Windows 10 Mobile users, say goodbye to the Apps Corner

Jan 20, 2017 07:16 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is often criticized for its mobile strategy, mostly because it remains tight-lipped on the future of Windows 10 Mobile despite the departure of so many developers and users, and now the company is announcing a new change that could anger some hardcore fans.

The firm is killing off the Apps Corner feature available on Windows 10 Mobile, and starting with build 15007 this is no longer available for users. This means that the Creators Update coming in April will no longer have this feature either.

As far as the reason for having it removed from Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft says the following in the release notes of build 15014 which went live for insiders earlier today:

“Due to decreased usage, Apps Corner is no longer available in Windows 10 Mobile starting with Builds 15007 and above.”

In other words, only a few people were using the Apps Corner, so it doesn’t make sense for the company to continue improving it in the next Windows 10 Mobile updates.

Apps Corner was a feature allowing users to give people access to select apps on their phones, while also making it possible to configure customized Start screens for everyone.

So what’s next for Windows phone users?

Unfortunately, this is exactly the reason that so many developers cite when deciding to abandon Windows Phone, pointing out that the dropping number of users on the platform gives them no other option than to move focus to Android and iOS.

What’s a bit more surprising, though, is that Microsoft actually advertised the Apps Corner as a potential alternative to Kids Corner, another Windows 10 Mobile feature that was pulled because of low usage.

“After taking a look at the overall usage of the Kids Corner feature in Windows 10 Mobile and Windows Phone 8.1, we have decided to remove this feature from Windows 10 Mobile beginning with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The usage of Kids Corner was too low to justify continued development and support of the feature. While not a replacement with the same functionality, you can try out Apps Corner,” the firm said last year.

So there you go, Microsoft itself is using the same explanation as developers when pulling features from Windows phones, while at the same time remaining pretty much tight-lipped on what’s next for users. Well played, Microsoft!