing Windows 10 Mobile'

    It died years ago.

    1. asdf

      Re: 'No, Microsoft is not 'killing Windows 10 Mobile'

      >It died years ago.

      More of a still birth really. Whether a fan or not no further updates to Minecraft for WP after Microsoft bought the company pretty much sums up its future.

      1. Terry 6 Silver badge

        Re: 'No, Microsoft is not 'killing Windows 10 Mobile'

        There's something about the way that Microsoft can b*gg*r up any good product, whether their own or collaboration/buy out that defies understanding. A lot of it, like that infernal "ribbon" or the Win 8 debacle seems to stem from someone having a bright idea and then pushing it come hell or high water - coupled with an ability to ignore what their customers actually need ( let alone want).

        Part of the Winphone debacle was around their inability to get the right models for the right users at the right time. For example, when I got my first one I was faced with the choice of a very cheap phone or a very expensive one. I couldn't justify the cost of the high-end device, and frankly that's partly because it didn't have sufficient value to justify paying that much for it; nothing I could point to and say to my Mrs. "It's worth it for the.....". But the cheap one was too cheap. It lacked some pretty important stuff, like a forward facing camera that would make Skype calls usable and would help it to sell to the "me me" generation. And inbetween the two there was.... nothing, nowt, nada. It was cheapo or luxury but no midrange. Like being offered the choice of a Lada or a Lexus but not a Jazz ( sorry for mixing up manufacturers there). So as much as I liked using it those missing features - that I would cheerfully have paid for- were really annoying. When I replaced it with the much better 640 it was because the price had fallen so far I didn't mind paying again for a phone that was basically doing what my existing one should have been able to do.

    2. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Terminator

      Re: 'No, Microsoft is not 'killing Windows 10 Mobile'

      "It died years ago."

      how about a revised title: Micro-shaft has chosen NOT to resuscitate Windows 10 Mobile

      (in the future) renting your phone/slab's OS is too much of a "gone too far" step, even for the fanbois.

    3. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

      Re: 'No, Microsoft is not 'killing Windows 10 Mobile'

      No, it is just resting....

      Windows 10 Mobile, the Norwegian Blue of the IT World.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Kill it with fire!

    Was given instructions to get two dirt cheap smart phones for work use.

    Both phones had Windows 10.

    Both phones constantly demand updates (al la Win 10) to an annoying, almost unusable degree.

    The sooner it dies the better.

    1. Sandtitz Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: Kill it with fire! @AC

      Bo phones constantly demand updates (al la Win 10) to an annoying, almost unusable degree."

      SWMBO's cheap 2-year-old Lumia 640 gets OS updates perhaps once a month, and the updates seem to be scheduled for middle of the nights. Doesn't seem to bother her.

      The household Androids never get updates. Especially frustrating for my daughter's Huawei Y5 II which is stuck on Android 5 and when the apps are updated they're always moved back to the phone memory instead of the 128GB SD. So the apps need to be constantly moved back to the card. Android 6 supposedly fixes this, but why did this feature take 6 OS revisions to be fixed? </rant>

      So which is it - do you want continuous updates à la Nexus, Apple and Windows phones, or no updates at all (i.e. most Androids)?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Kill it with fire! @AC

        Just because it's on Android 5 doesn't mean it's not getting updates. Google release security updates for 4, 5, 6 and 7.

        I also wouldn't just Android because of a cheapo Chinese brand phone either. That's epic iPhone owner failure territory, finding something to fit an argument.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Google release security updates for 4, 5, 6 and 7.

          Really? You're prepared to make that argument knowing full well that the vast majority of phones on Android 4, 5, 6 and 7 will never see those updates?

          Epic failure indeed....

        2. Sandtitz Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Kill it with fire! @AC again

          "I also wouldn't just Android because of a cheapo Chinese brand phone either. That's epic iPhone owner failure territory, finding something to fit an argument."

          I wasn't praising iPhone, but their support policies are the very best in the mobile industry. And they should be, Apple is a very expensive brand. Sorry about these facts.

          The talk was about less-than-midrange phones like the Lumia 640. It was about €150 (IIRC), about the same as that Huawei my daughter has. The Huawei has received one minor update in the last 8 months and that's it. That Lumia has received 1 major update (8.1 to 10) and several minor updates.

          Which €150 Android phones receive updates after the first year?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Kill it with fire! @AC

        @Sanditz

        "updates seem to be scheduled for middle of the nights. Doesn't seem to bother her."

        My updates came mid-day with a nice big message in the middle of the screen that overwrote everything. Guess what, it BOTHERS me.

        "So which is it - do you want continuous updates à la Nexus, Apple and Windows phones, or no updates at all (i.e. most Androids)?"

        Android updates are there when I need them. There are ways of updating my OS without getting all up and in my face about it.

        Enjoy updating your phone every 3mins, the rest of us have things to do :P

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    He's (it's) Dead Jim...Dr. McCoy.

    https://youtu.be/MH7KYmGnj40

    Says it all really, including the Joe Belfiore impersonation, where he says "She's dead Jim" (0.36sec).

  6. Halfmad

    They don't have to kill it off.

