Despite Windows 10, Windows Phone Is Doomed

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For a while now the general consensus has been that Windows Phone is doomed. With that said, what do you think Microsoft is doing wrong? What features would make you buy a Windows Phone?

The gloomy outlook for Microsoft's mobile platform comes in IDC's 2015 worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker, where the analyst forecasts that Windows Phone shipments will have declined by 10.2 percent over the year to 31.3 million units, leaving Microsoft with 2.2 percent share of 1.4 billion units shipped.
 
Phone is ok, and should be the new defacto work phone but isn't. It needs *good* marketing, which is apparently in very short supply at Microsoft.
 
I think "Windows Phone" is going to be replaced by "surface phone." An x86 based phone that can use the continuum dock and become a full PC is a very compelling device, especially for a corporate environment.

That said, Apple has proven that you don't have to have a large market share to be successful.
 
It is a good phone. I ordered 2 for myself. Now you can clearly see unification of Windows 10 between PC and phone and I really like it.
 
I might miss some apps but it is not that bad. There are good apps on Windows phone.
 
Marketing issue. I read somewhere Verizon snd ATT just don't want to give it them it spotlight it needs. Catch-22.
 
As a previous Windows Phone 8X user, the phone is horrible. The interface which Microsoft uses looks good at first glance but is unusable. The real nail in the phone is the lack of apps or support. No APPS means it really is just a phone with a browser....maybe a MP3 player too...

In short....transitioning to an Android phone was the best decision of my life.
 
the power of windows was the application selection and backwards compatibility

adopting ARM (an entirely different CPU architecture that broke all applications and compatibility) meant windows had nothing to offer

and instead of fixing this mistake and just making x86 phones, they doubled-down and deprecated 100% of their apps and app compatibility on the desktop now too. so now they want you to use fruity tablet applications (that only microsoft makes) on your computer. lol what failure
 
fvbounty said:
apps, apps, apps, apps, apps............
Click to expand...

This.

Microsoft phone has always lagged behind Apple & Android.
Many stores/banks have apps, but they are usually iPhone or Android only. It's rare to also see a Windows phone App.

Instead of spending money on marketing, spend it on more apps, especially free apps.

Come up with a must-have app, like something connected to the Xbox or media center.
Oh, wait, they dropped media center, and are only bringing out new stuff for the Xbox one.
 
fvbounty said:
apps, apps, apps, apps, apps............
Click to expand...

Indeed, this is by far the biggest issue for Windows phones. One that doesn't have an easy solution as it's the classic chicken or the egg problem. Low market share because of no apps and no apps because of low market share. Microsoft is obviously very well aware of the problem and is devoting some resources to fix the issue but it's probably never going to be enough.

griffinhart said:
I think "Windows Phone" is going to be replaced by "surface phone." An x86 based phone that can use the continuum dock and become a full PC is a very compelling device, especially for a corporate environment.

That said, Apple has proven that you don't have to have a large market share to be successful.
Click to expand...

This is probably Microsoft last best hope at getting some decent market share though this will be a niche market and won't give Microsoft anything more than 3rd place. But if the concept of a "productivity" phone can translate over to phones to some degree like the concept has been gaining traction in tablets, perhaps they won't be a distant 3rd.
 
nutzo said:
This.

Microsoft phone has always lagged behind Apple & Android.
Many stores/banks have apps, but they are usually iPhone or Android only. It's rare to also see a Windows phone App.

Instead of spending money on marketing, spend it on more apps, especially free apps.

Come up with a must-have app, like something connected to the Xbox or media center.
Oh, wait, they dropped media center, and are only bringing out new stuff for the Xbox one.
Click to expand...

A lot of banks have got rid of Window phone apps...thats really bad...like B of A...
 
My wife had a Windows phone back in the pre Win 8 days... from a facebook standpoint she loved it and preferred it today over her iPhone.

I avoided anything Windows mobile because strangely at work (even though we were a big windows mobile shop) I couldn't get Good for the Enterprise on it (they had no support for that platform).

Now I'm so ingrained with everything Apple, between my super easy/works great Apple TV's (I have no cable tv) to iTunes where my family owns over 60 movies to life in general, I have no reason to leave Apple. I now have a 6sPlus 64GB and love it.
 
