14 DAY TRIAL // It’s a difficult year for Windows Phone fans, as Microsoft itself hasn’t been very active in the hardware side of the market, while various sources indicated that the firm wanted to give up on the Lumia brand completely.
It’s not surprising that many considered this to be the end of Windows phones, despite statements from Microsoft executives that the firm is still committed to Windows 10 Mobile.
But here comes CEO Satya Nadella himself reiterating the company’s plans to invest in phones, explaining that the final goal is to switch the focus to some specific features.
Speaking at the annual meeting with shareholders, Nadella has pointed out that the firm is “not stepping away or back from mobile devices,” revealing that the firm aims to focus more on features that make a difference, such as Continuum. Recent rumors have indicated that Microsoft was working on an emulator that would make Continuum capable of running x86 apps on future devices.
“We think about mobility broadly. In other words, we think about the mobility of the human being across all of the devices, not just the mobility of a single device,” Nadella explained.
“That said, we’re not stepping away or back from our focus on our mobile devices. What we are going to do is focus that effort on places where we have differentiation. If you take Windows Phone, where we are differentiated on Windows Phone is on manageability. It’s security, it’s Continuum capability - that is, the ability to have a phone that can act like a PC. So we’re going to double-down on those points of differentiation.”
Why Microsoft is investing in Android and iOS apps
Additionally, Nadella acknowledged that there are other platforms with bigger market share (Android and iOS), and this is why the company is investing in building apps for them, as Microsoft users here need access to their services as well.
“We will keep looking at different forms and different functions that we can bring to mobile devices, while also supporting our software across a variety of devices. So that’s the approach you will see us take. We are not stepping away from supporting our Windows Phone users. But at the same time we are recognizing that there are other platforms in mobile that have higher share, and we want to make sure that our software is available to them,” he said.
Nadella hasn’t commented on the possibility of giving up on the Lumia brand, which, according to people with knowledge of the matter, should happen as soon as this month.