    It'll die on it's own.

  7. HausWolf

    Not dead but hard to buy

    Went to a Microsoft store recently to purchase a Lumia 650, Rep told me that they don't sell them in stores any longer, you have to order them online.

    So I go to a MS store to buy a MS product but you don't sell them there. While the lack of apps was not a deal breaker, making it like a job to buy your product is.

    shame, I did like my previous Nokia windoew phone too.

    1. cambsukguy

      Re: Not dead but hard to buy

      I got my kids 650 from Argos last year, he stood on it (I am guessing) and broke the LCD (but not the glass).

      I bought a second-hand one from eBay for 60 quid, less than the repair cost.

      I see Argos only do the 550 now, only 60 quid, less phone than the 650 though.

      The 650 is a lovely looking phone and a very good phone for the price, has SD card expansion crucially.

      They are available on Amazon new and used though.

      As for support, I think older WinPhones might still get security updates but I really doubt they are needed, very few people have them, they don't run x86 code, they are very difficult to compromise - I don't think I have ever read of one having a virus for instance.

      My other kids' 920 is still rockin' as a phone and Reddit reader basically all the time.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not dead but hard to buy

        "they don't run x86 code, they are very difficult to compromise - I don't think I have ever read of one having a virus for instance."

        Are you for real? Microsoft platform is the most commonly abused platform going, it's the defacto standard when all malware targets. Not a day goes by where we don't see a malware infested Windows device,. Yet despite all the noise, have only ever seen one real life android device with malware along with 1 iPhone...

  8. This post has been deleted by its author

  9. Dusk

    Not quite...

    "Sometime this year (or next), Microsoft will have the opportunity to tell a better story, as new ARM processors begin to support x86 instructions."

    "New ARM processors" have nothing to do with it. The change is that Microsoft is going to be using a software layer to translate x86 ops to ARMv8A ops, not that something about the processors themselves is changing.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not quite...

      "not that something about the processors themselves is changing."

      the chips are getting fast enough so M$ hope that the translation layer wont degrade your experience too much.

  10. 0laf
    Pirate

    Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

    Of course it's dead. There is next to nothing for it to run on.

    It is a shame, WinPho 8.1 was (app store ignored) a great phone operating system and the best UI I've used on a mobile device. Nice big resizeable icons to suit my sausage fingers. Got an iPhone SE now ok it's more compatible with everything but it's much harder to use. I don't want a bigger phone I just want bigger icons. If I could put the WinPho UI onto my iPhone I'd be quite happy.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

      Windows Phone was pretty horrible. It was a slow, buggy battery eating dog that didn't ,multitask very well, and a really shit apps store.

      I think you are looking at Windows Phone through rose tinted glasses.

      We had lots thrown our way, they couldn't sell them so gave them out as review "gifts", but even then, nobody wanted one. I had a few (Lumia 735 if I recall), they were dire.

      1. 0laf

        Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

        No I don't think so. I know the app availability was terrible and it had compatibility problems but I always ground the OS very responsive and smooth and very reliable. That was on a Nokia 920 which I picked up for £80 (unlocked) at Tesco when they were selling for £200+ in other places. Your experience on other phones may differ.

        I fired it up recently to potentially give my Mum and I still really like it. Mum found it too heavy where I actually quite liked it's tank like feel.

        But I had paid for services which were no longer accessible on it so it had to go.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

          No, you are wrong. Windows phone OS is rubbish as I just explained!

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

          My freebie junk burned through battery charge pretty quickly, and anything other than making a phone call was pretty flakey, even simple stuff like streaming to a Bluetooth speaker without stutter or reboots....

      2. cambsukguy

        Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

        Of all the insults thrown at WinPho, slow and unresponsive was not one of them - it almost always was Apps - something I rarely care about (a single bank app notwithstanding, come on Santander!).

        Perhaps the 735 was less good but I know people with 550s and 435s who like how zippy their incredibly low-end devices are. I doubt anything Android for the same money could match the performance and definitely the support, which runs to years for even the lowest of the low.

        And the cameras seem to be in a different league from the utter shite I have from similarly-priced phones.

        If anyone can find camera producing pictures of the quality of the Lumia 950 at 250 quid for the same (or quiet lot more) money, I would be surprised indeed.

        My girlfriend is constantly being asked what she took the pic with because of the clarity and quality of the output, even when posted on crappy fb and WhatsApp.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

          "I doubt anything Android for the same money could match the performance and definitely the support"

          A Samsung S3 2016, £150, great screen, decent camera, pretty fast, not sluggish at all, getting security updates from Samsung. It's also way more secure then windows, and has an app store and accessories and isn't abandonware....

        2. nijam Silver badge

          Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

          > ... how zippy their incredibly low-end devices are

          They just seem fast because there's bu??er-all on them. Even the apps they originally came with (inherited from Nokia I surmise) no longer work.

      3. Terry 6 Silver badge

        Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

        No "A C" It sounds to me more like you are viewing the Windows Phone through the lenses of those who would never find a good word to say about them on principle.

        As to the "apps", do you really use the stuff that comes with an Android "Play Store"? Says a lot.

