A series of tweets this morning from Microsoft's Corporate VP for Windows, Joe Belfiore, have confirmed what we've seen coming for quite some time – that active development of Windows 10 Mobile is no longer a focus for Microsoft.
While we've been expecting Microsoft to pull this for quite some time now, it's fair to say that both the community and many of Microsoft's own Community Ambassadors have been resisting all signs pointing towards this news – namely the feature2 branch of updates that demoted Windows 10 Mobile to becoming a second-class citizen of the Insider programme – for the past few months. As expected, Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 Mobile with bug fixes and security patches as necessary and appropriate, but there will not be any active development of new features, which should come as a surprise to no one.
(2/2) As an individual end-user, I switched platforms for the app/hw diversity. We will support those users too! Choose what's best 4 u. https://t.co/LKQBL3w7gA
— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017
Of course we'll continue to support the platform.. bug fixes, security updates, etc. But building new features/hw aren't the focus. 😟 https://t.co/0CH9TZdIFu
— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017
Additionally, Belfiore has stated that he has switched to Android, and that Microsoft's current mobile focus is providing the best services possible on mobile platforms with more hardware and app diversity – namely Android and iOS. This, again, should come as a surprise to no one, as we recently discovered that Bill Gates has also switched to Android. Microsoft is putting a lot of effort into refining services on iOS and Android, such as the recently re branded Microsoft Launcher for Android, and Edge for iOS and Android. While their focus may not be Windows 10 Mobile anymore, any users switching should be content with the knowledge that they can get high-quality, well optimised and supported Microsoft services on other platforms too.
Additionally, if you really are a junkie for Microsoft's own mobile OS, hold out till next year; Microsoft is rumoured to be working on a new "mobile" device codenamed Andromeda, that will launch next year with a version of Windows 10 built with Microsoft's new "Windows Core OS" platform. It's looking like an intriguing platform that we're excited to cover in the future; but for now, we can kiss goodbye to Microsoft's own mobile ventures.
What do you guys think? Are you in mourning over Windows 10 Mobile, or are you excited to see Microsoft's next mobile move. Let us know what you think in the comments, or post over in the forums with your thoughts.
