Microsoft tells Windows phone users to get an iPhone

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windows phone
Goodbye, Windows Phone.
Photo: Ste Smith/CultofMac

Microsoft’s mobile operating system, Windows Phone, is officially dead.

After failing to compete with iOS and Android, Microsoft is now advising users of Windows Phone to go out and buy an iPhone before the end of the year.

Starting on December 10, 2019, Microsoft will no longer send out free non-security hotfixes, free assisted support options and security updates to Windows Phone devices. There are only a few models that will even be supported to that date.

The death of Windows Phone

“With the Windows 10 Mobile OS end of support, we recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device,” Microsoft said on its support site. “Microsoft’s mission statement to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, compels us to support our Mobile apps on those platforms and devices.”

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer famously laughed at the iPhone during a news interview shortly after it was unveiled in 2007 saying it had “no chance” of gaining market share. He also downplayed Android too, calling it “wild and uncontrolled.”

Since then, Apple and Google absolutely dominated the mobile operating systems market. Microsoft’s numerous efforts to dethrone Apple never caught on. It eventually acquired Nokia as a last-ditch effort to control its hardware and software. The company’s handsets never sold well though, due largely to the fact that there were limited numbers of apps available on Windows Phone.

 

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