opinion I've given up on Windows Phone - Tom Warren

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

I've given up on Windows Phone

It's clear Microsoft's mobile OS is being left behind

 

I have a confession: I'm the proud owner of an iPhone 6. In fact, it's now my full-time device. After using Windows Phone on and off since its introduction in 2010, I've grown frustrated enough to give up and switch back to iOS fully.

 

I'm the resident Microsoft expert here at The Verge, and for years I've switched between Android, iOS, and Windows Phone to check out new apps and how each platform is progressing, but it's now clear Windows Phone is being left behind. I'm not alone: Ed Bott, a fellow technology writer, has also given up on Windows Phone, and Microsoft has left its loyal customers frustrated by focusing on iOS and Android. Microsoft may have made some significant changes to Windows Phone this year with the 8.1 update, but like the many previous versions and updates I'm still left waiting for more. I'm through waiting.

 

Microsoft is behind in mobile in a big way thanks to the rise of apps. While Windows Phone fans will argue that the platform now has more than 500,000 apps, most of the top iOS and Android apps have Windows Phone equivalents that are severely lacking. Take Instagram for example; it arrived on Windows Phone more than a year ago without video recording support and still it's not updated with this basic feature. It's simply unacceptable on a platform that prides itself on photography and the great Lumia cameras. The irony here is that when Microsoft joined Instagram last month, the company's first post was a video.

 

I've always been slightly frustrated at the lack of Windows Phone apps, but as the gaps have been gradually filled, a new frustration has emerged: dead apps. Developers might be creating more and more Windows Phone apps, but the top ones are often left untouched with few updates or new features. That's a big problem for apps like Twitter that are regularly updated on iOS and Android with features that never make it to Windows Phone. My frustration boiled over during the World Cup this year, as Twitter lit up with people talking about the matches. I felt left out using the official Windows Phone Twitter app because it didn't have a special World Cup section that curated great and entertaining tweets, or country flags for hashtags.

 

That same sense of missing out extends elsewhere with Windows Phone. I rely on apps like Dark Sky on iPhone to give me a weather warning when it's about to rain, or Slack and Trello to communicate with colleagues at The Verge. All three aren't available on Windows Phone, and Dark Sky is particularly useful when you're at a bar and it pings you a notification to let you know it's going to rain in your location for the next 30 minutes. It lets you decide whether to grab another beer (tip: always grab another beer) or risk getting wet. It's an essential app to me personally, and it's a good example of how apps are changing the world.

 

Windows Phone also lacks Citymapper, which I use in London to navigate public transport. It has literally changed the way I commute, travel to meet friends, and get to work events. Without it I might not take a bus that gets me to a meeting on time, or be able to easily weigh the various transport options. Snapchat and Tinder are also missing, and while I don't use either regularly, they're both altering the way we communicate and socialize.

 

hird-party alternatives often fill the void of missing official apps, but they run the risk of breaking randomly or not supporting official new features quickly enough. Rudy Hyun is one of the most prolific Windows Phone developers that focuses on these unofficial third-party apps. Microsoft recently profiled and highlighted Hyun as a "passionate" and successful Windows Phone developer, but his success just further highlights the app gap problem. Instead of attracting great indie game developers, unique apps, or photo editing software like VSCO Cam to compliment Lumia cameras, one of the top Windows Phone developers is simply mimicking official apps that aren't available on the platform. Without these killer apps, Windows Phone will continue to struggle. Even Microsoft's own apps are now available on iOS and Android, and they're often better than the Windows Phone equivalents ? yet another reason to switch.

 

Aside from apps, I've always felt frustrated at the lack of a good Windows Phone flagship device. The Lumia 930 is too bulky and heavy, the HTC One M8 lacks a good camera, and the Lumia 1520 is simply too big for my personal use. In many ways the iPhone 6 is what I would like in a high-end Windows Phone: thin, lightweight, good camera, and well-built (just don't bend it). Microsoft is focusing on low-cost devices at the expense of a flagship Windows Phone, and the canceled "McLaren" device is further evidence of that.

