Microsoft CEO says company could have made Windows Phone work
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella regrets not trying to make Windows Phone work, according to an interview conducted by Business Insider.
When asked to name a mistake or a wrong decision he made in the past, Nadella said that exiting the mobile phone business was one of the most difficult decisions he made. He thinks that the company could have made it work if it had tried harder.
The decision I think a lot of people talk about – and one of the most difficult decisions I made when I became CEO —was our exit of what I'll call the mobile phone as defined then. In retrospect, I think there could have been ways we could have made it work by perhaps reinventing the category of computing between PCs, tablets, and phones." - Satya Nadella
Despite Windows Phone having many ardent fans, it just couldn't attract as many users as iOS and Android. Microsoft set the ambitious goal of beating both iOS and Android - a Herculean task - but it didn't make much of an effort to bring popular apps to the platform.
In the end, it was a loss not just for Microsoft but for mobile users around the world, who were deprived of a third player who was actually great at its craft.
We are not sure if Microsoft has learned from its mistakes though. The Surface Duo, the company's Android-based dual-screen folding phone, is increasingly looking like a failed project. In spite of not having a folding screen like top foldable phones, the Duo had a certain charm and the backing of tech enthusiasts.
Outdated specs, bugs, and abysmal software support have anecdotally made even some of the most die-hard Microsoft fans sour on the company. Support for the OG Surface Duo ended recently and as for Surface Duo 2, it looks like its owners are the last on the priority ladder when it comes to new functionalities.
Nadella is not the first Microsoft executive to bemoan the company's missteps in the mobile space. Former CEO Steve Ballmer underestimated the iPhone by criticizing its lack of a keyboard.
It appears that Microsoft is never short of brilliant ideas, it's not just very good at sticking with them and is prone to losing the plot. The company's next phone might not be a true successor to the Duo 2 in that it might not be a dual-screen device. That makes sense but what does not make sense is that the company allegedly canceled the Duo 3 at the last moment after having finalized its design and specs. The rumored foldable phone is unlikely to arrive anytime soon, which means that when the time does come for Duo 2 users to upgrade, they may have to go for either an iPhone or an Android phone.
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