MICROSOFT MIGHT GIVE UP on Windows Phone and adopt Google's Android software for future smartphone devices, according to rumours.
Twitter leakster MSNerd said that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his senior leadership team (SLT) are discussing potentially dropping Windows Phone from the firm's smartphones and smaller tablets.
Instead, the tweets claim, Microsoft will offer Android with its own apps and services pre-loaded. The firm has already signed deals with Dell and Samsung to load its apps onto the companies' respective Android tablets.
"Nadella and the SLT debating continuing Windows on phones and small tablets vs bundling Microsoft services on Android as the way forward," MSNerd said.
"Microsoft would push Google Play devices with Microsoft apps in exchange for Google providing first-class Maps, YouTube, Search on Windows."
We'd advise taking this rumour with a pinch of salt, but it does come just days after Nadella told Microsoft staff that the firm will "make some tough choices in areas where things are not working".
These decisions are starting to show, and Microsoft has already offloaded its Bing mapping assets to Uber.
Ditching Windows Phone would kind of make sense for the firm too, which has long struggled to compete against Android and iOS in the highly competitive smartphone market.
A report from analyst outfit Kantar Worldpanel ComTech last month, for example, showed that Windows Phone accounted for just eight percent of smartphone sales in the UK in Q1. In comparison, Android claimed 68.4 percent of sales, while Apple snatched 38.1 percent.
The Microsoft mobile OS has also failed to make much of a dent in the business smartphone market. Figures from Good Technology revealed that Windows Phone accounted for just one percent of enterprise mobile activations in the first quarter.
However, while it perhaps seems a wise move for Microsoft to admit defeat in the smartphone market, the firm has announced plans to launch Windows 10 Mobile later this year, so it's unlikely that the company will ditch the software anytime soon.
Microsoft has yet to respond to our request for comment.
Credited:theINQUIRER
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