Microsoft officially ends support for Windows Phone

The end of support for Windows Phone 8.1, which according to estimates run on more than 80 percent of Windows Phone handsets, means that the company won`t be pushing any sort of updates - security patches, bug fixes, or otherwise.Going forward, people who stick about with a handset running 8.1 or older version will be left on their own -- unless their handset is eligible for a software update.
   Microsoft may have plans to revive its smartphone business in the future, but for now, it has had enough of it.Today, the company is officially ending support for Windows smartphone 8.1, the most famous version of its mobile operating system.

   It should be pointed out that a handful of handsets -- includingLumia 1520, Lumia 930, Lumia 830, andLumia 735 --running Windows Phone 8.1 Denim update were slated to receive Windows 10 Mobile, though the aforementioned estimates suggest either most phones haven`t received the new software, or people are simply not updating.

Alternate Title: Windows Phone Is Officially Dead

   Support for older versions like Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.x ended in Jan., 2016and Oct., 2014respectively.
   The demise of Windows Phone follows several popular applications including

WhatsApp

ditching several versions of Microsoft`s mobile operating system over the past two years.Note-taking app Evernote removed its app from the Windows Phone Store earlier this month.
     

  Microsoft,Windows

   Of course several popular mobile apps either never arrived on Windows Phone, or the companies never ever put as much effort in maintaining their apps for the platform in the first place.Microsoft(microsoft.com) itself pulled LinkedIn app from the Windows Store last month, behind not updating it for months.
   Even as thousands of users - if not more - will continue to use Windows 10 Mobile, it has become evidently clear that

Microsoft

has formally given up Windows Phone, formerly known as Windows Mobile, a nearly decade-old effort to fight iOS and Android and create a dent in the mobile market.With

Microsoft

quitting on Windows Phone, BlackBerry giving up BBOS, Mozilla killing Firefox OS, nobody is truly putting up a fight to break Android and iOS` duopoly, which is not wonderful news for consumers.
     

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   Last year,

CEO

Satya Nadella admitted that the company had "clearly missed the mobile phone," adding that he was now more focused on growing new categories.Under the leadership of Nadella, Microsoft has undergone major changes, one of which is making its apps and services available on rival platforms.Microsoft is now going where users are, a departure from the "Windows everywhere" policy of Steve Ballmer`s Microsoft.