Word play. But this official statement from Microsoft is our clearest signal yet of the new strategy that the company has for the future. A future that, at least immediately, has nothing to do with mobile.
In other words, Windows Phone.
In fact, investing in phones is not really what Redmond wants to do at this point in time.
Sure, it’s no secret that Microsoft is not very keen on the mobile market in its current state, not the hardware side of things, certainly. But the technology titan has now made it official in the annual report for the 2017 fiscal year.
Explaining that AI is now a company priority.
Mobile is nowhere in the corporate vision statement, even as CEO Satya Nadella had been promoting the mobile-first, cloud-first approach ever since he took charge of the hot seat from Steve Ballmer all the way back in 2014.
As CNBC reports, smartphones have been removed from the financial filing, with artificial intelligence now listed as the top priority for Microsoft:
“Our strategic vision is to compete and grow by building best-in-class platforms and productivity services for an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge infused with AI.”
For the record, this was the previous statement, with a notably prominent emphasis on mobile:
“Our strategic vision is to compete and grow as a productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world.”
Sure, Redmond will still be active in the mobile space, but it seems that the focus will now be primarily split between Android and iOS platforms. Which is not all that surprising when you consider that no new devices, and little in terms of software updates have made their way out of Redmond walls lately.
The company’s mobile efforts will continue, as long as Windows 10 Mobile is actively being developed.
But Windows Phone is, in the truest sense of the word, dead.
It’s official.
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