14 DAY TRIAL // Windows phones are projected to go dark this year, so Microsoft is now planning to retire all the adjacent services that no longer make sense without a mobile platform.
One of them is Microsoft Wallet, the company’s very own payment service that never took off, mostly because of the low adoption of Windows phones.
Microsoft will retire Microsoft Wallet on February 28, and the app will be pulled completely. No other specifics were provided by the software giant, but given that Windows 10 Mobile itself is being ditched, such a decision isn’t necessarily surprising.
At the same time, Microsoft killing off Microsoft Wallet is also a sign that the company isn’t planning any major investments in its own mobile platform.
Microsoft’s mobile plans
While everyone knows that Windows 10 Mobile failed and is now scheduled to be abandoned in December, diehard fans hoped the software giant would release a new mobile device, possibly in the form of the Surface Phone.
This mobile project, which eventually evolved to become Surface Andromeda, was rumored to come with phone capabilities as well, though confirmation in this regard has never been offered. Furthermore, with Microsoft betting big on mobile, a payment service like Microsoft Wallet would have just made sense.
At this point, it’s not even known if Microsoft still wants to launch Andromeda, as people familiar with the matter said last year that the device was sent back to the drawing board. It’s believed the project could be finalized in 2019, but once again, it all depends on how it advances.
In the meantime, Microsoft recommends Windows Phone fans to switch to Android or iPhone, as Windows 10 Mobile clearly has no future. Microsoft is very committed to making its apps available on these two platforms, so the transition should be much easier if you are a Microsoft customer.