So last weekend the inevitable other shoe dropped: Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore finally confirmed what everyone had known for quite some time, Windows Phone is dead. The beleaguered mobile operating system has been put on life support in the form of “maintenance mode,” meaning that while the OS will continue to receive security updates, there won’t be any new features coming to Windows 10 Mobile.
But Microsoft, long rumored to be working on a next gen “Surface Phone,” doesn’t appear to be quite ready to throw in the towel just yet. Work continues on a modular version of Windows, one that will allow a single “OneCore” OS to be built up with different modules to accommodate desktops, tablets, Xbox, and presumably phones. It’s less clear whether work on the Surface Phone itself is actually continuing, but it’s almost inconceivable that Microsoft would just walk away from mobile when the industry trend is so clearly racing toward a mobile first world.
So what do you think, will Microsoft re-enter the mobile hardware market? Will they ship a Surface Phone next year, and try yet again to establish a foothold in a mobile market dominated by Apple and Android? Or have they really, under CEO Satya Nadella, turned a corner away from the consumer toward the more enterprise facing Office 365 and Azure businesses? Will Xbox stand alone soon as Microsoft’s only consumer facing business? Let us know your thoughts in the poll below:
While Microsoft has given up on Windows Phone, they’ve been busy making iOS and Android apps, and are even bringing Edge, the browser you love to hate, to both platforms. Maybe Microsoft’s mobile push won’t include hardware, instead turning iOS or Android devices into “Microsoft phones” (you can check out our hands on video of Edge on iOS here).
What do you think Microsoft will do in the mobile space? Will we soon see a Surface Phone, a greater push for Microsoft apps on iOS and Android, or none of the above? After you take our poll, let us know where you think Microsoft will be headed with mobile in the comments below.