 

Despite these obvious drawbacks, I still love Windows Phone. New additions might come slowly, but it's clear that Microsoft has been careful to ensure that new features are added thoughtfully. Windows Phone has been engineered to ensure it runs well across a variety of hardware, something that Android traditionally struggled with until recently. There's a lot to love about Windows Phone straight out of the box, and for many, that will be enough. But apps are changing the world, and it only takes one to be unavailable to ruin the experience.

 

Can Windows 10 help?

 

I may have switched back to the iPhone personally, but if Microsoft can get me quality apps that I care about on a true flagship Windows Phone then I'd happily switch back. Android apps on Windows Phone might be the answer, but that could just be BlackBerry all over again. Let's see what Windows 10 can do in January.

Source: The Verge

[Ironman273]

Apps are something that never bothered me since I was never an app heavy user (the basics are fine with me) but the lack of a good new flagship over the past year has tried my patience.

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

I dont have a problem with apps on my phone the biggest problem is that Verizon doesnt care about Windows Phone so they are holding up the updates for the phones. 

[ATLien_0]

This will probably turn into another I told you so Windows Phone thread. The biggest thing, Microsoft or at least Joe B seems perfectly aware of the issue plaguing WP at the moment but it never seems to follow through in actually fixing the issues. The developer issue has been the biggest issue from the get go. 

[+LogicalApex MVC]

This will probably turn into another I told you so Windows Phone thread. The biggest thing, Microsoft or at least Joe B seems perfectly aware of the issue plaguing WP at the moment but it never seems to follow through in actually fixing the issues. The developer issue has been the biggest issue from the get go. 

It doesn't help that they have done things that don't really get developers excited about the platform. People still disagree, but I feel that the WP7 to WP8 split really harmed the WP ecosystem. It broke a lot of the promises MS made to the developers and users regarding fragmentation. They spent a lot i the WP8 era courting big name developers to port over major apps, but the problem is they needed to convince smaller upstarts to bring their new big apps to WP first. They failed here and you can't hope to gain a foothold when you're begging the companies to include you after they have done the iOS then Android circuit and are looking for a platform to dump on last (where they can get their development efforts paid for).

 

Microsoft really needs to follow through and they also need to get developers excited and keep them excited.

[FunkyMike]

Yer this whole "integration" of the "cores/code base" has really hampered down on everything related to Windows Phone... in typical MS fashion.

Took them a while to go from WP7 to WP8 then the "big update" to 8.1 which wasn't as big as it could have been. Then the integration of Nokia which also took a hit on time.

I hope they will pick up pace with WP9/10 but something tells me this won't happen since the release of Windows 10 has been pushed back.

Wouldn't be surprised if they waited until the Windows 10 release to bring out the big new phones.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

Yeah...   Ever since they announced Windows Phone 7, I was excited about it..

Now, after trying many phones, the excitement is totally lost. Win 8 and 8.1 phones were ok, but they were still annoying me with little things.

 

It will take a huge change to the little things that matter, and a nice new flagship, to even make me interested in TRYING windows phone again.

[MDboyz]

I don't even bother to read when I saw it was from The Verge !!!

[Descartes]

I don't even bother to read when I saw it was from The Verge !!!

 

Tom Warren is ex-Neowin

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

I don't even bother to read when I saw it was from The Verge !!!

 

 

i liked a lot of theverge stuff, but i also though a lot of the articles are pretty heavily biased one way or another.   much less neutral then here.

so i guess they are hating on Windows Phone because they like Apple? and that is why you did not read?

 

i mean, i would still read the article on topic that interest me. this article seen to have a point.

 

 

or are you just not comfortable with the fact Win Phone is not what it should have being?

[Rippleman]

I have a nokia Lumina 920 but don't use it. Reason: I am a heavy Facebook messenger user and the app DOES NOT have calling feature.

[Guest]

I've also given up on The Verge, got really tired of hit-bait articles, but anyways, I am perfectly satisfied with my 920. Everything that I want and need on an embedded device, I can do.

