Those dual-screened experiences Panay describes are just as reliant on the software working well as they are on the two screens existing side by side. And that’s where Android comes in. At some point Microsoft determined that if you can’t beat them, you need to join them and try your darnedest to differentiate. It will attempt to make Microsoft apps the best Microsoft apps you can get on an Android device.
When I ask him if he ever considered reviving a Windows mobile OS, Panay says no. Twice. And he says it firmly. “At the end of the day, where the applications sit today, the opportunity that people have already leaned into, that developers have already taken advantage of—it’s right there. And there’s a reality to that. To ignore that would be silly.”
Of course they never considered using Windows for a mobile phone. That ship has sailed, crashed, and sunk, and the market just isn’t open to any new entrants, as the lack of response to this change.org petition illustrates.
For me there is some irony in this revelation, not that it matters but I had always thought the tiled interface of Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Phone were a superior interface for this type of mobile device, dual screen device. If I let go of prejudice I found them functionally far superior to iOS or Android. The more traditional interfaces simply persist because people are people that resist change and embrace familiarity, you can give a device a shiny new coat like a dark theme, curved screen or haptic feedback, but change the way the end user has to function and you are dead in the water, I think that is why Android and iOS persist, because to the end user they are really just mangled representation of legacy desktops and as such remain largely familiar. I think the chaos that exists in the space between tablets and phones for both Apple and Samsung displays this state of affairs nicely. The old way is the right way, at least in perception.
But alas however the OS appears and functions to the end user, it will make little difference if there are zero developers and apps.
btw., As popularly reported I don’t see that these new devices are trying to bridge some ethereal gap between phone and desktop, as I’m sure the marketing intent will that you own all three, one is not obsoleting the other!
It funny that they say the market is not open to new entries. Librem 5 and Pinephone are attempting just that.
And they will probably be in the thousands of orders as opposed to the hundreds of millions samsung and apple ship.
Although their goal is an honourable one, I think they are doomed to fail. The people who Might make the leap and try it are the kind of people who frequent this site.. but many of us have already been burned.. ubuntu phone, firefox, webos, bb10 and ofc windows phone
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Like the thousands of smaller Linux distros out there, those phones will string by on the kindness and interests of a few people alone, even if the product never becomes competitive. No sane investor believes they will become a success, and the first thing most people who get those phones will do is install Google Play.
I wonder not only how well this is going to work but, as is the question in Android land all too often, will it get Android security updates on time?
At one level Microsoft have missed a huge opportunity to create a corporate phone, loved by admins, security folks and PR offices everywhere. Also the handset is the always on interface to the user and is where a bunch of future battles (actual battles in Hong Kong etc.) will play out. It’s not good this is being left to Google and Apple who will be obsessed with driving content and harvesting / hostaging (iTunes) our data. vs driving our productivity, i.e. the stated goal of Microsoft. Not to mention a hand held XBox or self contained VR kit, all running on a mobile-first non-exploitative OS that you just pay for.. I still remember the pain of having to return my Kin One because Microsoft had hobbled it in fear of being different. Recently they have started to be different but this phone move is a half step backwards again.
Microsoft had this with Windows CE phones before iphones, they were still destroyed by Android and iphone because they ignored them for too long. If businesses and security users could keep smartphones alive, Blackberry would still make phones.
I always thought they could have added a real android compatibility layer on top of windows mobile (or maybe windows phone…) with sideloading support and anyone who wanted Google services could pay a one time fee (whatever google charges handset manufactures…30-40 bucks?). It would not be wildly popular as people are used to getting that “free” (bundled into the cost of the handset), but i would have definitely considered paying a google tax to have more choice in handsets and OSes.