Windows Phone dies today (MS drops support for WP8.1, with WP10 not far behind)

The Verge ^ | Jul 11, 2017 | Tom Warren

[dayglored]

Microsoft is killing off Windows Phone 8.1 support today, more than three years after the company first introduced the update. The end of support marks an end to the Windows Phone era, and the millions of devices still running the operating system. While most have accepted that the death of Windows Phone occurred more than a year ago, AdDuplex estimates that nearly 80 percent of all Windows-powered phones are still running Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, or Windows Phone 8.1. All of these handsets are now officially unsupported, and only 20 percent of all Windows phones are running the latest Windows 10 Mobile OS.

Windows Phone 8.1 was a big update to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system, and included the company’s Cortana digital assistant. A new notification center, UI changes, and updates to the core mobile OS. It marked one of Microsoft’s biggest efforts with its Windows Phone work, but it wasn't successful at competing with Android and iOS. 99.6 percent of all new smartphones now run Android or iOS, and Microsoft has given up producing its own Lumia-branded hardware as a result.

Windows 10 Mobile still exists, but with not much support

While Microsoft still supports Windows 10 Mobile, it’s not clear what that support will include in the future. Microsoft pushed updates to Windows Phone 8 devices, but the software giant barely included any feature updates in the recent Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update. Microsoft is adding a number of features to the upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update for PCs, but the company has not extended these to the mobile version in testing. Some rumors suggest that Microsoft has forked its Windows Mobile development into a “feature2” branch that will simply maintain the operating system until support ends in 2018.

Microsoft has shied away from officially killing off its phone OS efforts, but it’s been evident over the past year that the company is no longer focusing its efforts on Windows for phones. Microsoft gutted its phone business last year, resulting in thousands of job cuts. During Microsoft’s recent Build and Inspire conferences, CEO Satya Nadella dropped the company’s mantra of “mobile-first, cloud-first” in favor of a focus on what he describes as the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. This new area of focus means Microsoft is now working on multi-device scenarios and cloud-powered technologies that don’t always involve Windows. Microsoft’s new mobile strategy now appears to involve making iOS and Android devices better.

[Cronos]

Same here — my windows phone is perfectly stable, long battery life and functions how I want it to.

[zeugma]

I think it’s funny how utterly poorly Microsoft does in almost any area they stick their toes into that is not able to leverage their desktop monopoly. Isn’t this their third time to try phones? Why would anyone buy a windows phone?

[dayglored]

> I think it’s funny how utterly poorly Microsoft does in almost any area they stick their toes into that is not able to leverage their desktop monopoly. Isn’t this their third time to try phones?

In a nutshell: Windows and Office are all they have. Everything else they have ultimately depends completely on those two virtual monopolies. Windows Phone had to stand on its own, and couldn't, in the face of Android and iPhone.

> Why would anyone buy a windows phone?

Actually, the Windows Phone design itself was quite good overall, and had some interesting features of its own.

As I see it the problem was, Microsoft didn't have a clue how to support it in a modern mobile market, unless they could somehow make it "the only phone for Windows users, because it uses Windows". But they were too late -- that train had left the station -- Windows users had figured out they could use an iPhone or Android just fine.

[waynesa98]

there have been a number of known unpatched issues with consumer grade linix based os platforms the worse offender being ios. as far back as next a vulnerability was found and if they fixed it it was less then 3 years ago.

[dayglored]

> there have been a number of known unpatched issues with consumer grade linix based os platforms the worse offender being ios.

You're confused -- iOS has nothing whatsoever to do with Linux. It is based on Apple's OS X (now macOS), which was in turn based on NeXTSTEP. Linux is an entirely different OS.

> as far back as next a vulnerability was found and if they fixed it it was less then 3 years ago.

Perhaps you could read up on Windows SMBv1, and its role in the recent WannaCry malware.

In any case, those have nothing to do with Linux.

[waynesa98]

actually your wrong Job’s nextos was a flavor of linix. the difference between android and ios is how much access the user has to the kernel and how apps can be loaded. My experience actually predated linix with ATTunix a flavor of unix.

[dayglored]

> actually your wrong Job’s nextos was a flavor of linix.

Umm, no. NeXTSTEP preceded Linux by a few years. NeXTSTEP was developed in the late 1980's and its first release was in September 1989. Linux Torvalds released the first Linux kernel -- not a Linux distro in the modern sense -- in September 1991. There is no relationship between the two. Linux is an independent development, unrelated to NeXTSTEP or any other Unix-based OS except by functional similarity.

NeXTSTEP (and OS X and iOS) are derived from the BSD Unix family. The Linux kernel and the Gnu operating system are "UNIX-like" in that they function similarly, but neither one is derived from the other.

I suggest you do some research before making unsupported statements about the evolution of operating systems. If you still believe you're correct, I invite you to provide reputable citations to support your claim. You might find the image I posted at the end of this comment helpful.

> My experience actually predated linix with ATTunix a flavor of unix.

Well, then we share that in common. My experience with Unix goes back to 1985, when I acquired an AT&T 3B2-300 minicomputer, learned C language, and mastered Sys5 Unix.

[smokingfrog]

My phones have 8.1 and check for updates says phone is up to date. As long as it keeps working I have no complaints. I don’t use my phone for banking or anything else that requires a high level of security.

[Excellence]

When did this happen?

[Dutch Boy]

My Nokia Lumia Icon was updated quite a while ago. I believe it was after the 950 phones were released. I read where most Windows Phones didn’t get the upgrade. Verizon seemed to not want to push it. I’m unsure if Microsoft or Verizon controls update timing.

[Excellence]

Mine was never updated, and it is Verizon that controls that. That’s one nice think about the 950, Microsoft updates directly.