 

I wouldn't give a bleep about smartphones until they port a whole OS to it and I am able to do exactly what I do on my Surface Pro and my laptop.

[nMIK-3]

Toms article is great and describes many realities of the platform.

The OS is growing is getting more mature, Windows 10 for phones is once again very promising, but the App problem still exist, the lack of high-end Lumia is nothing less than an internal fiasco (and a big one) and the Carrier Specific devices with Carrier controlled software updates is a huge pure nightmare.

[Rippleman]

I dont have a problem with apps on my phone the biggest problem is that Verizon doesnt care about Windows Phone so they are holding up the updates for the phones. 

 

i was under the impression that Nokia pushes updates directly bypassing the carrier like apple. It doesn't work this way with other windows phone makers? i had a Samsung Ativ S that still doesn't have 8.1

[Praetor]

I think Microsoft needs Ballmer to be the head of the Windows Phone division, at least he knew what they need it...

[Wyn6]

I think those of us who don't have an app-centric focus are outliers in the smartphone consumer bubble. I couldn't care less about Candy Crush or Trello (whatever that is), or any other "big" app. The apps I have, serve my purpose. There's nothing I can't do on my phone I want to do.

 

Sadly, we don't live in a world in which people are satisfied with the mere necessities. Heh. Smartphone. Necessity. Anyway, people want to keep up with the Joneses. They wanna be in the loop with the others. It's human nature to want to be included. And, that's where we are with a lot of apps. Sure, they're cool and all and have some neat function. But, many times it's not about the function of the app, but how many people you know are using it.

 

People don't wanna be the victim of the, "No, I can't get that app on my phone," thing. It makes them feel inadequate, left out, etc. Is this a microcosm for study in human insecurities? Probably, but that's another discussion entirely.

[nosense]

Tom who and why would I care if he uses wp\android\Ios?

[Studio384]

Yer this whole "integration" of the "cores/code base" has really hampered down on everything related to Windows Phone... in typical MS fashion.

Took them a while to go from WP7 to WP8 then the "big update" to 8.1 which wasn't as big as it could have been. Then the integration of Nokia which also took a hit on time.

I hope they will pick up pace with WP9/10 but something tells me this won't happen since the release of Windows 10 has been pushed back.

Wouldn't be surprised if they waited until the Windows 10 release to bring out the big new phones.

Windows 10 hasn't been pushed back. That it would arrive in April 2015 was a rumor, proven to be wrong.

[FunkyMike]

Pushed back or not.

My calendar indicates that "Early next Fall 2015" is quite a bit into the future.

[Avi Patel]

lol...verge.

always with their bait-and-click stuff.

Personally, I'm still loving my lumia 920.  Still works flawlessly, has constant updates, have me some awesome games like age of empire and candy crush/frozen to play with, and I've got pretty much all the apps that I want. 

[techbeck]

Some people just dont get what an opinion piece is.  Hes not claiming fact here, just expressing his opinion on the platform.  Take it for what it is.

[Knife Party]

Honestly, Tom Warren is just confirming the problem since the get go with the WP platform. MS is messing up big time with apps and attracting developers, yet waste so much time releasing rebranded MSN apps is almost a joke. they need to get their act together, because it seems a lot of developers and companies are outright giving them the finger and avoiding them. Google are also one of the biggest influences. Let's face it, consumers can pick up when Google hates the platform and that sends a mega wrong message, and they only have themselves to blame. So keep up the Scroogled ads and watch android destroy your marketshare..

[tsupersonic]

I've always rooted for WP, and the platform has so much potential but it's just missing way too many features that Android and iOS provide. I express a general frustration at the state of WP.

[TechJunkie81]

Tom Warren gave up on WP when he went to The Verge.  He's only finally admitting it.  No big loss.

[Tidosho]

That's the main gripes I have with Windows Phone. Not enough official apps, and poor quality third party ones. The OS itself is snappier than iOS and Android, although I feel a heavily stripped down and startup-app controlled ROM for Android is just as fast.