Why Microsoft Should Release a New Windows Phone
It has massive potential, especially in a world of ecosystems!
Windows Phone was a platform that so many people hated and weren’t prepared to give another chance, which I find strange as it had huge potential, especially in this day and age!
Even Microsoft’s chairman and CEO; Satya Nadella acknowledged that the company made a big mistake in exiting the smartphone market and that it could have been handled better. You can read more about this here.
I tend to agree with that, I mean I seriously feel that Windows Phone was released way before its time and that if Microsoft were to release a new version of it today, they may have better success, that’s why in this article, we’ll discuss the reasons I think they may be more successful this time around.
It’s all about the ecosystem
Apple has made it clear that having apps and devices perfectly connecting and interacting with each other enhances user experience and productivity.
That’s why we see manufacturers like Google and Samsung trying to achieve the same thing. They are trying to build an ecosystem that users will enjoy.
But here’s the thing, research has found that Microsoft Windows is the most widely used computer operating system in the world, and having worked in many companies over the years, it was the only operating system that we ever used, it was loaded to the tills as well as office computers when I worked in retail!
With that sort of popularity comes huge potential. If Microsoft builds an outstanding smartphone that like the Microsoft Store, allows 3rd party App Stores that enable Android app support, we will solve the issue of app support!
On top of that, if Microsoft fine-tuned Windows 11 and Windows Phone to work well together, we could have the start of a brilliant ecosystem that will be loved by people in various use cases such as gaming, businesses, and even general use.
I also believe that bringing back the tiles to the Windows 11 Start menu will seriously improve it, as I seriously think it’s underutilised in its current form. As someone who’s had various Windows Phones in the past, I think that the tile interface worked really well!
Many organisations use Microsoft 365
Where I really think Windows Phone will be useful is in the business world. I already mentioned that Microsoft Windows is the most used computer operating system in the world and that every company I worked for used Microsoft Windows.
With that in mind, I haven’t come across many organisations that don’t use Microsoft 365 or Microsoft products of some variation for managing emails, and calendars or for conducting office tasks such as writing reports, creating presentations, and working on spreadsheets.
Many companies also use Microsoft Teams as their main form of communication and while I’m not a huge fan of Microsoft Teams, I understand its potential for collaborating with colleagues and working with clients.
Having a platform like that built into Windows Phone as well as Outlook and all the other business apps such as InTune Company Portal and the rest of the Microsoft 365 apps can have serious advantages in the workplace.
If we combine that with a well-built ecosystem that plays nice with Windows Phone and the desktop operating system it may seriously give Apple and Google something to worry about. Especially if we take Microsoft’s approach to enhancing productivity into consideration.
Final Thoughts
As a whole, I think that Microsoft has huge potential in building an ecosystem in this day and age. I seriously think that Windows Phone was released way before its time, especially as we now live in a world where we want our tech to work smoothly together in a so-called “ecosystem”.
The truth of the matter is, that Microsoft perfected this pretty well with the app store being compatible on both desktop and mobile.
On top of that, Microsoft Windows has gone a long way since the days of the Windows Phone especially with support for Android apps through the Amazon App Store.
Speaking about Android, I fully understand that it’s one of the biggest smartphone operating systems in existence. But I feel that we need something new that will revolutionise smartphones once again.
I mean it’s been a while since we last seen something new in smartphone technology, especially when it comes to operating systems. With Microsoft concentrating on AI, we can potentially see something really cool being released.
But it’s worth bearing in mind that if Microsoft were to reintroduce Windows Phone, they would find it difficult to compete with iOS and Android. but I think it’s something that is needed as Microsoft hasn’t exactly impressed the world with Windows 11, at least from what I read.
Question Time: Do you think Windows Phone has potential if a new version was released today? Let us know in the comments!
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Originally published at https://techwithdom.com on November 13, 2023.
