Microsoft has always treated its Windows Surface Phone with many surprises, but now news has surfaced that points to rumors that the company itself is now planning to eliminate some devices with the official retirement of the Lumia lineup.
We recently reported news about the HP Elite X3, and users say it’s the best Windows phone to date, and not even a Lumia can match its performance. It’s kind of ironic that the number one Windows phone is not manufactured by Microsoft, but Redmond itself said on several occasions that it plans to work with partners on building “great devices.”
But despite the HP Elite X3 being a hardware monster, the software side of the device is simply dragging it down, and I’m saying this as a big fan of Windows phones. It’s nearly impossible to come from Android or iOS and be happy with Windows phones (although I’ve personally seen people doing this, but you can count them on the fingers of one hand), and there are three main reasons for this.
Spoiler alert: Windows phone fans aren’t going to like this, but as always, head to the comment section if you think I’m wrong. I’m preparing my argument bag as we speak, so let’s have a conversation.
News of Buggy operating system
Windows 10 Mobile phone has improved a lot since the first preview builds were released a long time ago, but after using it for so long on the Lumia 950 XL and then on the HP Elite X3, it’s more than obvious that it still has a long way to go before it becomes a strong rival to Android and iOS.
Bugs are still there, and it goes without saying that these easily ruin the experience with a powerful phone like the HP Elite X3. The “Resuming” bug is still there, and so are crashes that occur every once in a while when using various apps.
I have been using Windows 10 Mobile for 2 years now and I have been very satisfied with its performance and capabilities. Aside from the infamous lack of 3rd party apps (that I don’t use) what shortcomings have you experienced with Windows 10 Mobile compared to the iOS and Android experience?
One of the things I like most about Windows 10 Mobile is that it serves me well as an at-a-glance notepad. I put all kinds of notes on the tiles and don’t have to open apps to read them. I also use it that way for the calendar, alarms, and email. It’s all just right there on the home screen. I do not believe this is currently possible on iOS and Android.
I’ve been using my 950XL for 9 months (Since late Feb 2016) and after it’s first major update have had zero issues with it. It’s solid, fast and just works and works. I’m very happy to have left Android. As an IT pro, who has been working with this stuff for a long time, I don’t understand the sturm & drang over this OS. It essentially works like my other Windows 10 devices. Could it be that I do not play games on any of my devices, which could exercise the hardware more than the normal business apps I use daily? I can’t answer that. But for the serious work I do daily, I have absolutely zero complaints.
I’ve been using windows phones for about two years now and that was out of necessity due to office suite running better on these phones than any other and the price was better, I don’t like paying 700 for a phone, I got my windows phone from Microsoft for 150, does everything I need it to do. App’s? Apps seem to be dying, I use apps less and less, most websites are mobile optimized and I can get full function on my windows phone and I see that trend continuing. Plus apps just cram up your storage and drag your battery down. I do hate to see that Microsoft will eliminate the lumia phones that were affordable, as mentioned I don’t like to pay 700 for a phone but if I have to I will because I have never been a fan of Apple, and Samsung just got to be more than I needed with their Galaxy phones which I used for many years starting with the first Galaxy which I purchased when I left being a Blackberry user. Why didn’t Microsoft buy Blackberry instead of Nokia? That seems like a better fit since Microsoft is largely an enterprise level company and Blackberry to this day is still a champion of governments for their encryption abilities and they were synonymous with productivity prior to Apple dominating the smartphone landscape but Apple in my opinion is not a business or government phone its a fancy consumer device as is most Android devices although the higher end Android devices in combination with Google Docs is a fairly productive and worthy business phone, especially with their mapping. But I’ll stick with Windows phones now, I like the simple OS, three main screens makes it easy to navigate, Android is hit or miss depending on the manufacturer and what their spin on the OS is, I particularly dislike several major brands versions of Android and the calling features some of them use make it difficult to simply answer the phone. I hope Microsoft doesn’t allow other manufacturers to start screwing with their OS for phones when it has taken them forever to finally get this close to being where they should have been ten years ago when the then CEO was not Bill Gates that much is obvious, the new CEO of Microsoft has a good vision for the company and their productivity suite is still the best although google docs will get the job done for most people it is as far behind Office as Windows phones OS is behind Android in terms of absolute ability. But the new surface phone looks like it will erase that divide in one fast swoop, but I do not see the surface phone or Microsoft ever gaining more than 10% of the market without an entry level phone to attract young users and indoctrinate them to the Microsoft universe.
While we do not understand everything going on with Windows Mobile and Microsoft, I’m confident that the Surface phone, if it ever comes about will include at least two must have features that either do those things way better than anyone else or include must have things that nobody has thought off.
If I could afford the new Surface Studio I would buy one for me and my wife, but for now their are other priorities. Both of us rock the Microsoft 950 and are VERY satisfied with it’s performance and availability of apps that are must have’s for us. Everything else would fall under convenient occasionally.
But the if and when the Surface phone arrives, we will be waiting in line at a Microsoft store to pick one up and I have zero doubt that we will be very happy with it. Phones are within our price range with cash at any time.
Windows mobile has been really OK for me and I have been using it since the start of the insider program. I don’t play games on my phone. The surface pro changed the tablet experience running win 32 apps for me because most apps. wrt phones apps that I do like have a browser equivalent like banking apps. If windows phones use an intel chipset I think the app problem will not be there for me.
There are some issues if your running insider builds, but that’s expected and they have been minor with the insider builds. To me it’s the best tech today running across all my four devices.
My work phone is an iPhone, simply due to mandated corporate requirements/standards, but my personal phone is a Lumia 950. Because of this, I have been able to do side-by-side comparisons of many functions and apps, which have only cemented my opinion further than the Windows Phone is the superior business phone, and still an excellent consumer phone too. I have Windows 10 on my desktop PC, my tablet (Surface Pro 3), and my phone, and I love how seamlessly and smoothly everything just works together. The sheer enterprise-level power of all three devices simply can’t be beat. Even though the iPhone is technically my business phone, I still use Skype for Business to talk with colleagues on my personal Lumia, simply because it just works better than on the iPhone. If I could do that for email too, I would, but corporate policy does not currently support anything but iPhones, much to my dismay (and the dismay of many others, too). I am currently pushing to change this, since every other aspect and system in the company is all Windows-based anyway.
I have a Windows Lumia 650 and have been waiting for more than two years for an upgrade to Windows 10. The Windows Upgrade Advisor is a joke!
Reluctantly, having been a MS supporter and user since 1978, I think it is time to switch to an Apple phone.
I am very happy with my Windows Phone. I have encountered VERY few buggy situations using these phones, compared to the numerous problems I’ve had with my Android phones. (At least one of my Androids’ manuals suggested that it was advisable to power down the phone every few days for most reliable operation.) In all the years I owned my Lumia 925 and my Lumina 950, I have only needed to restart the phone due to system or application problems maybe half a dozen times
My wife, who has always had problems with any electrical device she uses lovers her Lumina for its reliability.
In my opinion, the Windows mobile did not capture the following that Android and iPhones had, chiefly because it is primarily a smart phone and not a game box with a telephone built into it.
PDWhite,
You nailed it. “It’s not a game box with a phone built into it.”