Is Microsoft going to keep making Windows Phones? Is the company done with mobiles? Is Windows 10 really such a big step that Microsoft would literally drive erstwhile Nokia employees homeless? Ok, that last one was pushing it, but let’s face it. The fact that Microsoft has cut 7,800 jobs, most of which are from its acquisition of Nokia, has bigger implications that you might think. Before we tell you what Microsoft may do now though, let’s take a look at what really happened here.
Yesterday's headlines: Microsoft cuts 7,800 jobs from Nokia business
Most of these employees were downsized from the Nokia part of the company. As a result, Microsoft has written off the $7.6 billion that it spent on buying the devices segment of Nokia in the first place. Done, that’s what happened yesterday.
What now?
Remember that dialogue from Pulp Fiction where Ving Rhames (Marsellus Wallace) tells Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) how he’s going to go medieval on Peter Greene (Zed)? Microsoft seems to be looking at something like that, of course, not in the same way as Marsellus meant. There are three things it can do.
– Going back to the basics
First, the recent emphasis on services brings Microsoft to familiar territory. It is an arena where the company has done well over the ages, and with Windows 10, there’s huge scope right now. In fact, Microsoft has tried this before, when it brought Windows to Macbooks, allowing people to run the OS on Apple’s devices. It might take the same approach towards Android, opening a version of Windows 10 for Phones that users can just take and sideload onto their Android phones.
If Windows turns out to be running better on an Android phone than Android, it could be a huge boost for Microsoft and OEMs will finally join the bandwagon. It is worth pointing out that Microsoft has already tried Windows on an Android smartphone with Xiaomi recently.
– The Google way
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said that the company’s smartphone portfolio will be streamlined. Microsoft will from now make three kinds of phones — value phones, business phones and flagship phones — and a Bloomberg report states that Microsoft doesn’t want to launch more than one or two devices per segment from now.
This paves the way for a Nexus type approach to smartphones. Microsoft is not going to look to make profits from its phones, rather, using these devices the same way as Google uses Nexus smartphones, to show what Windows can be on phones. It will provide what is needed for developers to start making apps for Windows, give users a few options, while OEMs will jump in if the devices sell. Come to think of it, Microsoft has done this before too, with its Surface tablets. The Microsoft Surface tablets have been price quite high, but there's no denying that the recent models are indeed quite good. They may not be ready to completely replace laptops, but they show intent.
– Say hello to my Android friend
The unlikeliest of scenarios is that Microsoft does actually start making Android phones, but with Windows services. The Nokia X series has of course failed, but Microsoft could try to build Android phones again, where Google’s services will be replaced by Microsoft’s. So, instead of Gmail you get Outlook, instead of Chrome you get Edge, OneNote takes over from Google Keep, and so on.
What we do know
While all of the above is mere speculation, what you can be sure of is that Microsoft is done with Nokia and is taking a services oriented approach. The company has realised that the key to being successful today is to get users onto your platform. If Microsoft has enough people using apps like OneNote, Office for Android etc, it automatically opens up the opportunity to make and sell smartphones again.