Windows Mobile is one of the early players in the smartphone market, but being alongside iOS and Android, Microsoft's mobile OS never gained footing.
The company may have worked relentlessly to race past the top players, but there's only so much it can do. In a recent announcement, Microsoft said it will end support for Windows Mobile before this year concludes.
Microsoft Chucks Up The Sponge
On Dec. 10, Microsoft will end support for the latest Windows 10 Mobile version 1709. This means that the company will no longer roll out product or security updates, bug fixes, etc.
However, the end of support will come a bit sooner for users of Windows 10 Mobile version 1703. According to Microsoft, support for this OS version will end on June 11.
Once the support ends, users are given three months — until March 10, 2020 — to manually or automatically create settings and apps backup for new devices. Some features, such as device restoration and photo uploads, will continue working for 12 months after the end of support.
The company said that users of its mobile platform should switch to iOS and Android before they officially end support for Windows 10 Mobile.
"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," Microsoft said in its support page FAQ.
Windows Mobile's End
Windows 10 Mobile's demise may no longer be a surprise. In October 2017, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore announced that the Redmond-based company will stop focusing on building new features for the Windows 10 Mobile.
In March last year, then-outgoing Microsoft chief Terry Myerson admitted that the company's smartphone venture is a failure, citing Android's business model and Microsoft's attempt to build "early versions of Windows Phone on an incomplete Windows CE platform" as the reasons the company didn't succeed in the smartphone business.
