This article is actually about the iPhone and IOS and specifically the big switch to a “flat” and/or “digital first” design language with IOS 7.
But right at the top of the article the author acknowledges (albeit almost in passing) the MS was there first with Windows Phone.
And that’s true. This article made me grab our still functional Lumia 800 and in some ways it looks more current and up to date than a lot of Android phones.
And it seems to be endemic as for example, the surface pro design still is for most intents and purposes an MS one and not one that has been widely adopted or more importantly innovated/iterated upon by any of MS PC partners. In fact I’d argue that the few attempts by Lenovo and Dell stand out more for what they got wrong about the Surface pro design language than what they marginally improved.
And they continue almost consistently back quickly away from the very original thinking that brought us the surface pro to begin with eg. the aborted courier and NEO.
Interesting article, complete with exuberant fanboy-ism - "… and why Apple gave users some design control with iOS 16’s awesome lock screen tools. “Awesome” is a Grand Canyon-esque stretch.
But the real issue is that you are right - M$ has been first to MANY exciting tech advances - and look how they ROUTINELY drop the ball at the goal line - Longhorn, Windows Phone, Kin, Courier, Neo, Hololens…
In fact, I want EVERYONE to compare these demos from 2015 and 2019 with whatever Apple demos on Monday:
I’m sure they’ll seem “primitive” but who got them out there first? It’s not that M$ suffers from lacking the courage of their convictions - they have no convictions…
Obviously, if you’re a corporation, it’s difficult to hitch your wagon to anything MS proposes for hardware given their track record.
From a software dev view, I could feel the head nodding amongst us when the first iphone came out. Simple and unified UI design that appeals to users, no dealing with hardware and screensize variants, and itunes style app store. I personally felt that was the end of windows phone right there.
The general strategy Microsoft seems to be adopting is to only focus on what’s profitable and trimming as much fat off as they can. The Delicious flavor of Innovation sadly is in that discarded fat.
However the way they are going about it is what I find most suspect.
The rather rash decision to cut all MS branded Accessories with the “Focusing on Surface accessories only” would be alot smoother if they maybe made some official announcement of such, or had accessories ready for the branding jump. But no, they just severed that limb off and kept running.
And then we have the Hubs. Microsoft wrote alot of checks for those Hubs 4+ years ago, and the changes coming to them in 2023 look increasingly so more and more like a trainwreck incoming.
Getting rid of the Web Browser, the App System, Word, Excell, easy Thumb Drive/One Drive access, for just “read only” Chat and Front Row added to Teams. A half step forward but still a mile behind.
Then on devices, Pro 9, Laptop5, and Studio2+ given mouse fart upgrades while the rest of the line is so behind the competition. Almost every other OEM is on 13th gen already, and Microsoft can only pitch 10/11 & 12 Gen products still.
I would personally love to see Microsoft make some more bolder design/device changes.
