14 DAY TRIAL // Windows phones aren’t a key focus for Microsoft this year and the company itself admitted it on the sideline of Build 2016 last week, explaining that there are other projects that need more attention in the next 12 months.
But despite this, Redmond promised some “cool things” for phones in 2017, trying to show that Windows 10 Mobile still has a place in its long-term strategy, only that for the moment, there are other more important things to focus on.
And according to recent reports, those cool things are nothing more than three different versions of the Surface Phone, which could be aimed at different customers and come with different specs. The reason? Microsoft wants to try a different strategy.
Full focus on the “Surface” brand
While we’ve already talked about the Surface Phone here, there’s something a little bit more interesting in Microsoft’s strategy.
The Lumia series was inherited by Microsoft from Nokia, and although the company launched new models running Windows 10 Mobile, the same design language was still used on the latest devices. You can’t mistake a Lumia for any other device and that’s not necessarily a good thing. There has been criticism that Lumias look too similar to each other, with huge bezels and rather cheap materials, despite the rather high price, as it’s the case of the Lumia 950 XL.
The recently-introduced Lumia 650 is often referred to as one of the most beautiful Lumia phones ever launched, but this is only because it’s not a typical Lumia. It comes with a metal frame and a more premium look, although it’s not as spectacular under the hood.
So Microsoft itself seems to be interested in leaving behind the Lumia brand and the company might try to give up on it gradually.
First step: no new Lumia models and the focus on Surface. We’ve known for a while that Surface Phone could launch sometime in the future, but it appears that now we’re getting closer to the moment when such a project could see daylight.
Basically, the Surface Phone would follow the same recipe as the tablet and will be created by the team headed by Panos Panay, the man who always believed in Surface and who actually made this product successful.
Surface would thus become a stand-alone brand comprising not only tablets, but also phones, and which could set itself apart with premium materials and exquisite looks. The Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book already boast such features, so it just makes sense for the phone to adopt them too.
No Lumia phones, but more Windows 10 Mobile devices
And to make sure that Windows 10 Mobile still lives on without new Lumia devices, Microsoft has a plan that makes OEM partners an essential part of the long-term strategy.
Redmond hopes that manufacturers worldwide would join the Windows 10 Mobile bandwagon and release their very own devices running this operating system, thus giving users a wide array of choices when it comes to buying a phone powered by this software.
This is clearly a risky thing to do because Microsoft has to put its trust in the ecosystem, which on Windows 10 Mobile is growing, but at a rather slow pace. Top manufacturers are slow to adopt Windows 10 Mobile and companies such as Samsung and HTC, who are already successful in the Android world, show low to no interest in Microsoft’s platform.
Without a doubt, Microsoft wants to bring the Surface Phone to the market as soon as possible because while Windows 10 Mobile can survive without its own devices, it can’t do it for too long. Stats show that nearly 95 percent of the Windows phone ecosystem is made of Lumia devices, so it’s clearly a race against the clock. The Surface Phone is likely to launch in early 2017 together with the Surface Book 2 and the Surface Pro 5.