14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has ended support for Windows Phone 8.1 with this month’s Patch Tuesday cycle, basically killing all versions of its smartphone operating system beside Windows 10 Mobile.
This makes Windows 10 Mobile the only smartphone platform that Microsoft is supporting right now, though not all of its devices can run it, as per the company’s controversial strategy that left nearly half of its lineup behind.
The worst thing is that by killing Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft is basically giving up on nearly 80 percent of its mobile users. Windows Phone 7.x, Windows Phone 8.0, and Windows Phone 8.1 account for the biggest part of its mobile user-base, according to data offered by AdDuplex, and Windows 10 Mobile is running on just 20 percent of the Windows phones currently on the market.
Android and iOS, the only options
Furthermore, it’s unlikely to see the Windows 10 Mobile share growing, though there’s a small chance that more eligible phones would be upgraded now that support for Windows Phone 8.1 has been reached. Numbers won’t be substantial though given the falling market share of Windows Phone as a whole.
“Windows 10 Mobile is now on more than 20 percent of Windows phones, but it’s likely caused by Windows Phone 8.x users abandoning their phones for other platforms, rather than any increase in Windows 10 Mobile sales,” AdDuplex explained in its most recent statistics.
“With Facebook Messenger and now Skype abandoning Windows Phone 8, it’s not unlikely that the trend will accelerate as time goes on.”
The death of Windows Phone leaves Android and iOS the only two choices when it comes to mobile devices. Even though Windows 10 Mobile is still supported by Microsoft, not only that the number of devices eligible for the Fall Creators Update is super-limited, but it’s also hard to find a Windows phone these days. Microsoft, for example, no longer sells Lumia flagships, but only the Verizon Lumia 735, alongside a bunch of third-party devices like the Alcatel IDOL 4S and the HP Elite X3.
With that being said, here we are in that point that so many people predicted since many years ago, but which Microsoft denied on every single occasion. And the worst thing is that Windows Phone is officially dead without even an official announcement from Microsoft.
