14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently announced a new round of layoffs significantly impacting the phone hardware business, and many believe that this is the beginning of Windows Phone’s end, but the software giant has already outlined its plans for mobile for the next few years.
And according to a report by Bloomberg citing company insiders who asked not to be named, Microsoft will focus a little bit more on flagships, which is exactly the type of devices that it has been ignoring for the past 12 months or so.
Basically, Microsoft is set to release one or two new flagships every 12 months, if these reports are true, and according to a memo sent by Windows boss Terry Myerson to company employees, these high-end phones will be built “for Windows fans who want the very Windows experience on flagship devices.”
Waving goodbye to unsuccessful markets
These high-end phones are critical to Microsoft’s new mobile strategy, and the first such model is set to arrive later this year, when the new Windows 10 Mobile debuts.
Many believe that Lumia 940 and 940 XL are the two flagships that Microsoft will be counting on for this revamped strategy, but for the moment, the Softies still prefer to remain completely tight-lipped, as everything can change overnight.
But according to Microsoft’s new strategy, only three types of devices will be made: value phones, business devices, and flagships, with the last aimed at the Windows fans Terry Myerson was talking about.
In order to become a more successful phone maker, Microsoft is also planning to wave goodbye to markets where sales are not at all satisfying. Windows Phone has a share of around 3 percent worldwide, according to third-party data, and the United States is one particular market where sales have always been below expectations.
Redmond, however, won’t exit the United States, Bloomberg notes, “because of the market’s size and significance.”