The Microsoft operating system Windows 10 will no longer be further developed for smartphones. There will only be security updates for the current Windows 10 Mobile version, but no more new functions or hardware, announced Windows boss Joe Belfiore on Twitter. It initially remained unclear when Microsoft would finally discontinue support for the system. Back in the summer, it was assumed that support would end in September 2018. Microsoft is currently guaranteeing support until June 2019 for devices that received the Creators Update in April.

A major problem for the attractiveness of Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile was apparently also the lack of support from developers. The software company had hoped that the unified Windows 10 platform, which runs on both mobile and desktop computers, would be an attractive prerequisite for app developers. Microsoft had worked very hard to attract developers to the system and to program apps for them themselves, Belfiore reported on Twitter. However, the number of mobile users was too small for most companies to invest in the platform.

Even with its mobile predecessors, Microsoft had no luck holding its own against its major rivals Apple and Google, which dominate the market for mobile operating systems. The predecessor Windows Phone 8.1 is also no longer supported. Microsoft's market share in the mobile sector recently disappeared below the one percent mark, but had hardly ever reached more than 4 percent even in its "heyday".

Even the almost 9.5 billion acquisition of the cell phone division of the former world market leader Nokia was unable to change this. In conjunction with high-tech devices under the 'Lumia' brand, it was supposed to lift the software company to the same level as Google and Apple in the smartphone market, but turned out to be a loss-making flop. It cost thousands of employees their jobs. The software group had already parted with the remains of the company more than a year ago.

For some time now, Microsoft has therefore been making its application programs more and more fit for Android and iOS, for example. According to Belfiore, most Microsoft employees are even combining Windows and Office with Android and iOS platforms. According to a report by company expert Mary Jo Foley, however, the software company is already working on a new platform called Andromeda, which is set to run on mobile devices from next year - although Microsoft has not confirmed this.