Farewell, Windows Phone

Microsoft brings Windows Phone to an end as it stops support of Windows Phone 8.1, more than three years after the company introduced the update back in April 2014.

Windows PhoneA victim of the Android-iOS duopoly controlling the mobile OS arena, Windows Phone 8.1 and its 8/7 predecessors power around 80% of the millions of devices running on the Microsoft software, according to AdDuplex. As a result such devices are now unsupported, and only 20% of Windows phones run on the latest version, Windows 10 Mobile OS.

Currently Microsoft sells a limited number of budget Windows 10 Mobile smartphones, and in any case the OS appears to be receiving little support from the Windows maker. The company has stopped making own Lumia-brand devices, and rumours suggest Windows 10 Mobile will only be maintained until support ends in 2019.

Windows Phone 8.1 was a big deal back in 2014-- the update brought the Cortana digital assistant, a new notification centre, UI changes and updates to the core OS. However it was not enough to take a noticeable chunk off Android or iOS market share, and Microsoft's mobile efforts appear to have shifted to cross-platform versions of staples such as Office and SwiftKey.

Go Microsoft Products REaching End of Support for 2017

Go AdDuplex Windows Device Statistics Report June 2017