Microsoft has formally admitted that it will fail to meet its goal of getting Windows 10 aboard one billion devices in 2018 thanks to the failure of Windows Mobile.
When Windows 10 launched in 2015, Microsoft published a lofty set of goals for the operating system; the most onerous of which was its intent to see the operating system aboard one billion devices by 2018.
Now, a year later, Microsoft has formally admitted that it won’t be able to achieve its self-set goal thanks to the fact it is actively refocusing its hardware business; namely, Windows Phone.
Read: Microsoft accidentally reveals the Windows 10 Anniversary Update‘s release date
Microsoft recently met its first target in that over 350 million devices have installed the update. Some of those installations, however, used dubious practices to download and both upgrade devices to Windows 10 – one California woman even went so far as to sue Microsoft when here computer became ‘unusable’.
Now, Microsoft has formally admitted it won’t be able to seed Windows 10 aboard one billion devices by 2018. The company, through a spokesperson, elaborated that “due to the focusing of our phone hardware business, it will take longer than FY18 for us to reach our goal.“
While Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile play has been an unrelenting failure, it’s unlikely that the company would have been able to meet its goal had it not elected to refocus its mobile hardware business. Recently, Windows 10 plummeted beneath a 1% share of the entire mobile market.
However, the statement sheds new light on the possibility of a Surface Phone, given that Microsoft has stated it is actively refocusing its hardware unit.
Read: Windows 10 reaches 300 million devices ahead of free offer expiration
What are your thoughts on the news that Microsoft will fail to reach its goal of seeing Windows aboard 1 billion devices by 2018? Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
