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Pour 1 out for Microsoft's smartphone platform. After years of half-measures aimed at competing with Android and iOS, Microsoft is calling it quits on Windows 10 Mobile. The December 2019 patches for Windows 10 Mobile will be the last. The visitor is urging whatsoever Windows Mobile holdouts to make plans to switch to Android or iOS before it's as well late.

This is not the first phase in Microsoft'due south mobile platform wind-down. In 2017, Microsoft'due south Joe Belfiore confirmed that the visitor had no plans to develop new features for Windows on phones, which runs on the same lawmaking base of operations as Windows PCs. It connected to release bug fixes and security patches as needed, but fifty-fifty a large company like Microsoft couldn't leave the project in a belongings pattern forever. The most contempo build of Windows 10 for phones is 1709 from tardily 2017 — this should not come every bit a surprise.

So, the few remaining Windows 10 Mobile users accept less than a year to brand their exit. Microsoft already ended support for Windows Phone 8.1 in 2017. The Windows 10 shutdown will kickoff on Dec 10th, 2019 when the terminal security updates ringlet out. At that point, Windows ten Mobile devices volition but go less secure as fourth dimension goes on. Bundled deject services and syncing features (like photograph uploads) will proceed to work afterwards the shutdown until March 10th, 2020. A handful of online tools could work for as long equally a yr after the end of support, but Microsoft isn't making any promises.

Windows 10 Mobile Windows Phone 8.1

This annunciation comes on the heels of Edge's demise. Microsoft appear several weeks ago that it planned to build a new Chromium-based browser after Edge and its EdgeHTML engine failed to gain traction. That determination might take something to do with the end of Windows 10 Mobile back up — with the lack of apps on the platform, the browser is vital. Microsoft would either have to build a version of the new browser for phones or continue making updates for Edge. Neither option is appealing when the user base is and so small.

Microsoft kept its software and services confined to Windows Telephone back when Microsoft had hopes of becoming a robust third-place smartphone contender. When that started to look less probable, it branched out to Android and iOS. You can go all of Microsoft's apps on both platforms now, and that's where it says Windows Phone users should look.

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