14 DAY TRIAL // HERE has just announced its Maps app would be removed from Windows Phone and Windows 10 later this month and starting June, it would no longer work on devices powered by Microsoft’s mobile and desktop platforms.
Microsoft completed the takeover of Nokia’s Devices and Services unit last year and the company has also tried to reach an agreement over Here Maps, the mapping solution developed by HERE and owned by the Finnish phone manufacturer.
Negotiations failed, though, and Nokia instead decided to put HERE Maps up for sale, with a German consortium, including Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, purchasing it in August 2015.
With new owners, HERE Maps development will continue on non-Microsoft platforms, such as iOS and Android, both of which have companion apps for cars manufactured by these German firms.
Apps to stop working on June 30
In an announcement today, HERE revealed that its maps app for Windows 10 will be removed from the desktop and phone stores on March, and the Windows Phone 8.1 version will only receive critical bug fixes. This means that a Windows 10 Mobile client won’t be developed.
“In the last few months, we made the HERE apps compatible with Windows 10 by using a workaround that will no longer be effective after June 30, 2016. To continue offering the HERE apps for Windows 10 would require us to redevelop the apps from the ground up, a scenario that led to the business decision to remove our apps from the Windows 10 store,” the company announced.
“This means the HERE apps will no longer work on devices running Windows 10 mobile after June 30, 2016. To prepare for this change, we have also decided to remove the HERE apps from the Windows 10 store on March 29, 2016.”
Although this is clearly a huge hit for Windows Phone and Windows 10 users, Microsoft already has a backup plan. The built-in Windows 10 Maps app is based on the HERE platform and includes mapping data from HERE Maps, with Microsoft promising to improve the app frequently.