Windows 11 mobile concept

Our beloved Windows Phone OS is gone, but not forgotten. Unceremoniously wound down a few years ago, Windows 10 Mobile was Microsoft’s last-ditch effort to make its own phone ecosystem. Lack of investment, repeated reboots, and mishandling of developer relationships led to a downward spiral of low quality OS builds and missing apps. Windows Phone 8.1 looked like it had a real chance for a time, actually beating iOS for market share in some countries owing to impressive and incredibly affordable handsets like the Lumia 5xx and 6xx lines. Sadly, it was not meant to be. 

Fast forward to now, and a lot of Microsoft’s current issues with its platform might’ve been solved it had its own operating system. Our senior editor Zac Bowden recently wrote about how the Android-based Surface Duo is facing difficulty getting support from Google, whose monopoly on mobile operating systems has created a completely unlevel playing field. Without its own mobile OS, Microsoft can’t grow Xbox Cloud Gaming effectively, since its business model is being hindered by Google, and outright blocked by Apple. Microsoft also faces a battle getting market share for some of its other apps and services on mobile, which competes with pre-installed versions on Android and iOS. What would the landscape look like if Microsoft still had a Windows mobile OS? 

Shared by Lukastaves on the Windows Central Discord server, this great concept video from AR 4789 offers a glimpse at a Windows 11 Mobile that could’ve been. 

Following the Windows 11 fluent design language very closely, the concept imagines what typical Windows features like File Explorer, Widgets, and others might look like on a modern handset. 

Right now, Microsoft’s only presence in mobile hardware is with the Surface Duo line. The dual-screen foldable is has proven to be a decent effort from the company, but much like Windows 10 Mobile, an unpolished OS and unclear support from Microsoft itself has dogged the platform in recent months. The Surface Duo 2 doesn’t have the latest Android security updates, which is a major lapse for the device, and has all but ceased getting updates even from Microsoft’s first-party apps, which often require special versions. While we haven’t gotten confirmation that the Surface Duo 3 is dead, Microsoft’s half-hearted approach to this stuff doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. It’s not without difficulty, though, since Microsoft obviously cannot monetize Android as effectively as Google, given that they have no mobile app store of their own. 

This may change, however. Rumors suggest that Microsoft has been exploring an Android app store of its own, much akin to Samsung’s Galaxy Store. The Galaxy Store has a far better deal for developers, giving them a bigger cut of revenues, while also avoiding some of Google Play’s draconian rules over in-app purchases and custom payment methods. Fortnite was blocked by Google for the crime of wanting to use its own payment service, for example. 

Microsoft revealed that its purchase of Activision-Blizzard-King was supposed to support this effort, but sadly, the UK regulatory commission blocked the acquisition on spurious grounds. There may still yet be a future for Microsoft in mobility, if it manages to land Activision, which would give it command of powerful franchises like Call of Duty: Mobile, Diablo Immortal, Hearthstone, and Candy Crush Saga. I can’t help but feel like they might’ve been able to achieve this without spending $69 billion on Activision if it had invested half as much into Windows 10 Mobile. Oh well. 

In any case, have a great weekend folks, and be sure to take a look at the video above, and let us know what you think in the comments! 

Jez Corden is the Executive Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by tea. Follow on Twitter (X) and Threads, and listen to his XB2 Podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!