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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's biggest regret is abandoning Windows Phone

Microsoft

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, revealed what he regretted most during his tenure at the head of the technology giant: giving up Windows Phone, the company's mobile operating system that competed with Android and iOS.

Nadella, who took over as CEO in 2014, said he wished he had invested more in the development of Windows Phone and created a viable alternative to the dominant platforms from Google and Apple. He said he felt Microsoft had missed the opportunity to be a leader in the mobile market, which he considers one of the most important areas of innovation and growth.

Microsoft
Microsoft

“I wish we had done more on mobile,” Nadella said. «I wish we hadn't given up on Windows Phone. That was perhaps one of the biggest mistakes I made.

Windows Phone was launched in 2010 as a successor to Windows Mobile, which had been losing market share to Android and iOS. Windows Phone featured a distinctive tile-based interface and integrated well with other Microsoft products and services, such as Office, Outlook, Skype, and Xbox. However, Windows Phone struggled to gain traction among consumers and developers, who preferred the larger and more diverse app ecosystems of Android and iOS.

Microsoft attempted to boost Windows Phone's prospects by acquiring Nokia's mobile division in 2013 for $7.200 billion, hoping to take advantage of the Finnish company's hardware expertise and brand recognition. However, the deal turned out to be a costly failure, with Microsoft writing off $7.600 billion in 2015 and laying off thousands of employees from the Nokia unit.

In 2017, Microsoft had effectively abandoned Windows Phone and announced that it would no longer develop new features or hardware for the platform. Instead, Microsoft shifted its focus toward creating apps and services for Android and iOS, such as Edge, Cortana, Office, and OneDrive. Microsoft also launched its own Android-based smartphone, Surface Duo, in 2020, which features a dual-screen design and integrates with Microsoft's productivity tools. Microsoft.

Nadella said he learned from the failure of Windows Phone and applied those lessons to other areas of Microsoft's business, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, gaming and mixed reality. She said she realized that Microsoft needed to be more agile and innovative in order to compete with its rivals and meet the changing needs of its customers.

"I think we've done a good job of moving from where we were to where we need to be," Nadella said. "We have been able to reinvent ourselves in multiple categories."

Nadella's admission of his biggest regret comes as Microsoft is enjoying strong performance in both its core and emerging businesses. The company reported record revenue of $168.000 billion for its fiscal 2021, up 18% from the previous year. Its cloud division, Azure, grew 51%, while its gaming division, Xbox, grew 34%. Microsoft also saw growth in its Surface devices, its LinkedIn network, and its Teams collaboration platform.

Despite his regret about Windows Phone, Nadella said he is optimistic about Microsoft's future and its ability to create value for its customers, partners, employees and shareholders.

"I think we have a lot of opportunities ahead of us," Nadella said. "We have a lot of work to do, but we are very confident in our abilities."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently sat down for an interview with Bloomberg Insider, where he covered topics ranging from family to leadership to artificial intelligence. But in one of his most surprising confessions, he admitted that he regretted "giving up cell phones."

"I think the decision that a lot of people are talking about, and one of the most difficult decisions I made when I became CEO, was our exit from what I will call mobile phone as it was defined then," Nadella said when asked about your strategic mistake or decision that you regret. "In retrospect, I think there might have been ways we could have made it work, perhaps reinventing the computing category between PCs, tablets and phones."

Unfortunately, that's the beginning and the end of the conversation, so we can only imagine what he has in mind to reinvent the Windows Phone category. Microsoft does have some experience in the matter through its Surface line. Until the Surface, the 2-in-1 laptop/tablet category didn't exist, and now most manufacturers (even Apple) have some entry like this.

But while Microsoft has re-entered the mobile world to some extent in recent years, it has yet to truly reinvent the category. The Surface Duo is a dual-screen Android device that masquerades as foldable, but it hasn't performed well due to a number of compromises. Microsoft recently said it will no longer support the original Surface Duo; It will do the same for the Surface Duo 2 starting October 21, 2024. It is unknown if there will ever be a Surface Duo 3.

What does this mean for Microsoft's future in the mobile market? Is Nadella hinting at a possible comeback with a new device that will redefine the smartphone as we know it? Or are you simply acknowledging a missed opportunity that you wish you had done differently? Either way, it's clear that Microsoft still has a lot of potential to innovate and create new experiences for its customers, whether on PCs, tablets or phones. We can only hope that Nadella's vision comes true one day and that Microsoft doesn't completely abandon the mobile sector.