This Is Why Windows Phone Was An $8 Billion Failure | Bill Gates Fired 10.000 people!

Microsoft Phone product had so much potential, and everything was working on their favor, but it failed horribly. The Windows Phone failed to take off despite Microsoft's billions of dollars and invaluable connections. To date, this is one of the costliest mistakes made by the company.

[HipsterBlackMetalOfficial]

I still have mine. I just kept it as an emulation gaming device. The OS is still flawless and beautiful. People complain about the apps but the 3rd party apps that did exist where even better than Googles first party apps.

[superiorgames]

I still love windows Phone. Those phone are timeless design and beautiful polished OS. Only they faild become of less app 😑

[MichaelHedegaardJensen]

I had a Lumia 640 and actually loved it.. Biggest problem was, that almost no one made apps for it... and many of the few there was, stopped working at some point

[Gameboyomen]

Windows phone UI still looks great compared to today's Android and iOS

[shanerichardson]

I still have a Lumia 930 and I loved Windows phone.
I bought a Zune when they first came out.
I was excited at the first rumors of Windows phone.
Right from the beginning though Windows refused to listen to customers.

I was a Windows insider and When we told them we wanted multicore phones like Android had, they said it wasn't necessary.
Turned out it was, and they basically had to replace the operating system from WP7 to WP8.
When we told them we wanted apps they argued with us and insisted that html5 web wrappers were the future.
Turned out they weren't because what customers want is the future, not just whatever you want them to have.

In the end Windows phone suffered from corporate arrogance and so they adjusted to the market entirely too slow.

It's a shame because it was without question the single most beautiful UI I have personally ever used.

[collinsgichuhi]

Windows Phone was mildlysuccessful in Africa. Back when I was in Uni, there were a considerable amount of people using Windows phones, especially the cheaper 500 and 600 series. They just worked. I used the Lumia 535 for about a month and it was a pleasant experience but App availability was pretty sparse. Especially when it comes to games

[NikMan]

The only problem was lack of official Google support.

[lingtondaniel]

Had it come out 5 Years earlier
We all would've been using Windows phones 🙂

[suikogarden]

I actually used a Windows phone 10 years ago. Loved it. It just didn't have the support from app developers.

[doncsicso]

Even today, no keyboard comes close to the woodpecker windows phone keyboard :( this system had so much potential, but many mistakes and greed killed it ... excellent video by the way! Earned a sub!

[panathatube]

Windows phones were ahead of their times. The live tile system was great.

[unadjusted-]

I miss my 640XL and its glance screen. Bought it when Windows Phone was on its death bed, used it until 2021.

[jazilzaim]

The Windows Phone struggled with apps mainly because Microsoft had terrible SDKs for developers compared to what Apple and Google offered. Windows Phone also was a bit heavy on devices since it was a slim down version of Windows on the desktop designed for mobile so it wasn't a smooth UX compared to iOS and Android. It was also quite bloated which is something that iOS and Android didn't have back then.

Also the sentiment against Microsoft was quite big especially among tech startups since Microsoft had been known to easily kill off startups so developers were skeptical of Microsoft's promises.

Edit: Also forgot to mention that Microsoft charged handset manufacturers for each license of the Windows Phone OS. While Android was free. This enabled handset brands to focus on Android to save costs. Android also contributed in making smartphones far more affordable while Windows Phones did become expensive and bloated a bit. It was poor execution and thinking on Microsoft's behalf.

[blacklemarlonsofficial]

I loved the Windows Phone, and if it comes again I'd go for it

[MINKIN]

I remember watching the N9 reveal showcase, it was the most beautiful phone we had seen in ages and had the new operating system that was set to take on the likes of Android and iOS. It genuingly had a huge buzz around it from all the live feed jouno's in the moment.

 As the showcase went on, Nokia was explaining the case design, screen, OS tech and then they started to drop its release data. They said it would only be released in 11 countries and started to list them off, all of which were middle east and Asian countries IN LIMITED NUMBERS.

Whilst everyone was asking wth? They then dropped the bombshell... In the next breath, in that very same event, the Microsoft goon (who had been waiting in the wings) steps forward and announced that the Windows Phone Lumia would be released to the rest of the world. And promptly walked off stage. Right there, right then, the N9 was cancelled before release.

There was a lot of angry Nokia fans that day, and a whole bunch of pissed off Nokia engineers too, as they had been working on this from the Nx00 line of devices who's department was on the chopping block.

Those of us in the west who really wanted an N9, had to go the non official route. We either had resellers who would increase the prices or find individuals who would be trusted to buy and ship them over. I got mine from Malaysia, shipped the long way round to the UK. And it was everything the reviews raved about.

[anildixit]

Widows Nokia Lumia were the best phones and it's 90% users are still waiting for them in which I am one.

[hackyman]

I wish they would bring them back, I really like the one I had

[halfey]

I wanted to love Windows Phone but couldn't find the right model in my country (Malaysia). The ones that were available either have awful specs or high end and expensive. There was not a lot of demand here so it's understandable they didn't bring in many options for the local market. At one time I tried to import Alcatel Idol 4S, one of the last WP phones, but after considering import price and after sales support, I decided not to proceed with the plan. I found myself liking the 'metro' tile interface, and even now I am using a WP launcher for my Android phone.

[ginja]

Doesn't matter what people say but i still feel Windows Mobile 10 UI and fluidity was ahead of its time...I Owned Nokia 510, 730, 535, 1320, 930 and 640XL...I still use my Lumia 640XL as a media player for my Home Theatre.
Currently world is dominated by Android and IOS. I wish to see a new OS everyday in my life...

I still doesn't know why Microsoft hadn't try to partner with Google Officially like they are doing now... Currently Microsoft has officially partnered with Google to use Android into their devices like Surface duo devices and now Chromebooks will officially support Microsoft 365 applications...

If they could have partnered with Google just to use apps like Google Search and YouTube just like on IOS devices..Windows Mobile 10 would have been great....

[QuantaSolace]

I must have been the only one who didn’t like the Live Tiles. I still think it looks cluttered compared to the app icons in iOS and Android.