A couple of years ago, there were a number of platforms competing for a share of the mobile market. During that time, people had the option to choose from a variety of mobile options such as Blackberry, Android, iOS, Windows Phone not forgetting Symbian. This was so because Microsoft had ventured into the mobile field and was producing a variety of mobile devices. However, today the situation isn’t the same and the mobile industry is pretty much dominated by iOS and Android.
During a recent global technology conference dubbed the 2016 WSJDLive Wall Street Journal conference, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO admitted that his company didn’t do quite well with mobile. According to him, the company clearly missed out on the mobile scene and there isn’t a question about it. However, although it might appear that the company might have missed a huge opportunity, the CEO does not appear to show a lot of regrets. Instead, he is focusing on the company’s way forward into the available new areas.
VR and AR
Among these new areas is the field of Virtual Reality as well as Augmented Reality. Through the HoloLens device, Microsoft has shown interest in the Augmented Reality field. This field has received a major boost from Niantic technology’s Pokémon GO which revealed the Augmented Reality’s huge potential when it comes gaming. Although Microsoft has not done so well with mobile and is trying to venture into other areas, it doesn’t necessarily imply that it is completely out of the field of mobile.
According to recent reports from trusted sources, Microsoft has plans to do away with its Lumia lineup before the year comes to an end. Moreover, there are other rumors that Microsoft is currently working on a Surface Phone that might be making its first appearance onto the market in 2017. On his speech, the CEO assured Microsoft’s loyal customers that the company will not make similar mistakes with virtual and augmented reality.
He was fast to note that, both virtual and augmented reality provide a great opportunity for Microsoft’s future growth. Additionally, he cleared the air saying that Microsoft is yet to quit mobile. It is evident that people using Windows Phone are approximately less than one percent of the total smartphone market worldwide. According to Nadella, the role of Microsoft in the industry is to provide users with niche value. He said this referring to Microsoft’s Continuum feature that allows smartphones operating on Windows 10 to function as a PC when display connected.
According to Nadella, Microsoft today has devices that are phones but depending on market demands, they are now more focused on things that are more unique. He added that Microsoft has a phone that is in a position to replace PCs. This was his way of telling the world just how much the company is committed to providing users with unique services. He also talked about Microsoft’s tablet that is capable of replacing your laptop. He added that the company aims at creating such unique categories in order to remain relevant on the market.
Microsoft’s Future
Satya Nadella also revealed that he has always tried to stay ahead by hunting the future high volume categories. This is why Microsoft had ventured into a virtual and augmented reality where he sees a huge potential. According to him, Microsoft’s Hololens could prove to be the company’s next big thing and the start of one of kind computers that are mixed reality based. He was fast to note that, new technologies such as augmented reality will prove to be a lot more important for Microsoft. This will ensure that the company diversifies its reach and is not only dependent on PCs alone.
Nadella said that the greatest lesson learned by Microsoft so far was the assumption that PC could remain to be the hub of all things for years to come, which is not true. This was perhaps one of the biggest mistakes ever made by Microsoft. With this in mind, he stated that the company was looking forward to diversifying into new fields as a way of ensuring it remains at the top.
This remark by Nadella comes just days prior a Microsoft event where the company is expected to showcase its new hardware. Without any doubt, during the upcoming Microsoft event, Nadella will talk about the vision of the company when it comes to the hardware business.
Conclusion
Microsoft hasn’t done so well in the mobile industry and its CEO is very much aware of it. He admits that the greatest mistake they ever made was thinking that PC would remain the hub of everything for many years, which did not come to pass. He added that although the company was not doing very well in the mobile industry, it was committed to offering people unique services they didn’t receive anywhere else. He also revealed that the company was focusing on diversification with the fields of virtual and augmented reality being their main target. Moreover, he talked about Microsoft’s upcoming event where the company will showcase its new hardware.
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