Microsoft Reiterates Windows Phone Commitment, Reveals Future Plans

Microsoft announced earlier this week that an additional 1,850 jobs would be removed from its mobile business, most of them in Finland, as it moves to reorganize its mobile strategy and finalize the Nokia experiment that cost it billions of dollars.

In an email sent by Microsoft to its business partners involved in the mobile industry, the company reiterates its support for Windows 10 Mobile and also provides us with a hint as to what the future of the platform could look like, as everyone expects it to give up on Lumia devices and focus exclusively on a possible Surface Phone.

Although Microsoft doesn't specifically acknowledge a Surface Phone, it confirms that new hardware would see daylight while at the same time supporting the rest of the ecosystem should partners continues to build devices running Windows 10 Mobile.

According to WindowsCentral, Microsoft's mobile business will be focused on just some specific markets, including the following: US, UK, France, Germany, Poland, Australia, and Western Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

This means that Microsoft might be giving up on some very successful Windows Phone markets, such as India and Brazil, but this doesn't mean that Windows 10 Mobile won't be available in these countries. Partners will continue to build and sell such phones here, and this is why Microsoft is betting so big on the ecosystem.

On the other hand, the Surface Phone is expected to be a high-end model available at a hefty price, so Microsoft is trying to focus on markets where such a product could make more sense. Other manufacturers can continue making low-budget models and target countries where Microsoft won't sell its devices.

Betting big on Continuum

Microsoft will continue to invest in Continuum, a feature that converts a regular mobile phone into a portable PC with the help of Windows 10 and a larger screen. Windows 10 Mobile can adapt to different screen sizes, and Microsoft sees Continuum as a feature capable of winning not only the enterprise but also those markets where buying both a PC and a smartphone is a budget issue.

The Surface Phone will also be built around this feature, although it'll bring several other features running on powerful hardware. Universal apps will be the core of the device, and it's critical to Microsoft to make this concept successful.

Ultimately, Microsoft reiterates that Windows 10 Mobile is not by any means dead despite the recent cuts, and it calls "commercial accounts and consumers" as the main categories that could benefit from improvements in the coming months and years.

"I want to assure you that your investment in Windows phones is not at risk. The mobility of the Windows 10 experience remains core to our More Personal Computing ambition. We will continue to support and update the Lumia devices that are currently in the market, and the development of Windows 10 phones by OEMs, such as HP, Acer, Alcatel, VAIO, and Trinity; as well as develop great new devices," Microsoft says in the email

"We'll continue to adapt Windows 10 for small screens. We'll continue to invest in key areas - security, management, and Continuum capabilities - that we know are important to commercial accounts and to consumers who want greater productivity. And we'll help drive demand for Lumia devices."

If it does launches, the Surface Phone should see daylight in the spring of 2017, so Microsoft is expected to be rather quiet in terms of Windows Phone news in the coming months (except for the Anniversary Update launching in the summer, of course).

Source: Microsoft Reiterates Windows Phone Commitment, Reveals Future Plans