The market share of Windows 10 Mobile has considerably decreased to under 1 percent as Microsoft has not released a new smartphone since October 2015. Many may have speculated that the operating system would perish soon looking at its current status. A report from the previous month stated that Microsoft may soon kill Windows 10 Mobile. However, it appears that Microsoft is internally testing a refreshed UI for Windows 10 Mobile and it will be made available through a new smartphone.
Several Microsoft insiders have revealed that the new smartphone is speculated to be driven by “a different branch of Windows Mobile.” Also, the user interface of the operating system is said to be different from what we can see on the current Windows 10 Mobile OS. It seems that the new UI is in the initial stage of development. Also, it may not support older Windows Mobile apps. In order to provide new mobile experience on the forthcoming edition of Windows 10 Mobile, the Redmond giant may have axed the Silverlight apps.
Read More: Microsoft Launches Surface Laptop with 13.5 inch Display and Windows 10 S for $999
Petri’s Brad Sams is of the view that the release of the device ay be around a year or less away. The new device is expected to support UWP apps. The market is filled with numerous Android and iOS devices. Hence, in order to attract consumers, Microsoft will have to provide a new experience through the redesigned Windows 10 Mobile. There is a possibility that Microsoft may cancel the project completely if the testing does not yield good results.
Microsoft has killed its Lumia line of smartphones and it has said that other OEMs will continue to launch phones running on Windows Mobile OS. Hence, the rumor mill is eagerly anticipating on a Surface branded smartphone. However, there is no confirmation on whether the new hardware that is used for testing the refreshed Windows 10 Mobile experience is the highly anticipated Surface phone.
In a recent interview on Marketplace’s make me smart, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company will make phones. However, the new phones will not appear like conventional phones. He added, “We make phones today, we have OEMs like HP making phones and others and we picked a very specific area to focus on which is management, security, and this one particular feature that we have called Continuum, which is a phone that can even be a desktop,” He also claimed that the Surface is a good example on how the firm could differentiate in the market.
Hence, the upcoming smartphone could possibly have Continuum as one of its best features. Moreover, it may sport a unique design like Surface devices. The alleged phone may ideally transform in a notebook or PC.