It's definitely the apps. Not only are they more sparse, they generally feel like they're less well made. Plus there was always that period when 1/2 of the apps were bogus and were selling you download links for things like Chrome.

I kinda like the actual interface, but I think it's too late to save it.
 
Lack of apps is why I haven't given it a shot, and stuck to Android, even though I'm beginning to be on the fence about staying on it. My wife has the iPhone 6 Plus and I gave that a spin just to see if I'd like it at all. I don't care for it, the UI, or anything about the phone, so iOS is out for me.

I think what would really push Windows Phone would be marketing that demonstrates just exactly what it brings to the table, that sets it apart from iOS and Android, and more importantly, how easy it is to do those things.
 
fvbounty said:
A lot of banks have got rid of Window phone apps...thats really bad...like B of A...
Click to expand...

Which is odd considering just how much Microsoft tech is used in banks. You'd figure that Microsoft would have made some sort of deal to keep those apps going, it can't be that big of deal. But Microsoft has said it doesn't want to artificially support the platform by making one off deals all of the time. Though that may not be the worst thing to do from time to time to get basic apps for Windows phones.
 
I just bought the 950. Marketing and apps hold it back? No matter where I went they didn't mention it as an option, and some stores didn't have any. I really thought I would get something else but the 950 has everything I wanted.
 
With the rise of Windows 10, it may become a thing again, i really wouldn't be surprised. I've heard more hub bub about windows phones in the last year than i ever have.
 
fvbounty said:
apps, apps, apps, apps, apps............
Click to expand...

Yeah, this.

I've got a couple of guys at work that are Windows Phone fanatics and I have to say MS has put together some really compelling devices. And Continum - which is super cool even in v1 - will be the only way to fly in enterprise...if they can get apps.

MS needs to get over themselves and get back on the Android porting party. At that point MS would own enterprise and it would filter down to consumer from there. (Half the reason we all use PCs at home is because we use them at work.)
 
I really wanted to like WP10, but as soon as I heard they had shelved Android porting, I had to jump back to Android.
 
It's the apps.

I've had a Samsung Focus, a Nokia Lumia 900, the Lumia 520, the Lumia 635, and now the Lumia 640XL.

I wanted this platform to work, but after watching apps starting to get pulled, I'm just about done. I had a Samsung S4 for a couple of years in there as well and the feeling of the ecosystem is like night and day. Every freaking bank app or store app or little thing like that is on App Store or Play Store, and out in Windows Phone land it's like a barren wasteland.

I'm done with it. I gave Microsoft like 3 or 4 years and multiple phones. That's enough.
 
I have considered jumping onto a Windows phone for a few years now, but never do, sticking to the iPhone after a brief dabble with Android a few years ago.

And the case becomes less compelling as time goes by. The only thing that would interest me is a true x86 phone that runs Windows (Surface Design too?), but then I wonder what I would actually do with it that I dont already do with my iPhone!

Lets face it, most needs can be met these days with either a refined targeted App or via a browser. All I really need my PC for these days is high end gaming. So in truth, Im not sure even an x86 phone would convince me to switch either.

Microsoft's best option at this point might simply be to create a service layer of applications that all work seamlessly together and convince me to use that on iOS instead. They might just have a chance there as Apple's service package is a little odd (iCloud is weak), and I really dont trust Google these days.
 
fvbounty said:
apps, apps, apps, apps, apps............
Click to expand...

This. I've heard nothing but good things about Windows Phone (since 8 came out), but there aren't any apps. This may actually be where Ballmer is right...become compatible with android. After that, they ahve to make a great phone that gets enough marketshare to entice devs to make native apps.

The problem is, that if you already support Android, why would I make a native app? The only reason I can come up with is your app is a good fit for the desktop too.
 
The Google Millenials that don't care about the privacy of their data or the monetization of their person to become little more than a product and potential victim to marketing and ad companies are the problem. The coming Google monopoly is a bigger threat than Microsoft's ever was, and the naïve are actually welcoming of it.
 
Ruoh said:
I really wanted to like WP10, but as soon as I heard they had shelved Android porting, I had to jump back to Android.
Click to expand...

