I totally agree with you. Windows Phone was amazing and ahead of its time. The major reason it failed was because of Lack of App support. However I believe at that time technology was not advance enough to support translation of apps from android and ios to windows phone. Something similiar like apple rosseta could be created now for a Microsft Phone with microsft os. I really wish Microsoft gets back into the Phone game again with their whole heart and not something like surface duo. It would create the perfect technology ecosystem specially for professionals and business users. Imagine how powerful the ecosystem would be wuth vertical integration of windows, microsoft phone, microsft 365 and business applications like dynamics 365, power platform, azure. Add some headphones, earphones etc and microsoft will be able to create the most complete technology ecosystem. Possibilities will be endless.
Bring Back Windows Phone
Before you dismiss this as another useless suggestion, I would like you to read this and think about it. I, like many others, enjoyed using windows phone and would love to see it come back however there undoubtedly were flaws, this suggestion addresses them and suggests ways to economically bring back windows phone
I will start by saying that although windows phone development is dead, the community most certainly is not. a simple TikTok search will reveal that many people still use windows phone devices because they are simply so nice to use. many key aspects of windows phone, like tiles, horizontal swiping, system-wide dark mode, and themes keep people coming back because it looks so nice and it is very easy to use. people liked windows phone as they bought key information together, like in the social center and the People app from the waterdrop sounds when unlocking your phone, or the charging sound, everything about windows phone was so well thought out that people loved it. and keep coming back to it even years later after it was discontinued. if windows phone were to come back, I'm sure people would switch back.
Now its time to address the elephant in the room, app support:
the main factor in WPs demise was the lack of app support; users couldn't download their favorite apps, and developers didn't want to make them, causing a cycle that was bound for failure. there is one solution for this, bring windows phones to android. now I am well aware this is no easy feat, the windows phone kernel and software were built entirely around its hardware and existing windows software. to try to switch windows phone to android would take days of coding but I do believe there really is a market for windows phone and with the right approach, this could really be a success.
Should windows phone return, here are some things that should remain as they were beforehand:
The start screen - one of the main reasons people loved windows phone was the metro UI start screen. it looked beautiful and most people really enjoyed using it, the app launch animations were lovely, and coming back to it every time was a pleasure, although it should be reworked to allow for android gestures.
system design theme - a lot of the system was built on horizontal swiping, which made windows phones remarkably easy to use with one hand, and changing across screens was easy and sleek, not to mention that the dark mode just made everything look so much more beautiful.
sounds - almost every windows phone sound was great to hear, if you moved to android and didn't keep those sounds it would be a mistake.
animations and optimization - what makes windows phone so usable to this day is the optimized system and UI. animations were snappy and beautiful to look at especially launching into Microsoft apps.
keyboard - I hate to say it but the swift key keyboard sucks, most people would rather opt for Samsung's or google's variant to swiftkey, however, the WP keyboard sounded lovely, used swipe typing ahead of its time, and looked great
some aspects of the system should change, like the notification center, which was quite bulky and looked quite harsh, but for its time Windows Phone got a lot of things right, especially compared to IOS and Android which were lacking behind. unfortunately, the one problem with the devices killed them off so there is no hope of having its own platform now.
moving to android would have a lot of benefits for windows phone, like being able to use Microsofts apps on the play store or tying in with other Google services like youtube, not to mention that all android features would automatically be added and accounted for in the windows UI.
To finish off I'm going to say that moving windows phone to android won't only be great for the consumer, but it will also be great for Microsoft, who can start to look at the mobile market again. with the right moves, I am sure that Microsoft will succeed on the Android platform and that this will benefit everyone. i look forward to reading your opinions on this topic and i am sure that atleast someone will agree with me
Windows for home | Other | Apps
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
147 answers
Sort by: Newest
-
Anonymous
2024-05-27T10:02:19+00:00 -
Anonymous
2024-05-25T17:36:20+00:00 It would be cool if somehow Windows Phone migrated to Android without losing support for Appx and XAPs
-
Anonymous
2024-05-14T21:41:22+00:00 Didn’t you know that Apple paid them off to end windows phones.
-
Anonymous
2024-05-12T23:14:11+00:00 Microsoft has quite a few apps on the PC that can work on phones provided that Microsoft bring out an updated UWP platform where developers such as Meta can update the apps to make them able to run on PC and mobile. One app for both devices. APK apps have a problem. Google has tied folks down where that is concerned. APK apps CANNOT WORK WITHOUT Google Play Services (which Google WON'T release unless manufacturers PUT Android on their devices). Microsoft tried with APK apps from Amazon but those do not get the kind of attention the way the ones in the Google Play Store do. That is why the Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11 failed. Microsoft tried with the WRONG Store. Google was not getting involved so it was a done deal. You cannot even search for Amazon apps on the Microsoft Store anymore. It's dead. Microsoft needs to quit the shenanigans, release a new UWP platform for the PC apps to be repackaged to fit smaller screens such as mobile ones, boost the AI thingy, and get developers on board to make apps and FORGET about Google apps. It may sound dumb, but Huawei is doing it for Harmony OS. True, they are going that way because they are FORCED to do so as a result of the BAN on using Google services. But I can see that Huawei's Harmony OS will be a big hit WITHOUT having ANYTHING to do with Google.
-
Anonymous
2024-05-12T20:24:38+00:00 please bring back windows mobile/phone of course after you managed to run apks on the platform and you must make an windows installer for android .
Then We will see the true power of microsoft.