14 DAY TRIAL // It’s no secret that Microsoft puts all its hopes in Windows 8.1 when it comes to tackling the falling PC market, pointing to the wide array of improvements it made to the operating system as a way to boost sales.
It turns out, however, that not everyone believes that Windows 8.1 has what it takes to succeed, with a new report pointing out that Microsoft’s way of addressing consumer feedback might dramatically affect short-term sales.
Citing sources in the supply chain, Digitimes is reporting that Windows 8.1 will not only fail to boost new PC sales, but it will also keep Windows 8 adoption levels very low.
One of the reasons why these sources believe that Windows 8.1 won’t contribute much to a significant growth of the PC industry is the slow pace in responding to customer demand shown by Microsoft.
Redmond, on the other hand, has used its new strategy of quickly addressing consumer feedback as a key marketing stunt, explaining that Windows 8.1 brings lots of improvements based on the things it heard from users since Windows 8 came to the market.
The Start button, for example, is back in Windows 8.1 and even though it doesn’t perform the same tasks as in older Windows versions, it’s still being used as a sign that Microsoft is listening to customer feedback.
“We've listened, we've learned, and we've responded, and you'll see that, I believe, when you see the product. Windows 8.1 is made better, it is better, based on customer feedback,” Microsoft’s Tami Reller said back in June when talking about the new Windows 8.1.
“Windows 8 was a big release and there were some areas where we knew we wanted to do even more to really advance that vision of mobility and the next generation of computing. And so that's what Windows 8.1 does, it advances the vision, not only bringing even more to tablets but making all PCs even better,” she concluded.