They did indeed kill Android porting. But they kept iOS porting. So I'm not sure what apps could possibly be missing.

Even with the iOS porting, I don't have too much of an issue with apps. I don't use snapchat but literally every other app has been no problem finding or finding a 3rd party equivalent.

The only issue I encounter at all with apps that I DO have is apps that basically have token support - that they built WP support (because Microsoft paid them), but they half-assed it and it doesn't work that well.

Good for Enterprise is a prime example of this. And even it works about 70% of the way (keeping a constant connection is definitely a problem, and having to re-enter my password CONSTANTLY is a pain).
 
I work in the mobile app development space. The clients I work with have no interest in Windows Phone. Think about it - what is the ROI? A paltry 2-3% marketshare? Which age group/demographics are you selling to? The majority of people using the apps would never use a Microsoft phone (nor a Blackberry for that matter).

I think they should support Android apps and change strategies. Visual Studio supports compiling Objective-C code. I guess this would make it more cost effective to port your app from IOS over. However, how many app developers have done this? (We haven't tried - again, my customers don't care at all about that platform).

Heck, maybe even abandon ship. It will be very difficult to take away market share from Android and iOS.

The Microsoft Surface is a good product. I believes it selling well. Could a Microsoft phone enhance the experience? They could develop software for Android and iOS that could probably do the same thing.

Don't feel too bad for MSFT. They have a nice cloud platform (Azure) - this is used by a lot of apps. SQL Server probably provides a lot of backend support for apps. They also have several apps available for Android and iOS - no clue what the revenue stream is. My point - maybe a software/services approach makes a lot more sense that trying to gain a foothold in the hardware world. It's not like they haven't done this in their past!
 
I remember one point in time where one certain Microsoft individual chanted "Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers" So that, a little bit of marketing like what Apple is doing showing off what the phone can do and what its compatible with, as well as bringing their phones up to speed with the biometric and NFC payment crowd, and there really no reason why their phone shouldn't be a success. I just feel that whenever I see a Windows phone, its like a flagship from years earlier playing catch up than innovating.
 
Taco said:
Marketing issue. I read somewhere Verizon snd ATT just don't want to give it them it spotlight it needs. Catch-22.
Click to expand...
Verizon recently tried to get me to upgrade my plan & phone. When I mentioned Windows Phones they immediately started trash talking them (viruses this, crashes that, etc.). For some reason they don't seem to want to sell them; maybe there's not as much profit to be made or something.
 
mynamehere said:
Verizon recently tried to get me to upgrade my plan & phone. When I mentioned Windows Phones they immediately started trash talking them (viruses this, crashes that, etc.). For some reason they don't seem to want to sell them; maybe there's not as much profit to be made or something.
Click to expand...

Viruses and crashing? Are you sure they didn't have it confused with Android?
 
I have a windows 8x phone and would like a windows 10 phone, but verizon won't offer it.

I actually like that no apps work on it. Particularly when work wants me to install apps so I can take more work home with me and I get to tell them, "Sorry I have a windows phone and it won't work on there."
 
Grast5150 said:
As a previous Windows Phone 8X user, the phone is horrible. The interface which Microsoft uses looks good at first glance but is unusable. The real nail in the phone is the lack of apps or support. No APPS means it really is just a phone with a browser....maybe a MP3 player too...

In short....transitioning to an Android phone was the best decision of my life.
Click to expand...

I, personally, find the Windows Phone interface more usable than Android. I have had a Galaxy SII, a Nokia 920, Galaxy S6 Edge and now a Lumia 950XL. Frankly, both Android phones were terrible performers and battery life (even with many services disabled) was disappointing. I get noticeably better battery life and performance out of my windows phone devices as well. I even have a better web browsing experience on my windows phone.

The app problem is more noticeable on lack of windows phone support for a lot of devices. Amazon Echo, Any RC controlled toys and drones, etc are the biggest holes to fill.

Some of those holes aren't too bad though. I can control my Echo using the browser like I do from my PC. I have a Flickr App, Facebook, email, Kindle, Audible and a ton of generic utilities. I don't use banking apps.

Really the only thing I can't do on my Windows Phone is control my Phantom Drone as there is no app for it. That said, I ended up buying an iPad mini for the drone as there were massive performance issues with the android version of the DJI go app.

