14 DAY TRIAL // The lack of apps has always been a problem on Windows phones despite Microsoft promising to take care of it on several occasions.
Eventually, however, Microsoft’s mobile platform bit the dust, due to a mix of issues, including the super-limited hardware support and the aforementioned lack of apps.
And while the software previously refused to discuss all these matters, Joe Belfiore, who in the past few years have been the go-to person for Windows phone information, decided to break the silence on Twitter, posting a few messages that reveal why exactly the platform failed.
Replying to a tweet pointing to the lack of apps as the main issue on Windows 10 Mobile, Belfiore explained that Microsoft tried different approaches to convince developers to create apps for the operating system, but nothing worked and all these efforts eventually came to no conclusion.
“We have tried VERY HARD to incent app devs. Paid money.. wrote apps 4 them.. but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest,” he posted.
“We can’t fix ugly apps”
As for the applications that are already there on Windows phones but which do not receive updates or have an interface that’s way behind in terms of usability and functionality as compared to iOS and Android, Belfiore pointed out that Microsoft is aware of this issue but can’t do anything about it.
“Yes.. that’s a real problem that we cannot fix ourselves,” Belfiore explained when asked about the “ugly” Facebook app available in the Windows Store for phones.
Windows 10 Mobile has received only a bunch of updates lately, and as part of the Windows Insider program, the operating system barely got any new features, with the platform currently in maintenance mode.
The next update is called feature2 and is all about fixes, with Microsoft yet to announce any release information – previously, it was believed that the launch date would be synced with the one of the Fall Creators Update for PC, which lands on October 17.