Think of a smartphone that predicts your needs instead of simply reacting to them. An OS that seemingly integrates with cloud services, PC, and your gaming console. A platform that packs features so far ahead of its time. This experience briefly existed with Windows Phone, a visionary software that couldn’t make it. As Microsoft turns 50, I think it’s time to bring back Windows phones once again in 2025.
My Windows Phone Origin Story: An OS that Dared to Dream
As someone who made a career out of following Android, I started my journey with a Windows Phone. The Nokia Lumia 520 was my first smartphone that my grandma bought for me. And so started my journey in tech.
I picked the phone over any Android at the time, for a simple reason- it looked out of the ordinary. Upon first boot, you were greeted with an interactive plane of live tiles. A sharp contrast to the static icons present on Android or iPhones. This was called the Metro UI, which showed real-time updates, reminders, and events right on the home screen.
This brought the home screen to life, always updating, refreshing, and eliminating the need to open certain apps. If something seemed important, you could resize it to quickly glance at alerts or live updates. This sort of customization made the Windows Phone home screen feel like a game of Tetris, where you try to fit the blocks in the correct order.
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Then you got support for Microsoft services out of the box. Like Xbox, Zune, Office 365, and SkyDrive, all of them synced with your Microsoft account. So you could return to documents saved on your PC, sync images and contacts from your phone in SkyDrive, allowing access across devices. This kind of synergy wasn’t as common back in the day.
However, the biggest advantage in the Windows Phone catalogue is the Nokia hardware. They made colorful devices that appealed to the younger generation, something that Apple tried to copy with the iPhone 5C. Their phones also featured camera prowess, unlike any other. If you were serious about smartphone photography, then you picked a Lumia. They even came with a Shutter key (which again, Apple adopted with the Camera Control button, almost a decade later).
Nokia made its camera app beginner-friendly, featuring an intuitive carousel of camera controls. This made my younger self inclined to click more photos. And learn what settings like ISO and white balance do to a picture. Here are some examples to show how much I loved taking photos with the measly 5MP lens of my Lumia 520.
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Even modern features like Always on display, dynamic lock screen, UI theming, all were present on Windows Phone. All this just goes to show how far ahead Windows Phones were at the time.
When Cortana was the Real MVP of Mobile Assistants
I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but Cortana was better than any other voice assistant, period! She may have failed at her actual job of being a capable virtual help. But at the time, she had what most voice models don’t have, even in today’s day and age. A good personality!
Cortana was introduced with Windows 8.1, adapted from Xbox’s popular FPS title Halo. Microsoft even brought the same voice actor from the game to lend her voice to the virtual assistant. This further added to her personality, as she was cheerful and fun to engage with. She had more than a monotone response to your queries and also featured some fun little Easter eggs for Halo fans.
When you ask about her and Master Chief’s relations, she will give a coy reply. She was self-aware of other competing voice assistants at the time, and wasn’t shy to pass a remark. I know PC users didn’t care for it much. But it made itself cozy on a smartphone and was one of the things that I miss about Windows Phones.
Where Windows Phone’s Potential Died
So if so much was right with Windows Phones, what led to their downfall, you may ask? Well, there were many reasons for its failure. First and foremost was the lack of proper app support. No Instagram, no Snapchat, no Google service like YouTube, Google Maps, or even Google Search. Living the Windows Phone life was almost giving yourself a social media detox.
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You also couldn’t sideload apps like you can on Android. So your only options were either the browser, which was Internet Explorer by default (Yikes). Or going with third-party clients of those services. Apart from these issues, Microsoft’s own ambitions for the future of Windows Phone also became the cause of its downfall, also contributing to the death of Nokia. Like a modern tale of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun.
Windows 10 Mobile was supposed to fix most issues with the older versions. Bring wider app support, and offer seamless connectivity between your phone and PC. Instead, it did the opposite, as it was too buggy to botch the experience of using a Lumia device entirely. Every single reviewer who tried it called it an unfinished mess. Basic things like browsing apps, taking pictures, or making calls became a chore all of a sudden.
This soured the taste in every Windows Phone user’s mind and made us die-hard fans beg for Microsoft to roll it back. Which they eventually did. That was the final nail in the coffin for this era of Windows smartphones. And after that… it has been silent ever since.
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While the Windows Phone era might have eroded long ago, it left a deep-rooted impact on a community of users who still miss it to this day. The fact that I am writing this piece should be enough to support that statement. The Metro UI, live widget, system-wide dark theme, and horizontal scrolling menu were all ahead of their time and offered an experience like none other.
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The smartphone market of 2025 has matured a lot and is dominated by Google and Apple, so it isn’t as easy as it was a decade ago for Microsoft to make a return. However, people are getting tired of the two and, more than before, reminisce about simpler times of a colorful Lumia smartphone.
Not only was Windows Phone fun. It was customizable at the interface level, making it gel well with the Gen Zs of today. They were also incredibly easy to use, appealing straight away to the older generation as well. For all these reasons, and more, I feel Microsoft should consider stepping into the smartphone industry once again. And I know how they can do it…
How Can Microsoft Bring It Back?
As I said, entering the smartphone market in 2025 isn’t going to be easy, as people have already chosen a side in the Android and iOS duopoly. That is why I feel that, rather than running on a completely new operating system, Microsoft should instead build upon Windows Phone on Android.
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I know that sounds absurd, but it solves a major problem: app support or the lack of it. Microsoft already tried the same thing with its Surface Duo lineup of foldables. They stuffed them with Microsoft apps and services. The same can be executed here, but with a heavily skinned version, made to feel and look like Windows Phone.
Several Android launchers already bring the aesthetics of a Windows Phone, so Microsoft sure can do a far better job than them. Plus, they won’t have to sweat over the security and privacy features, as Android takes care of it. If this seems like a far-fetched dream, then let me tell you that Microsoft already executed it in 2015 with the Nokia X lineup of smartphones.
They also came with a heavily skinned version of Android made to look like Windows Phone, sporting the same exterior as a typical Lumia. Microsoft could also hire the original design team for the Lumia smartphones to bring the same joyful aesthetics that our nostalgia wouldn’t let us forget about. With all the right pieces and a bang-on price, I think we could successfully bring back the age of Windows Phone to the market in 2025. Now it’s your call, Microsoft!