Windows Phone is not dead, says Microsoft CEO

ORLANDO — Microsoft may have just cut 7,800 jobs and taken a US$7.6 billion (S$10.4 billion) hit on its smartphone business, but the company’s chief executive Satya Nadella insisted he is still committed to the mobile arm.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that it was writing off US$7.6 billion related to its US$9.5 billion acquisition of Nokia in 2013, which was masterminded by Microsoft’s former chief executive Steve Ballmer.

The deal was seen as a last-gasp attempt for both Microsoft and Nokia to challenge the dominance of Apple and Google in the smartphone market, but joining forces has failed to create a meaningful competitor.

In an interview with ZDNet at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Orlando, Mr Nadella promised there would be new premium Lumia devices launching this year.

However, like the Surface tablet and Google’s Nexus devices, these will mainly be used to showcase the capabilities of Windows 10 on mobile devices, rather than intended for mass-market consumption.

“Last week’s announcement was not about any change to our vision and strategy, but for sure, it was a change to our operating approach,” he said.

“I’m not going to launch a phone a day. I’m going to focus on a few phones that actually grab share and which, in fact, showcase our uniqueness.”

He qualified this by saying that, if no other smartphone manufacturers stand up to build Windows devices, Microsoft would build them. Ultimately, the firm wants to get Windows 10 on as many devices as possible.

Mr Nadella went on to say the company’s decision to make Windows 10 a free upgrade underscores its commitment to the Windows Phone. Although most users will be exposed to Windows 10 first on the desktop, Microsoft hopes the ability to use apps across multiple platforms, including mobile and the Xbox, will make the Windows Phone more attractive to consumers.

“We will do everything we have to do to make sure we’re making progress on phones,” he said.

“If you come to Windows, you are going to be on the phone too. Even if you want to come to Windows because of HoloLens, you want to come to it because of Xbox, you want to come to the desktop, all those will get you to the phone.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH