Windows 10 Mobile insider builds stop, heralds end of an era
A piece of software is dead when its creator says it's dead. It is really dead when its creator no longer wants to push updates for it. That is the situation that Windows 10 Mobile holdouts are finding themselves in when Windows Insider Senior Program Manager Brandon LeBlanc revealed that no insider builds for the Windows 10 Mobile are coming, signaling that the end is nigh, if it isn't here yet, for a mobile platform that has long been considered dead by the market anyway.
In all honesty, Windows 10 Mobile has felt like it has been on life support for quite a while no. It did get the Windows 10 Creators Update but that was more of a general update for all Windows 10 versions. The mobile platform seemed to be short on any major features planned, at least ones that would actually make Android and iOS users even consider wanting to use a Windows 10 Mobile device.
Microsoft did promise that Insider builds will continue, implying that work on the platform continues, despite having no major new features. This, however, is the reason for much of the consternation surrounding LeBlanc's revelation that no mobile builds are coming.
I just did. No mobile builds are coming. You won't see us talk about product strategy or comment on those things. That's not our team.
— Brandon LeBlanc (@brandonleblanc) January 25, 2018
Sure, his statement could be interpreted that there are no new builds coming soon and that there might be some more for the future. He did, however, also hint that there might be some "product strategy" involved there. Jason Howard, another Windows Insider project manager, chimed in to deliver another blow.
Plans change. Such is the nature of things.
— Jason Howard (@NorthFaceHiker) January 25, 2018
Without insider builds, Windows 10 Mobile's fate is more or less sealed. Microsoft will still rollout updates, mostly security and bug fixes, during its supported life time, but it might no longer have any feature updates in store. Things could still change for the better, but considering how things are going, that's highly unlikely.