It is weekend, which means I have a few minutes to rant about my frustration on the direction MS is going concerning Mobile Apps (the so called Metro/Modern/Universal Apps) and Windows 10.
As you may recall, Microsoft put out the news this week they will nix their Lync Metro App in preference of the Desktop Skype App. Of course all the yuppies were clapping and shouting “giddy on” to Microsoft without considering the consequences and the trend this is setting.
The trend I see at the moment is the rejuvenation of the Desktop, a complete reversal of Microsoft from its mobile-first strategy of two or three years ago. Put bluntly, the Desktop people have won at Microsoft. Fine and good you say, but it didn’t address the reason why MS went full mobile a few years ago.
Yes, Microsoft is doubling down on the Desktop at the moment, but to what end? There’s a complete new generation of users out there that are growing up on mobile applications, yes, on touch only devices and applications. MS may be winning the desktop strategy right now, but where will it be in 20yrs time. That is why we had the mobile madness of two years ago that is being thrown out the windows right now. Yes, pun intended.
So, MS is focusing on Desktop apps right now to the detriment of Mobile apps. They threw out the Lync Mobile app, every one should install the Desktop Skype App. Take a look at the OneNote Mobile App on Windows 10, it is a joke compared to the Windows 8.1 and iPad versions. You can’t even change the Font, not to talk of full formatting UX. If you look at the twitter stream of the OneNote team, it is all about the Desktop OneNote App. And so may examples of Mobile Apps of Microsoft collecting dust in the Store.
Fine and good. So what happens now to Modern apps from Microsoft on Mobile devices? I and a number of you have Microsoft’s SurfaceRT, how does MS want us to run Lync/Skype on this device now they’re shutting down the Lync mobile app? Windows 10 Mobile is coming out shortly on less than 8″ devices without Desktop, how does MS want users to run core Mobile apps on these devices if they nix all their mobile apps? Yes, Lync mobile is now down and out, which mobile app are they nixing next?
Meanwhile the competition are preparing the next generation of users to work exclusively with mobile or touch apps. So MS is expecting this to die and collapse like for iPad loosing traction? You bet mobile apps are not going to die, they will continue to evolve and eat into MS core sectors. So what is MS going to do about it? Stick its head deeper in the sand and pretend problem doesn’t exist there?
Yes, there are some of us that are protesting Microsoft killed Windows 8.1 too soon. It is a good OS on a Touch device. All the people that were complaining before buying a Touch device with Win8 come to a change of mind after using the OS on a touch device. I’ve seen a few examples here in family & friends circles. MS should not have listened to the yuppie Tech bloggers slamming Win8, but should have watched the trend on use-case shown in Telemetry and on steady monthly climb of Win8 on Stats sites like StatCounter etc.
So, you may be cheering Microsoft for killing the Lync mobile App for the Desktop App, I am not cheering at all. I want MS to be present and continue to innovate on the Touch-only world, not cling to the mouse and keyboard world alone. I like the direction of Windows 10, bridging Touch and Mouse/Keyboard world, I think we are making progress there, that is then why I don’t get the need to kill mobile Apps at this point in time. I say keep developing Apps in both environments. When I am on my mobile device, I DON’T want too use desktop Apps, period!
Remember MS, these tech-yuppies cheering you on are ALL on iOS for their mobile device usage, they only blog on the desktop. They don’t represent your complete user-base. Just food for thought there.
Rants out here, now your turn.