What happened to Windows Phone?

Windows Phone is a mobile-optimised version of Windows that Microsoft introduced as a serious competitor to Apple and Google in the smartphone industry. The operating system, which was first announced at the Mobile World Congress 2010, has been used on various smartphones since October 2010. Windows Phone has undergone major changes in the years since its launch until support was discontinued. Take a look at the history of the Windows mobile operating system, which made an ambitious debut and had a very simple and modern structure in its early years.

Windows Phone, which was distributed to application developers about 6 months before its release date, is actually the successor to Windows Mobile, which had been used in PDAs and some smartphones since 2000. After Windows Mobile, which was developed on the Windows CE kernel, became inadequate in the 2010s, Windows Phone 7 was also developed on the Windows CE kernel. Windows Phone 7, which contained the first signs of the Metro interface that was to come in later years, allowed you to download the application you wanted from the Windows Phone Marketplace Store.

With the Mobile World Congress 2011, started of the distribution of the major Windows Phone 7 update called Mango. This update increased the version to 7.5 and introduced the mobile version of Internet Explorer 9, which offers computer-standard web support. It also introduced support for the Windows SkyDrive cloud. Multitasking capability in the mobile version of Windows was introduced with this release.

The Nokia Lumia saga began on October 26, 2011 with the Nokia Lumia 800, which came pre-installed with Windows Phone 7.5. In 2012, another major update called Tango was distributed and some bugs in the mobile version of Windows were fixed. On the other hand, Windows Phone support for lower-end devices was improved.

Windows Phone 8, an almost completely new version of Windows Phone, was introduced on June 20, 2012. The new mobile operating system is developed on the NT kernel, which is found in the desktop version of Windows, and not on the Windows CE kernel as in previous versions. By integrating the Windows NT kernel into mobile platforms, a Windows application developed for the desktop could easily be adapted to the mobile Windows version.

System stability is also better than with previous versions. Windows Phone 8 is more compatible with new hardware than older versions and supports 64-bit SoCs. The ultimate “Metro interface”, which was introduced with Windows 8, has been adapted for mobile devices with Windows Phone 8.

Windows Phone 8.1, which was presented at the Microsoft Build 2014 conference. This version offers improved keyboard functions, an improved notification area and on-screen buttons, as well as the ability to move apps to the SD card. Microsoft Cortana voice assistant capability came out this version. API support has been improved so you can integrate the apps you developed in the desktop version of Windows 8.1 into the new mobile version of Windows.

Windows 10 Mobile, which is based on Windows 10, was released on November 20, 2015. Windows 10 Mobile, the final version of Windows on the mobile platform, offers extended support for the ecosystem from computers to game consoles. With the introduction of this mobile operating system in 2015, the possibilities for developing desktop applications and Xbox games for cell phones were expanded.

Microsoft also offered a range of toolkits to easily adapt Android and iOS software to Windows 10 Mobile. On the other hand, it is possible to use your smartphone like a desktop computer by connecting your keyboard and mouse to a Lumia device with the mobile version of Windows 10 installed and then connecting it to the monitor.

Microsoft, which has done its best to make Windows 10 Mobile palatable to developers, has unfortunately failed to get both developers and users accustomed to the mobile Windows variant. Unable to improve its market share, Microsoft ceased active development of the mobile platform in 2017. Microsoft announced that application and update support would be discontinued on December 10, 2019, and postponed this date to January 14, 2020. Windows 10 Mobile, which received the last update with build number 10.0.15254.603 in the first month of 2020, has taken its place on dusty pages.

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