Windows Phone
By MacRumors Staff
Windows Phone Articles
Bill Gates Regrets Microsoft Losing to Android as Dominant Platform Beyond iPhone
At a recent event hosted by venture capital firm Village Global, highlighted by TechCrunch, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates lamented on losing to Android, calling it "one of the greatest mistakes of all time." Skip to the 11:40 mark: Transcript:In the software world, it's very predictable for platforms. These are winner-take-all markets. The greatest mistake ever is whatever mismanagement ...
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iPhone and Android Duopoly Nears Peak With Estimated 99.9% Market Share Last Year
A record 99.9 percent of smartphones sold worldwide last year were based on either Android or iOS, as all competing platforms have effectively been squeezed out, according to data shared today by research firm Gartner. Android remains more widely adopted than iOS by a significant margin, with a roughly 86-14 percent split between the respective operating systems last year. Android's...
NYPD Rolls Out iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Handsets to Manhattan Officers, Replacing Windows Phones
The New York Police Department is making good on a promise made last year to dole out iPhone handsets to its officers, replacing around 36,000 Windows Phones as part of a new hardware upgrade strategy, reports the New York Daily News. The NYPD has been rolling out hundreds of the phones since Christmas to Manhattan cops, who can choose between iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. The platform...
Microsoft Admits Windows Phone is Basically Dead
Microsoft has publicly admitted for the first time that its Windows Phone is dead. In a series of tweets, Windows 10 chief Joe Belfiore said that the company is no longer developing new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile, with only bug fixes and security updates to come for existing users. Belfiore explained that his team had tried "very hard" to incentivize app developers by paying...
NYPD Defends Choosing Windows Phones, Confirms Plans to Switch to iPhones
The New York Police Department has confirmed it will begin transitioning to iPhones for its 36,000 police officers in the fall, less than one year after completing a rollout of Windows Phones to its police force. Image: ABC7 Eyewitness News - WABC-TV New York Jessica Tisch, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Information Technology, said "improvements in Apple controls" will enable the...
NYPD Expected to Replace 35,000+ Windows Phones With iPhones Starting This Year
Less than a year after completing a rollout of Windows Phones to its entire police force, New York City Police Department officials plan to begin replacing them with iPhones by the end of the year, according to the New York Post. Image: NYPD via YouTube The report didn't specify whether the NYPD will opt to use one of Apple's latest iPhone models, or an older model like the iPhone 6. Apple is ...
Microsoft Ends Support for 'Windows Phone' After Years of Battling to Compete With iPhone and Android
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...
Microsoft CEO Stokes Surface Phone Rumors With 'Ultimate Mobile Device' Comments
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stoked speculation this week that Redmond is prepping a new line of smartphones under the Surface brand for launch in early 2017. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review published on Monday, Nadella said the company was conducting innovative research that would ensure it continued to have a presence in the smartphone market. However, rather than...
PayPal to Discontinue Apps for Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Kindle
PayPal recently announced that it plans to pull support for its apps on the Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Amazon Kindle Fire mobile platforms, as the company doubles down on its new and updated apps for iOS and Android (via CNET). Users on the three operating systems in question have until June 30 to access the PayPal app. In the blog post announcing the impending sunset of PayPal's app on...
Microsoft Lays Off Nokia Employees, Exits Consumer Phone Business
Microsoft has laid off hundreds of employees tied to its smartphone business, as the company finally exits the consumer phone market and attempts to streamline its worldwide mobile division (via The Verge). The move will impact up to 1,850 jobs worldwide, said Microsoft's head of Windows and devices Terry Myerson, while up to 1,350 of the positions will be in Finland. The cuts are expected to...
Kantar: iOS Adoption Rises in China as Android Grows in U.S. and Europe
Kantar Worldpanel has released new smartphone operating system market share data for the third calendar quarter of 2015, providing a regional breakdown of Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and other mobile platform adoption in the U.S., Europe, China, Japan and elsewhere during the three-month period ending October. In the U.S. market, Android led the third quarter with 62.8% market...
iOS Continues to Lead Enterprise Despite Decline in Tablet Market
iOS remained the top platform for smartphone activations in the second quarter, despite its overall market share falling from 70% to 64%, according to Good Technology's twelfth quarterly Q2 Mobility Index Report. Android trailed behind with 32% market share during the quarter, up from 26% last quarter, while Windows rose to 3% market share to finish a distant third place. iOS retains the top ...
Android Switchers Drive iOS Adoption in Europe During First Quarter
Kantar Worldpanel has released new smartphone operating system market share data for the first quarter of 2015, providing a regional breakdown of Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and other mobile platform adoption in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico during the three-month period ending March....
Apple's Smartphone Trade-In Program Launches in United States, Canada and Europe
Apple has expanded its Reuse and Recycling Program in the United States, Canada and several European countries to cover eligible Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone smartphones. The new trade-in program is available online and in-store and provides customers with the option to mail in eligible non-Apple smartphones, including certain Samsung, HTC, LG, Nokia, Sony and BlackBerry models, for...