Microsoft Is Embracing Android As the Mobile Version of Windows (theverge.com)

Microsoft unveiled a bunch of new hardware during a press event last night, but one of the most interesting announcements the company made was their new "Your Phone" app for Windows 10. Basically, the feature will let Android users mirror any app on their device to a Windows 10 desktop. The Verge's Tom Warren writes about how Microsoft is embracing Android as the mobile version of Windows: We've seen a variety of ways of bringing Android apps to Windows in recent years, including Bluestacks and even Dell's Mobile Connect software. This app mirroring is certainly easier to do with Android, as it's less restricted than iOS. Still, Microsoft's welcoming embrace of Android in Windows 10 with this app mirroring is just the latest in a number of steps the company has taken recently to really help align Android as the mobile equivalent of Windows.

Microsoft Launcher is designed to replace the default Google experience on Android phones, and bring Microsoft's own services and Office connectivity to the home screen. It's a popular launcher that Microsoft keeps updating, and it's even getting support for the Windows 10 Timeline feature that lets you resume apps and sites across devices. All of this just reminds me of Windows Phone. It's only been three years since Microsoft launched its Lumia 950 Windows 10 Mobile device at a packed holiday hardware event. Windows Phone has vanished in the last couple of years, and Microsoft finally admitted Windows Phone was dead nearly a year ago. The software maker has now embraced the reality that people don't need Windows on a phone. Instead, it's embracing Android as the mobile version of Windows.

Comments

Unnecessary, really.

[Hallux-F-Sinister]

Android already WAS the mobile version of Windows, in that it was a case where someone elseâ(TM) work was taken by a company that grew really huge with the help of something they did not create, and who paid very little or nothing for it, and then proceeded to build an EMPIRE on it, while in reality, objectively, it is an ugly kludge of cobbled-together, mismatched parts that has become, despite its many, many MANY flaws, THE big thing that people eventually either come to love, or love to hate.

So Microsoft giving its irrelevant blessing just looks like an octogenarian announcing that he is joining a punk rock band, and learning to skateboard and wants to do body shots to convince his great great great grandkids he is cool.

Re: Embracing...

[mjwx]

Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

That being said, I doubt they'll be able to do that anymore. They don't have the same dominance they used to have. At this point, Microsoft is just trying to survive, it's no longer capable of dominating anymore.

This, they tried to do the three E's thing with Windows Phone, leveraging their waning dominance on the server/desktop market to a phone market they ignored whilst Google ate their lunch. The process was more akin to the DABDA stages of grief.

Denial = Android will never take off.
Anger = Hurrr, we'll sue Google for everything. And release our own half arsed operating system with tiles and solitaire.
Bargaining = Maybe if we buy Nokia people will buy it.
Depression = Why won't people buying Windows Phones.
Acceptance = Lets start making apps for Android and try to forget this whole Windows Phone palaver.

Microsoft's power has waned from the days of the 90's when they could take down competition at a whim. Microsoft are now starting to lose their grip on the enterprise market.