14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced its financial results for FY16 Q4 earlier today, and the company has also revealed something that we all knew about its phone business: revenues keep declining because of collapsing sales, and Redmond isn’t planning to do anything about it in the short term.
According to Microsoft’s financial reports, phone revenue declined 71 percent, down 70 in constant currency, but the company hasn’t revealed how many phones it sold during the quarter.
Aside from these results, Microsoft hasn’t said anything about its phone business, with Amy Hood, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the company, praising the performance of other divisions.
“This fiscal year we invested in innovation and expanded our market presence in key product areas and geographies. I am pleased with the execution from our sales teams and partners this quarter who delivered a strong finish to the fiscal year,” she says.
No new phone this year
Sales of new Windows phones have collapsed, and new devices such as Lumia 950 and 950 XL have failed to boost demand, with people close to the matter now indicating that Microsoft is taking a different approach, with no new Lumia models planned for this year.
The company is trying to overhaul its mobile efforts with investments in one high-end model, which is very likely to be the eagerly anticipated Surface Phone.
This new device, however, isn’t expected sooner than 2017, so in the short term, Microsoft isn’t planning any big change that would overhaul its phone hardware business. On the software side, however, Microsoft is about to release a major update called Windows 10 Anniversary Update and due on August 2.
The Anniversary Update will bring a plethora of improvements on mobile devices, including new Edge touch navigation gestures, updates for the built-in apps, Cortana enhancements, and many other new features that should make Windows 10 Mobile phones a better alternative to Android and iOS.