Microsoft Ends Support for 'Windows Phone' After Years of Battling to Compete With iPhone and Android

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Today, Microsoft is ending support for Windows Phone 8.1, effectively marking the end of the "Windows Phone" era.

Microsoft released Windows Phone in 2010 and, within three years, it became the world's third most popular mobile operating system. But the platform simply couldn't compete with the likes of Apple and Google and, as of earlier this year, iOS and Android accounted for a combined 99.6% market share.

Microsoft continues to sell a limited number of mostly budget smartphones running its newer Windows 10 Mobile operating system, but the platform has only received minor updates in recent months as the Redmond-based company has shifted its focus towards the "intelligent cloud and intelligent edge."

Microsoft has stopped manufacturing its own Lumia-branded smartphones and, according to The Verge, rumors suggest the company will simply maintain Windows 10 Mobile until support for the platform ends in 2018.

Ultimately, Windows Phone is another casualty of the iPhone, and later Android smartphones, which completely upended the mobile phone industry a decade ago. Just ask BlackBerry, Nokia, or Palm.

Tags: Microsoft, Windows Phone

Top Rated Comments

LoveToMacRumors

44 months ago

Who's laughing now? :D

Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)

donlab

Great OS but no apps.

Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Howl's Castle

What a clickbaity article. Windows Phone 10 still exist and they haven't ended support on it. Regardless of how many users use it.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

CEmajr

This is the reason when people ask "why should consumers care about how much a company profits from their products?", I tell them that consumers should be very concerned with profits. Companies making little to nothing on their products are far more likely to abandon those products and leave you with an unsupported device.

Google it, Windows phone is no longer going to get updates rendering it dead..

A quick Google Search reveals that Windows Phone 8.1 is not longer supported. Not Windows Phone 10/Windows Mobile 10.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Relentless Power

The Windows Phone never actually completed against the iPhone in my opinion. Take into consideration it lacked applications and proper marketing ultimately hurt it.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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