The end is near! The official Starbucks app took a while to come to Windows Phone. But it did so with appropriate fanfare upon launch, and was very well received.
However, the company has decided that now it is time to move on.
Starbucks is leaving Microsoft’s mobile operating platform — for the same old reason that many other official clients gave upon their departure. And that is, the dwindling market share of Windows Phone, which has now shrunk to the point that it makes no sense to maintain apps for most developers.
Even one of the most anticipated and highly praised apps for Windows phone, which ironically Microsoft highlighted as proof that developers were committed to the operating system.
Yes, it may have arrived late to the party — and with limited functionality — but the official Starbucks app for Windows 10 Mobile was still considered by everyone to be an important milestone for the mobile OS, alongside other big launches like Facebook and Messenger apps.
Since then, though, the official Starbucks client was rarely updated, with users complaining about bugs, random crashes, and the app not staying logged in.
Now, however, the company is waving goodbye to the platform, and recommending users to switch to the mobile web browser in order to connect to the service. Albeit, without support for some of the features that were exclusive to the app.
This is what the text displays when launching the app reads:
“To continue using the Starbucks app on Windows, please go to apps.starbucks.com in the US, starbucks.ca in Canada, and starbucks.co.uk in the UK.”
So, that is how things come down.
With deafening silence!