    2. Timmy B

      Re: Alas poor WinPho I knew him well

      I agree. It is a shame. It is the place where the Metro type UI actually worked and worked really well. I wish that WP actually managed to get enough sales and was going to continue. I think a third platform that had regular updates would really show the weakness in Android and perhaps made it be better. If they bought out a new Windows Phone that had proper windows 10 on it and swapped to a proper (note - not the half way continuum thing) desktop that could run full windows apps with decent performance and battery life I'd buy one tomorrow - heck I'd Amazon Prime it right now. We'd finally have a proper PC in our pockets. I'd like that. I'd like it a lot.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not strictly true....

    although you can't buy a Microsoft phone, you can buy a HP one fairly easily.

    http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Offer.aspx?p=b-hp-elite-x3

    also available from most major phone resellers.

    Now whether you'd want to invest in one is another question.

    1. Zippy's Sausage Factory

      Re: Not strictly true....

      It has HP written on it. In my experience, that's not something that screams "this is reliable technology".

      Says he who once opened a fairly new printer to load some paper in it and almost got hit in the eye by a flying spring.

      I won't mention how many friends have missing keys on their HPs, or the number of HP printers I personally have binned over the years. But let's say that it's somewhere in the region of 100%, whereas other models is still lagging at 0%, despite some of these devices being older (and less gently treated).

      1. cambsukguy

        Re: Not strictly true....

        hmm, that seems hugely at odds with my HP printer experience.

        Obviously, I treat my HP printers like garbage, same as every else.

        My 1020, USB printer is now doing duty for my gf, reliably, with a cartridge years old, used weekly perhaps for the odd page, it is getting on for 12 years old I think.

        It's replacement, 1102 wireless, is also not used too often but works, with a non-HP cartridge these days, again rarely (I do not print much anymore).

        I had one HP, a colour inkjet, that was less than good, the paper feed required too much attention to work and I stopped using it, but compared to the screaming Epson thing it replaced at that time, I still preferred it.

        And I bought two second-hand HP Envy laptops, having had an HP laptop that I didn't like 10 years earlier and, especially for the price (450 apiece), am well pleased - HD touch screen, fingerprint reader, 1TB drive. 4GB RAM (upgraded to 8 at purchase though), lit keyboard, Beats audio (it is better than standard at least).

        I would be willing to give an HP WinPhone a chance, if I didn't have a Lumia 950 that is. The Lumia is good for at least two more years, probably more. I am sure there will be a replacement by then or WP will be no more by definition - possibly because of x86 capable phones making them basically Win10 computers in a handheld format.

      2. Terry 6 Silver badge
        Devil

        Re: Not strictly true....

        I will never ever buy an HP device again. Not because of the hardware, so much, but software, Gah!

        As an example, with an HP printer I had the driver update wouldn't uninstall part of the existing installation ( and wouldn't uninstall manually even going through all of their 20 step uninstall routines). And wouldn't install the new driver with the file still there, even though it hadn't even f**king changed in the new driver version. So couldn't use the sodding printer without reinstalling the entire OS. And the number of posts on the interwebs with other users having the same problem had to be seen to be belived!

      3. Lamb0
        Thumb Up

        Re: Not strictly true....

        My 20+ year old HP LaserJet 5L (upgraded to 9MB) is still alive and kickin' many boxes of documents later. I admit Ye Olde Parallel interface isn't the most convenient to use with most modern kit; but there's no reason for my home office to throw money at "new & shiny" when B&W documents are desired. Because HP avoided cheap plastic in critical components it's still serviceable. Brass Gears Matter!!! ;<}

  12. The Brave Sir Robin

    Recently went back to Android but wish I hadn't had to

    For various reasons I returned to Android (I hated using an iPhone when I had one for work), mainly for some specific apps I need for work. However, if I could run everything I wanted on my Win Pho (Lumia 640), I'd go back in an instant. I much prefer it to Android. I gave the Win Pho to the wife and she really likes it.

    I notice that updates for my Huawei Android phone are coming through thick and fast, NOT !! In that respect, MS are doing a better job than Huawei. Had the same abandoned feeling on my last Android phone which was a Samsung.

  13. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Meh

    'It's just a flesh wound!

    Some MS hipster geek boss will come out and supply a mobile phone VM running on Windows 10 for Insiders connected to Skype for voice and Azure cloud for Continuum to prove it's not dead.

    Meanwhile in the real world, it's dead.

  14. Terry 6 Silver badge

    Sigh

    Long since resigned to the fact that Winphone is end of life.

    I really like my Windows phones. They've worked well and done everything I needed to the standard I've needed at a price I've needed.

    So what next for me and others like me? An over-priced iThingy or an Android GoogleSpy seeking to turn every thing I do into a sales opportunity and all its (cr)apps that I don't want, don't like and don't need!.

    Maybe two cans and a string?

  15. Mikel

    Count them any way you want

    There ain't enough people in the seats to justify the cost of this production.

  16. BaronMatrix

    So let me get this straight...

    You ruined my desktop for phones and there are no new phones coming... I can't use Win 7 for my new Ryzen and can't get a better phone for Win10 than the little Acer I found..?

    WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM...?

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