Former Microsoft executive reveals more details about the end of Windows Phone

A former Microsoft executive revealed more details about the cause of Windows Phone’s death: indifference of telephone operators. The company failed to attract the attention of sellers in the United States and some European countries.

“We were fighting hard to get carriers to promote our phones to resellers. You can’t win if you have devices that are a generation behind Samsung, LG, etc. That was the main reason we had to buy,” said Brandon Watson, former head of Windows Phone Developer Experience on X ( formerly known as Twitter) said “Nokia” on his profile.

We were fighting hard to get carriers to highlight our phones with their salespeople. Samsung, LG, etc. You can’t win if you get a generation behind branded phones. This was the main reason why we bought Nokia. Even with that, you get…

— Brandon Watson (@BrandonWatson) 24 October 2023

However, even Nokia’s fame was not enough to make room for Microsoft. “It was nearly impossible to extract sellers from the iOS movement for sales in stores,” the executive said.

“They focused on us for a week or two during launch [de novos celulares]”We were then pushed to the corner of the store,” he added.

According to Watson, one of the reasons why this happens is It was the weakness of the Windows Phone app store. Sellers have often used this excuse to distract attention from the Lumia series, as alternative systems offer better experiences.

“We had a few of the best practices, but if you didn’t have a key app that the top 50 salespeople used, that ripple effect was inevitable,” Watson explained.

The end of Windows Phone

Windows Phone went through a long period of scrapping before it was officially discontinued. Windows Phone 8.1 stopped receiving updates in July 2017. Its successor, Windows 10 Mobile, was discontinued two years later in December 2019.

Leaving Windows Phone behind was not an easy decision for Microsoft. Recently, MS CEO Satya Nadella He admitted that abandoning the brand was a mistake and that there were better ways to deal with discord in the segment.

Currently Microsoft is present in the mobile market but in a different way. The company sells laptops like the Surface Duo (running Android) and is investing in everyday apps like Microsoft Edge and Link your Cell Phone.

Even Microsoft founder Bill Gates admits that his biggest mistake was losing ground to Android. “The biggest mistake of all time was the mismanagement I was under,” the millionaire said in 2019.

Windows Phone, despite its flaws, was a favorite of Brazilians for a long time. A survey published in 2016 found that Microsoft’s mobile system was more popular than iOS.