Is there any hope for Windows 10 phones on the brink of collapse?

Although this option may seem like nonsense, it is a direction worth considering for the current situation of Windows 10 Mobile. Throughout 2016, Microsoft frequently deployed artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and augmented reality, but did not mention the mobile experience at all. If Microsoft continues to stay put in the foreseeable future, it seems that there will be no impact. In 2016, without Mobile, Microsoft actually achieved profitability by focusing on the transformation of its service business.

Keep your troops in place

Microsoft has publicly stated many times that Windows 10 Mobile has become an operating system that focuses on the enterprise market. From a conservative point of view, it is feasible for Microsoft to continue in this way and quietly provide continuous updates in this direction.

Of course, for ordinary consumers like us, doing nothing is the most unsatisfactory option. Even if we still don’t choose Windows 10 Mobile in the end, we still hope to see a sudden rise. But will Microsoft really choose to make a comeback? You know, this year’s Windows 10 “Creators” update didn’t mention anything about mobile phones. This fact makes people start to doubt whether Windows 10 Mobile can be updated this year.

If Microsoft really wants to launch the Surface Phone in 2017 and hopes that it can still play a role in the consumer market, but it misses this year's major update, then there is another possibility, which is the repositioning of Windows 10 Mobile.

Repositioning

Although Microsoft has always claimed that Windows 10 Mobile also has desktop-level capabilities, in terms of actual experience, as users, it is difficult for us to enjoy the benefits of Microsoft's mobile phone system that we can get from desktop-level systems. Microsoft has been promoting the so-called UWP unified platform concept, but developers have responded little and are unwilling to create desktop and mobile experiences for one application at the same time. Therefore, Windows 10 Mobile cannot get enough and good applications from desktop-level systems.

Perhaps Microsoft can choose to make Windows 10 Mobile a cross-border move, allowing it to work in both mobile phones and laptops, rather than just having the mobile version of Windows 10 passively follow the desktop version.

At a time when it is difficult for Windows 10 Mobile to follow the desktop version, Microsoft can consider separating them more and making the former a lighter version of the latter. Of course, this does not mean that Microsoft should rebuild a Windows RT. The new Windows 10 Mobile can run on mobile phones, tablets and even some portable laptops. Although it is lighter than the desktop version of Windows 10, it can still carry more things than the original mobile version.

Although Microsoft once intended to use UWP to improve the application experience of Windows 10 Mobile with rich desktop applications, this ambition now seems to have failed. Then, it can try to make Windows 10 Mobile not only limited to mobile phones, but also continue to expand to the laptop market and provide free SKUs to other hardware manufacturers. The development of the new system in the laptop and tablet fields may in turn promote the improvement of the mobile phone ecosystem.

Just give up

Windows 10 Mobile had a difficult 2016. Perhaps this is what many technology enthusiasts think, that Microsoft has actually given up on Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft worked so hard last year to develop future-oriented technologies, but it may have lost the opportunity to plan for the future. If Microsoft really has no intention of repositioning Windows 10 Mobile and starting over, then it is no different from giving up on it now.

But don't get me wrong, giving up Windows 10 Mobile does not mean Microsoft is giving up the smartphone market. After all, Windows 10 is a system designed with a strong touch experience in mind, so it is well adapted to mobile devices. In fact, we have also seen mobile phones running the desktop version of Windows 10.

If Microsoft really decides to give up Windows 10 Mobile, it may not be a bad thing from a long-term perspective. As mentioned above, Windows 10 Mobile is not well received by the UWP strategy, and a Surface Phone full of black technology may not be able to save it. After all, this is the era of software and services. If the mobile version of Windows 10 can come with a complete attitude like the desktop version, it will definitely be a new situation. Of course, one of the prerequisites is to wait a few more years, and it is safer to talk about this issue after the device performance continues to improve.

Another important point is that Microsoft's mobile phone users have experienced a painful transition from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8, and from Windows Phone 8 to Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft should bear the blame, because the change of the kernel makes many things unable to be inherited. On the other hand, if Microsoft had gritted its teeth and directly abandoned Windows 10 Mobile, and directly launched a more powerful, new and complete version of Windows 10 a few years later, there would be no transition.

How about coexistence?

However, there is one obvious fact, that is, mobile phones that can run full desktop-level Windows 10 will definitely not be low-end, or even mid-range.

In this way, Microsoft may also choose to let Windows 10 Mobile continue to exist and coexist with new Windows 10 phones as a mid-to-low-end option. In this way, hardware manufacturers other than Microsoft can still bring affordable and smooth Windows 10 Mobile phones, and these features of the latter are still quite attractive to many consumers in the low-end market. Although it will make flagship Windows 10 Mobile phones such as Lumia 950 meaningless, it is still a good thing in the long run.

However, there is a drawback to doing so, which is that it will further disperse Microsoft's development resources. Even with Microsoft's huge strength and size, this is a matter that will drag itself down, and it may even anger application developers who are very valuable to Microsoft, making things more complicated. Microsoft can adopt such a solution, but it can only be a temporary solution that can only last until the performance of low-end hardware is sufficient to run full Windows 10.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.