Today, December 10, marks the end of life for Windows 10 Mobile devices. After much neglect from developers and Microsoft themselves, support for the operating system has ended, after the company announced it in January.
The move comes after Windows Phone was branded a ‘failure’ and one of the most unsuccessful products in mobile history, due to the lack of apps and large developers in the Microsoft Store. In the end, it left users moving to iOS and Android, and those heavily overtaking the operating system that started out to be something unique.
Windows 10 Mobile users are no longer eligible to receive new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free assisted support options, or online technical content updates from Microsoft for free
Third parties or paid support programs may provide ongoing support, but it is important to recognize that Microsoft support will not publicly provide updates or patches for Windows 10 Mobile
End of Support means that users of compatible phones will no longer receive any new features, security fixes or updates, and will be left at risk to hackers. Microsoft will no longer offer free support, or content for Windows 10 Mobile either. It’s thought that any big developers will soon drop support for their applications (if they haven’t already) and most will stop functioning.
If you continue to use Windows 10 Mobile, we wouldn’t recommend it. You should move to a currently support mobile platform, such as iOS 13 or Android 10 (and purchase a device that will work with future software updates). Although the two are quite different to each other, and Windows Mobile, you’ll find that Android will work better with Windows 10 and Microsoft apps, and you can heavily customise the look and feel of it, whilst iOS focuses on a strong ecosystem, top security and is generally more stable than Android.
Take a look at this comparison from DigitalTrends, which looks at the differences between iOS and Android smartphones and what they both entail. We’d be interested to know if any of our readers still use a Windows Phone, and why!
