14 DAY TRIAL // This is no surprise, but another big company has decided to give up on Microsoft’s abandoned Windows phones, choosing instead to focus on Android and iOS.
Flipboard is no longer available for download from the Windows Store, and while the app still works on devices where it was installed, no new updates would be provided in the future. Furthermore, once the app is removed from a Windows phone it’s gone forever and there’s no way to bring it back unless the company decides to return to Microsoft's mobile operating system for some reason.
A Flipboard community manager has responded to an inquiry on the Windows 10 Mobile version of the app, explaining not only that the platform is no longer supported, but that she “doesn’t think we will in the near future.”
Not much has been said on the reasons behind this decision, but there’s no doubt it all happened because of the dropping market share of Windows phones and the lack of interest that even parent company Microsoft shows for the platform.
Android and iOS, much more compelling platforms
Flipboard will obviously continue to work and receive updates on Android and iOS, and while the company doesn’t say it loud and clear, switching to one of these two platforms is the easiest way to continue using the app.
Flipboard landed on Windows phones nearly 4 years ago when it was pre-installed on the Nokia Lumia 1020, with several other Windows phones launched as part of the Lumia brand featuring the app.
This is the second big hit that Windows phones received this week, after the NYPD revealed that it would replace all Microsoft mobile devices with iPhones as soon as this fall.
The New York police officers were using 36,000 Windows phones to response to calls and file reports faster, but given the lack of support for the platform and the improvements that Apple has made to iPhones in the last couple of years, switching sides is a move that needs to be made by the NYPD.