Microsoft Reportedly Working On New Windows Mobile Software

A new report claims that Microsoft isn’t giving up on making a smartphone and is making a new hardware for Windows 10 Mobile. The new smartphone will be running an new version of Windows Mobile and will act as a reboot for the company’s smartphone line.

Sources claim that Microsoft is working on a new smartphone that’s currently being tested internally, according to Brad Sams of thurrott.com. The software on the device is said to be “a separate branch of Windows Mobile.”

What that exactly means wasn’t really made clear, but the user interface (UI) is expected to look and function differently than it does today. There’s no specifics provided on what these changes will be, but these are said to be “evolving” since it’s still pretty early in its development.

Since the rumored new Windows Mobile experience will somewhat be a reboot of Microsoft’s smartphone ambitions, some older applications might not be supported. One of the possible type of apps that won’t be supported by the newly updated OS might be applications using Microsoft’s Silverlight framework.

It’s still pretty early in Microsoft’s development stages, and the company’s plans might continue to change in the coming months. As for possible release, it really is difficult to pinpoint that at this time.

Since the new Windows Mobile hardware and software are alreadyunder active development, their launch shouldn’t be too far. Microsoft could possibly come out with the new Windows Mobile smartphone in a year or more. If internal testings are received positively, it’s possible that it might come out even sooner.

Although there’s no confirmation yet, its very likely that Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile software will still run Windows Universal apps, as pointed out by MS Power User. The company has been adamantly pushing it forward not just on PCs and its current smartphones, but even on its Xbox One consoles.

Last year, Microsoft announced that it was bringing Windows 10 to ARM-based devices by teaming up with mobile chip maker Qualcomm. This makes it possible for devices with Snapdragon processors to fully support Windows 10 Pro.

It’s very possible that Microsoft’s effort to bring Windows 10 to ARM-based devices was it’s first step into reinventing Windows Mobile. However, the report claims that the new hardware/software experience is being tested on a different branch of Windows Mobile, making Windows 10 on ARM seem irrelevant.

“Will we make more phones? I’m sure we will make more phones, but they will not look like phones that are there today,” - Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Rumors of a Microsoft “Surface Phone” has been circulating for years now, and it looks like the Redmond company is moving forward with its plans. Hopefully, this new Windows Mobile reboot will fair better than its predecessors.

Microsoft has been trying for years to penetrate the smartphone market, which is being dominated by Apple’s iPhone and numerous major Android phones from various manufacturers like Samsung.

Microsoft’s Windows 8 and 8.1 wasn’t received so well by consumers and critics, and simply failed to capture interest. With the introduction of Windows 10, Microsoft tried once again to enter the smartphone game with its new line of Lumia phones, which were very promising at the time.

Even with the impressive Windows 10 OS powering its new Lumia phones, consumers just simply preferred Android or Apple’s iPhone. Microsoft’s most recent Lumia phones were eventually discontinued in December 2016.