Opinion: Will Apple's winning strategy work wonders for Microsoft?

[sincity]

The announcements that accompany Windows 10 are starting to come faster as Microsoft unveils more and more of the upcoming iteration of the world's most popular operating system, asking beta testers to submit proposals and find bugs within the software.

In January, Microsoft unveiled the Consumer Preview of the operating system, showing off new features which include Cortana, the virtual assistant, and various initiatives that allow desktop users who don't have a touchscreen to use Windows 10 more effectively than Windows 8. In many ways, Windows 10 is ahead of Apple's platform as OS X offers nothing more than basic text translation – Siri is always poised to make an appearance but never seems to – and has no ability to work on a touchscreen device.

• Hands on: Windows 10 review

One OS to rule all

There is one area in which Microsoft does endeavour to mimic OS X's capabilities, however, and that is with regard to integration between desktop, tablet and smartphone operating systems. Apple's approach is simple: the operating systems are distinct but share certain characteristics and apps that are similar, but built exclusively for the different operating systems. Both iOS and OS X have Safari and while they share some of the same code they are both definitely exclusive apps with different UIs and different features.

Contrastingly, Microsoft has built Windows 10 and Windows Phone (soon to be called Windows 10) with each other in mind, creating what is effectively one OS spread over two devices (tablets run Windows 10 as standard) which creates a whole new set of problems.

Apple's approach forces developers to create two or three versions of their app if they want to cover Apple's entire user base – bear in mind that while OS X is relatively small, Apple is still shifting almost six million units per quarter and many creative types and software developers use OS X – which takes extra time to code. Conversely, each app can be tailored to the experience of each device: an OS X app needs to feel and work well on a Mac computer while an iOS app needs to have a different experience on an iPad to an iPhone.

The permutations of Apple hardware are also much more limited, making the job of developers far easier. Just as Android has many screen sizes and hardware options, Windows works on so many PCs and tablets that an app made for one device almost certainly won't work on another.

The one area of the ecosystem that Microsoft does have complete control over is Windows Phone, soon to be rolled into Windows 10. In the early days of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft imposed minimum hardware restrictions on manufacturers making it impossible for them to build a device that didn't conform to the restrictions.

App shortage

As a result, developing for Windows Phone was easy, the only problem being that the mobile operating system never saw the level of uptake that Windows on the desktop had, or indeed that of iOS and Android. Currently, Microsoft owns around 4% of the smartphone market making the firm a small time player and, as a result, very few apps are available for Windows Phone.

Many column inches have been written about Windows Phones' lack of apps and how this problem has created a vicious circle for Microsoft, and the solution Redmond has come up with is allowing developers to simultaneously create apps for Windows 10 and Windows Phone, effectively merging the two. Many features have been taken from Windows Phone and placed in Windows 10, not least the design of Windows 8 but, ultimately, this strategy is doomed.

Microsoft's resources would be far better applied elsewhere rather than working on Windows Phone and attempting to integrate the two operating systems effectively. Apple can integrate iOS and OS X effectively because it starts with iOS, the far more popular OS, and works "back to [the] Mac" as Apple's event was pithily named.

Continuing folly

Microsoft is attempting to do the opposite but this strategy won't work. Software initiatives such as Continuity, which enable projects started on an iOS device to be continued on a Mac and vice versa, are just not available to Microsoft because it is starting with a vastly unpopular OS and trying to add features back to Windows, a vastly popular OS – giving users only half the experience.

It's all well and good that Windows Phone apps will work on Windows 10 and vice versa but no one will buy a Windows Phone device simply because it works with Windows 10 applications, especially when Microsoft is producing superior applications for iOS and Android.

In some ways it is strange that Microsoft persists with Windows Phone, when packing it in would be a monetary and strategic boom for the company. The resources and software engineers that created Cortana can be better used elsewhere, patching up holes and creating high-quality software directly for Windows 10.

Satya Nadella is, as he himself has said, committed to offering a quality experience on all platforms, and in some places the experience on iOS and Android is actually superior to the experience on Windows Phone, especially in terms of Office and other Microsoft apps.

Irrelevancy beckons?

Microsoft's focus on building out of Windows Phone into Windows 10 is futile and wastes resources that could otherwise be applied elsewhere, more effectively and with more of a lasting impact on the company. The design of Windows Phone is excellent and was warmly received on its debut, but has become stagnant and old as iOS and Android have both undergone significant design overhauls.

Enterprise continues to be the key area of growth within Microsoft, bringing in more and more of the revenue while mobile and other opportunities continue to fade into the background. The right thing for Nadella to do would be to close down the Windows Phone programme, stop producing hardware, focus on producing high-quality software for iOS and Android, and release Windows 10 with brand new features to critical acclaim.

Sadly, very few of these things will happen and Microsoft will continue to slip further and further into irrelevancy.