The end is really here. At least for Windows Phone.
Microsoft has been moving away from its failed venture into the smartphone market for some time now. Most recently, the company told current users of Windows Phone models very plainly, they should give it up as well.
“With the Windows 10 Mobile OS end of support, we recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device. Microsoft’s mission statement to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, compels us to support our Mobile apps on those platforms and devices,” a Windows 10 Mobile end of support page read. The page was first spotted by technology news site Thurrott.
While this news is does not come unexpected, it likely feels like a big loss for Microsoft, which once had ambitions of dominating the smartphone market, as it tells its remaining users to switch to an Apple or Android.
Windows Mobile users do have some time before switching. The support page notes that support ends on June 11, 2019, and “security updates, non-security hotfixes, free assisted support options, or online technical content updates from Microsoft” will end on Dec. 10, 2019. While third parties may release their own updates, as has been the case for other abandoned tech, Microsoft is moving on.