Microsoft to end support for Windows 10 Mobile in December

The time has come to say goodbye to your Windows 10 Mobile device. Microsoft has stopped developing new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile back in 2017. Now, the company is ready to end support for security and software updates. Starting December 10, 2019, Microsoft will no longer issue these updates. The company is recommending its users to switch to Android or iOS. After it pulls support in December though, device backups for settings and some apps will continue to run for three more months until March 10, 2020. Microsoft also notes “some services including photo uploads and restoring a device from an existing device backup may continue to work for up to another 12 months from end of support.”

Source: The Verge

Microsoft exec confirms there won’t be a Windows Phone coming out any time soon

Microsoft has acknowledged that it wasn’t getting anywhere with its Windows Phone platform and has decided to stop actively developing anything for it. Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Windows, confirmed the news on Twitter. And like Bill Gates, he’s using an Android device, too. Microsoft tried to match up to the likes of Android and iOS but couldn’t lure app developers to work on its platform, leaving its ecosystem with hardly any apps that users would want to use. Aside from that, Microsoft couldn’t get third-party phone manufacturers to develop hardware for them, too.

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Only a few Windows-powered phones will be getting the Creators Update

While almost all Windows 10 PCs can download the Creators Update, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Windows 10 Mobile. Just like what has happened before when Microsoft dropped a lot of Windows Phone 7 from the switch to Windows Phone 8 and even from Windows Phone 8 to 10. A handful of Windows 10 Mobile devices will also only be getting the Creators Update. These include Lumia 550 and above, Alcatel Idol 4S, HP Elite X3, and VAIO Phone Biz, among a few others.  

The reason is Microsoft wants to set performance expectations for the update. According to Microsoft’s Dona Sarka, there have been complaints about Windows not offering the “best possible experience” on older devices, which means your older device might not be able to handle the Creators Update and not offer you the experience you expect it can provide for you. 

Source: Engadget 

Microsoft officially brings desktop apps to Windows 10 phones

It’s been a long time coming but it looks like it’s finally the start of having a truly unified Windows platform. Microsoft just announced at its WinHEC event in Shenzen that desktop apps are coming to ARM processors—and that means almost all kinds of mobile devices—through its partnership with Qualcomm. These apps aren’t just the touch-friendly Windows Universal Apps. These are the full-fledged versions, meaning you can get access to Office and even Photoshop CC on a Windows phone—and developers don’t even have to do anything.

Microsoft and Qualcomm will be using an emulation process for this but a video shared by The Next Web shows how the system is able to run smoothly on an almost year-old Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM. We don’t expect Microsoft to drop its Universal Windows Platform, especially since these versions are more power efficient, touch-friendly, and scalable than the x86 software. But it will entice people to use Windows 10 phones more and in turn that just might bring more options into the market.