Apple’s New iPhone 8 Is a Greatly Improved Windows Phone

With no new Windows phone on the radar, other than the Surface Phone we've been expecting since forever, the only thing fans of Microsoft's mobile platform can do right now is look at how other companies, like Apple and Samsung, keep bringing new phones to the market with all kinds of more or less innovative features.

And while waiting for a hero phone and looking at what others are doing isn't quite the most exciting thing to do for a Windows phone, here's a different perspective on one of the most expected devices of the year: the iPhone 8 is a greatly improved Windows phone, as it comes with features that Microsoft developed and even pushed to mass production a long time ago.

The iPhone 8 frenzy is based on three major changes that Apple has been working on, two of which actually launched on the Lumia 950/950 XL in October 2015 (that's 21 months ago!): facial recognition and wireless charging.

While comparing the iPhone and a Lumia 950 XL might not seem fair at first given the huge differences between the operating systems and the app ecosystem, not the same thing can be said about hardware, where Microsoft managed to create a pretty solid device at a time when others were sticking with more common features.

Truth be told, Microsoft more or less abandoned these innovations, and this is why others are now turning them more widespread, mostly thanks to improvements that make them more usable and effective in a wider array of scenarios.

Facial recognition without a fingerprint scanner

Back in 2015 when Microsoft launched the Lumia 950 XL, the device was one of the first to come with infrared cameras for iris recognition, a feature that's already available on some other models on the market and likely to be embraced by Apple for the iPhone 8 as well.

At this point, it's not yet clear if the iPhone 8 would offer iris recognition, facial recognition, or both, but there's a good chance it'd rely on infrared cameras just like the Lumia 950.

Microsoft's Windows Hello was an unrefined feature at first, but it got better as the company released more updates. Windows Hello now works flawlessly on PCs, and offers pretty good performance on smartphones as well, though the company has more or less ignored mobile devices.

Microsoft, however, embraced a strategy that Apple seems to be interested in as well right now: the Redmond-based software giant offered Windows Hello without a fingerprint sensor at a time when Apple was betting big on Touch ID. Because of space constraints, it looks like Apple is now planning to give up on fingerprint scanners as well, going instead all-in on the facial recognition system as well.

Apple, however, is expected to greatly improve its facial recognition system with features that would make it work even when the phone is on a desk, and this is where the difference is being made. While Microsoft has abandoned its mobile innovation, Apple brings it to a completely new level, showing that Redmond actually missed a big chance this time.

Wireless and fast charging

Additionally, Apple is also reportedly working on adding charging features that've been around forever on Android devices and since October 2015 on Microsoft's Lumia (though wireless charging was available on Windows phones way before that).

Wireless charging and fast charging will both be added to the iPhone 8, and expect Apple to present both of them as big innovations that would certainly make a difference versus the competition.

These features were available on Microsoft's flagship Windows phones as well, only that without the proper improvements and updates, it's once again other companies making them more widespread.

Microsoft misses its chance to become big in mobile

In addition to these two main features, Apple's iPhone could also feature some other signature Windows phone features, like double tap to wake, which would allow users to wake the device by simply tapping the display twice. This is a feature that's also available on Android devices, but which debuted a long time ago on Lumia phones.

Other than that, what Apple does with the iPhone 8 is not only stay close to rival Samsung, but also show Microsoft how it's done.

Without sounding like a fanboy, it's pretty clear that Microsoft did have the ideas to become big in mobile, and "innovators" like Apple only now adopting features that were available on flagship Windows phones nearly 2 years ago is living proof.

Unfortunately, it's hard to be optimistic in the Windows phone community right now, as Microsoft itself is yet to drop any evidence of the eagerly-anticipated overhaul of the platform, and if this ever happens, there's a chance that only a few users would still be around.

Source: Apple's New iPhone 8 Is a Greatly Improved Windows Phone