14 DAY TRIAL // HP is one of the companies that actually supported Windows 10 Mobile at a time when the majority of companies and developers switched the focus to Android, but now it turns out that they’re also planning to abandon the platform in the coming years.
The reason is as simple as it could be: without support from Microsoft, Windows Phone is a dead platform, and given that “we’re not an operating system company,” HP has absolutely no reason to invest in new devices.
Speaking with The Register at the Canalys Forum, Nick Lazaridis, HP’s EMEA President, explained that the company was actually working on several new products running Windows 10 Mobile, but they’re all being abandoned now because of Microsoft’s decision to abandon the operating system.
Microsoft killing off Windows phones
Lazaridis even said that Microsoft confirmed it’s giving up on Windows 10 Mobile, a decision that the software giant is yet to announce publicly but which has been rumored for at least a couple of years.
“Microsoft, as all companies do, decided on a change in strategy and so they are less focused on what they thought they would be focused on today. Given that, we also had decided that without Microsoft’s drive and support there it doesn’t make sense. If the software, if the operating system ecosystem isn’t there then we are not an operating system company,” he said.
The HP Elite X3 will continue to be available until 2019, though at this point it’s not clear if the company still wants to make more units available in addition to the limited stock currently in stores.
But in addition to the X3, Lazaridis says the company was preparing several other products based on this Windows smartphone. None will see daylight given Microsoft’s new strategy.
“X3 was going to bifurcate, there were going to be a number of products,” he concluded. For what it’s worth, HP presented an updated Elite X3 and a new lapdock earlier this year, but neither will be launched.