Microsoft is killing off Windows Phone 8.1 support today, more than three years after the company first introduced the update. The end of support
marks an end to the Windows Phone era, and the millions of devices
still running the operating system. While most have accepted that the death of Windows Phone occurred more than a year ago, AdDuplex estimates
that nearly 80 percent of all Windows-powered phones are still running
Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, or Windows Phone 8.1. All of these
handsets are now officially unsupported, and only 20 percent of all
Windows phones are running the latest Windows 10 Mobile OS.
Windows Phone 8.1 was a big update to Microsoft’s Windows
Phone 8 operating system, and included the company’s Cortana digital
assistant, a new notification center, UI changes, and updates to the
core mobile OS. It marked one of Microsoft’s biggest efforts with its
Windows Phone work, but it wasn't successful at competing with Android
and iOS. 99.6 percent of all new smartphones now run Android or iOS, and Microsoft has given up producing its own Lumia-branded hardware as a result.
While Microsoft still supports Windows 10 Mobile, it’s
not clear what that support will include in the future. Microsoft pushed
updates to Windows Phone 8 devices, but the software giant barely
included any feature updates in the recent Windows 10 Mobile Creators
Update. Microsoft is adding a number of features to the upcoming Windows
10 Fall Creators Update for PCs, but the company has not extended these
to the mobile version in testing. Some rumors suggest that Microsoft
has forked its Windows Mobile development into a “feature2” branch that
will simply maintain the operating system until support ends in 2018.
Microsoft has shied away from officially killing off its phone OS efforts, but it’s been evident over the past year that the company is no longer focusing its efforts on Windows for phones. Microsoft gutted its phone business
last year, resulting in thousands of job cuts. During Microsoft’s
recent Build and Inspire conferences, CEO Satya Nadella dropped the
company’s mantra of “mobile-first, cloud-first” in favor of a focus on
what he describes as the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. This
new area of focus means Microsoft is now working on multi-device
scenarios and cloud-powered technologies that don’t always involve
Windows. Microsoft’s new mobile strategy now appears to involve making iOS and Android devices better.
