Microsoft has killed off support for Windows Phone 8.1, spelling the end for the troubled smartphone OS.
Windows Phone 8.1 users will no longer receive updates, which will eventually make their handsets obsolete. The move is good news for both iOS and Android, enabling them to bolster their already dominant position among smartphone platforms.
In October 2016, Microsoft published a list of products that it would be discontinuing support for in 2017, comprising four waves of cuts in January, April, July and October. Windows Phone 8.1 falls under the third wave of products, which have now been relegated to tech history.
The distinctive tile-based OS, first launched as Windows Phone 7 in 2010, struggled to compete with rivals iOS and Android. And while the Windows Phone-powered Lumia phones garnered respectable reviews, partly thanks to their distinctively bright designs, they never quite reached the levels of popularity achieved by the iPhone and top-tier Android phones from the likes of Samsung.
Released in April 2014, Windows Phone 8.1 was the most recent public update for the struggling OS and in 2015, Microsoft introduced Windows 10 Mobile to replace it. This is essentially a version of its desktop Windows 10 software specifically designed for use on smartphones and tablets.
Some Windows Phone 8.1 users will be able to upgrade to Windows Mobile 10, but not all Windows Phone handsets will support the newer OS.
Obviously, Microsoft is no stranger to large-scale tech launches, but it couldn't quite make Windows Phone work. Here are five reasons why...
An OS can live or die by its apps and while Windows Phone had many of the big players on board, including Facebook and Twitter, it simply didn't have as comprehensive a selection as its rivals. It was also unable to keep up with evolving social media, with the absence of Snapchat making it a no-go for many users. What's more, the OS just didn't have the user numbers to encourage more developers to create apps for it.
While the slick tile-based OS won plenty of praise, it was designed to work primarily with Microsoft products. Ideal for users of Outlook and Bing, but not so great for those who prefer to use third-party services. While many of these were supported on the phone, they didn't feel as though they were so tailor-made for the OS as Microsoft's own offerings.
With a couple of exceptions, Windows Phone was mostly limited to Lumia handsets with little or no support from big players like Samsung and LG. This lack of choice didn't help to make Windows Phone appealing to potential buyers. And while Apple only ever offers a few handsets, the app offerings, support and Apple brand loyalty appear to counteract the lack of choice.
Initially, Microsoft partnered with Nokia to make its Lumia handsets, but later bought out Nokia's mobile business for a cool $7.17 billion. However, the failure of Windows Phone to really take off meant that the investment never quite offered the expected returns.
When the iPhone first launched ten years ago, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer seriously underestimated how successful it would be. This error meant that Microsoft was catastrophically late to the party with its first Windows Phone 7 device in 2010. By this point, Apple was already on its fourth-generation iPhone, leaving Microsoft with a serious amount of catching up to do in a market already dominated by iOS and Android.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
