14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft ended support for Windows Phone 8.1 earlier this week, leaving Windows 10 Mobile the only version of the operating system that’s still getting support, and now the company is making another change that’s impacting its own platform.
The official app developed by LinkedIn, a company that Microsoft purchased last year, is being pulled, so neither Windows Phone nor Windows 10 Mobile devices will be able to run it.
The LinkedIn app is going dark on August 31 this year, and LinkedIn tells users to switch to the browser in order to continue connecting to their accounts. This is the workaround that every single developer that’s leaving the platform is providing to their users, and LinkedIn even includes detailed instructions on how to pin the website to the Start menu.
“We are retiring the existing Windows Mobile app on August 31, which means the app icon will remain on your phone but will no longer work. You can continue to use LinkedIn on your Windows phone by going to linkedin.com from your mobile browser (Edge, Internet Explorer),” the company says.
Focus on the desktop app
In case you’re wondering why Microsoft is giving up on an app developed to run on its platform in the first place, it’s because the company wants to focus more on the desktop, with Windows phones obviously not a priority given the dropping market share.
“We are working closely with the Microsoft team to invest our efforts towards a new Windows desktop app coming this summer. As a result, we will be deprecating the LinkedIn Windows mobile app on August 30, 2017. Members can still access LinkedIn from their mobile device via the mobile Web,’ a company spokesperson was quoted as saying.
It remains to be seen when the new LinkedIn app launches since the summer is already here, and even though there’s a good chance it’ll be universal, no support for phones will be offered.