IMHO, Windows Phones are better than the androids. The problem is, Android really is more than good enough and have the massive app library to pick from. Android doesn't have the best user experience, but there is no concern of what I can and can't run. My Windows phone gives a noticeably better experience, but I know I have to pull out my iPad when I want to do some specific things. As a result, I usually recommend android over Windows.

If a x86 based surface phone happens, the ability to use it as a full desktop PC running x86 apps would be a killer feature. No mistake, it would still be a fairly niche product compared to most phones, but it would probably be a pretty successful phone for Microsoft. Especially in a Corporate environment. It would carve out a new market for phones the way the Surface Pro has carved one out of the tablet market.
 
flashoverride said:
It's the apps.

I've had a Samsung Focus, a Nokia Lumia 900, the Lumia 520, the Lumia 635, and now the Lumia 640XL.

I wanted this platform to work, but after watching apps starting to get pulled, I'm just about done. I had a Samsung S4 for a couple of years in there as well and the feeling of the ecosystem is like night and day. Every freaking bank app or store app or little thing like that is on App Store or Play Store, and out in Windows Phone land it's like a barren wasteland.

I'm done with it. I gave Microsoft like 3 or 4 years and multiple phones. That's enough.
Click to expand...

Yep. I just traded my 1520 for an iPhone. That Focus was an excellent phone though. Nothing has really happened after all these years. If someone does make an app, they wind up abandoning it.
 
I really liked my Windows Phone (Lumia 928) but when we jumped ship to TMob that was that as they say.

Too bad, it was a good OS.
 
The problem is that they STILL don't have Windows 10 Mobile out for the phones... and now, my 635 is suddenly on the list of phones that WON'T get the update at launch. They just up and suddenly mentioned that about half the current Lumia lineup will get the upgrade "later" rather than this month.

I wouldn't care, and I've really been loving this phone, but there hasn't been any love for the browser in a while now. Microsoft's premier selling feature SHOULD be the best browser in the industry, that runs desktop mode websites better than anything else out there. That should be a GIVEN for Microsoft phone. But I've notices a lot of the sites I use on 8.1 mobile are causing a browser crash lately. That doesn't cut it. And now that the model is delayed yet again on the 10 update... it doesn't matter how good it is if it is not available.

No idea what the #@$%@ MS's problem is with getting this done. Just FINISH the darn project.
 
Steve said:
For a while now the general consensus has been that Windows Phone is doomed. With that said, what do you think Microsoft is doing wrong? What features would make you buy a Windows Phone?
Click to expand...

If a Windows Phone is better for my needs than the others, then I'll get one. I currently have a WP8 phone and have been waiting for the WP10 phones to decide which platform will be best. My WP8 phone has served me well. The lack of apps doesn't bother me too much: it's a phone first and foremost.

My needs are fairly basic: phone, camera, map / GPS, email, web, tethering my iPad or laptop. The app I use most is the stopwatch (for when I cook a steak). I've got Office but don't use it.

The gloomy outlook for Microsoft's mobile platform comes in IDC's 2015 worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker, where the analyst forecasts that Windows Phone shipments will have declined by 10.2 percent over the year to 31.3 million units, leaving Microsoft with 2.2 percent share of 1.4 billion units shipped.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the decline might just be because people have been waiting for the new WP10 phones?

Microsoft would be absolutely crazy to give up on the phone segment because that is where the future lies.

Remember DOS? Microsoft made its money originally by owning the platform. Giving up on that would be giving up the ghost.
 
Yakk said:
Phone is ok, and should be the new defacto work phone but isn't. It needs *good* marketing, which is apparently in very short supply at Microsoft.
Click to expand...

That marketing money is likely being spent on Microsoft's least financially viable unit, the Xbox. Since the inception of the OG-Xbox through the "successful" Xbox 360, the entire XBox never actually made money for Microsoft. They only had the illusion of making money when they lumped hardware and mobile units under the Xbox wing, and the money from Android-patents propped up the illusion of Xbox being a viable success for Microsoft.
 
So, in Microsoft's position, would you drop the Console market or the Smartphone market?
 
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