14 DAY TRIAL // We’ve known for a while that Windows 10 Mobile no longer has a future, and this technically means that Microsoft’s mobile push would continue to rely exclusively on apps and services aimed at Android and iOS devices.
And while Microsoft has made mobile hardware less of a priority, rumor has it that the company is exploring other ways to expand in this particular side of the market.
First, with Andromeda, a new type of mobile device that would feature a dual-screen design and phone capabilities. Andromeda isn’t supposed to be a phone per se, but a new product that would continue Microsoft’s culture of pioneering new product categories with its Surface division.
And second, with Android devices, if a rumor that made the rounds lately is anything to be believed. Basically, it looks like a Microsoft Store employee confirmed in a private conversation that the software giant is working on not one Android device, but a completely new lineup of phones running Google’s mobile operating system.
An announcement in this regard would be made soon, the alleged employee said, as work is still in progress and further details cannot be shared.
While some believed that Microsoft building an Android phone makes total sense, there are several reasons why the company won’t do that, and the three most important are the following:
The rumor is fake
First and foremost, if a Microsoft Store engineer shares details about unreleased Microsoft products that you’ve never heard of, there’s no doubt you should take this piece of information with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Like any other tech company, Microsoft takes leaks very seriously, and this is one of the reasons Store staff does not get access to any details regarding the company’s new products. This means that it’s nearly impossible for someone working at a Microsoft Store to know what the company wants to release next, especially when it’s something so huge as an Android smartphone.
Microsoft Store workers provided inaccurate information several times in the past, either due to not knowing any specifics and sharing what they thought or because they misinterpreted what they heard from others.
In this case, there’s a 99 percent chance that the rumor of an Android phone being developed by Microsoft falls into one of these two categories and is completely false.
Microsoft is no longer interested in phones
Building phones like all the other companies out there isn’t something that Microsoft wants to do.
The culture behind the Surface hardware lineup is to invent new product categories with almost every new release, and launching a traditional smartphone does not align with this strategy.
Panos Panay, the head of devices at Microsoft, has even denied rumors of a Surface Phone, explaining that Microsoft is looking into other form factors, not phones.
“I would say there will be new form factors, there will be new change in the market, and there will be opportunity. The way people will communicate in the future will change. The form factors will wrap around that. And so when you say the phone form factor changes, I would flip it a little bit and say that communication changes,” Panay explained.
Windows 10 is the future
And last but not least, despite Android making sense for a Microsoft smartphone from a consumer perspective, it does not make sense when it comes to the way the company sees its products.
Microsoft wants full control over its devices, and the only way to go in terms of software is Windows 10. The firm has said it on nearly every occasion: Windows 10 is the future and it is supposed to be installed on all devices it launches.
Microsoft’s mobile push can be based only on Windows 10, and adopting Android isn’t seen as an option, especially considering the company’s enterprise push. For what it’s worth, if Microsoft ever releases a phone, though chances for this are minimal, to say the least, expect it to be powered by Windows 10 and nothing else.