Microsoft’s Windows Phone devices, at one point of time, were being looked on as ‘the third alternative’ in a market dominated by Android and iOS. However, with time, the project looked doomed, and has since been falling in a downward spiral. Today, Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows Phone 8.1 OS. This OS was introduced on the 15th of July, 2014, and has finally met its end of support date today.
The end of Windows Phone 8.1 effectively marks the end of Windows Phone devices. While there’s still the Windows 10 Mobile OS, it runs only on 20% of all Windows Phone devices. A total of all Windows Phone devices is somewhere around 1% of the total markets. With Windows 10 Mobile having been around for a while now, Microsoft will be ending support for this OS in November 2018, effectively marking the end of all Windows mobile devices and taking them out of the markets forever.
Microsoft has stopped creating Lumia phones as well as Windows Phone 8.1 devices, and it looks like all the hype around a Surface Phone ever coming out too, has died down. There have been teases occasionally, but Microsoft is unlikely to ever go back that road again. A quick look at Microsoft’s Windows Phone division tells us that Steve Ballmer was the one who was really optimistic about having Windows Phone devices as a third alternative.
However, it was all a downward spiral since then. Be it the acquisition of Nokia, the arrival of Windows 10 Mobile OS, or the sale of the Nokia brand to HMD Global. Microsoft has bled out Billions in the process. It is really surprising that Windows Phone, despite having the complete arsenal, including a fully functioning virtual assistant Cortana, didn’t really do well.
For most users, Windows Phone was just a blip on the radar. However, there were many who continue to upgrade and use Windows Phone devices till this day. For that very small majority of people, today marks the end of an era. Goodye, Windows Phone 8.1
