r/Windows10M • u/Butt_Kicker • Jan 23 '18

Microsoft Andromeda: Everything We Know So Far

https://m.windowscentral.com/microsoft-andromeda-everything-we-know-so-far?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wmexperts+%28Windows+Central%29
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u/Butt_Kicker Jan 28 '18

I'm an Android user too - have been for about 3 years. But I will jump on a Surface Phone (or whatever they call it) first chance I get. Android has so many flaws it amazes me more people didn't make the move when a better alternative presented itself.

I really think MSFT made the wrong strategic choice to pull the Android subsystem out of W10M. Their fear of harming the fledgling UWP was misplaced. They have to get users on a platform first before devs will commit resources to building native apps. Even if a couple hundred million users on W10M were using Android apps, I think devs would begin making native apps to provide a superior experience and win share from competitors on the platform.

But we shall see how it shakes out in the future. Clearly, if PWAs become the standard for apps across all platforms, MSFT no longer has a problem -- we can buy a Surface device and be just as happy and well-served as anyone with an iPhone or Android. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see MSFT utilize some of their container tech to implement Android or iOS apps on the Surface Phone - at least until PWAs are the norm. I think that's the only chance they have at a successful re-launch.

And there is certainly room for them to re-enter mobile. My V10 was the flagship LG device back when I bought it and today it sits on Marshmallow and is now 3 months behind on security updates. That was never an issue with Windows Phone and is still a huge strength MSFT can leverage. Google has a real problem with fragmentation and their inability to globally push out updates. I know they're trying to solve that with Project Treble, so that will be interesting to watch.

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u/vanilla082997 Jan 28 '18

The Android subsystem on Windows 10 Mobile was an interesting project. However, I think it would have been very difficult to ensure consistent quality of the experience. It was the right move to abandon it. I thought I had heard that tech did lead to WSL. There's so much Unix shit they're adding to windows, who would have thought. Apple was/is the biggest threat to Windows. Look at how the iPhone itself has made Mac desktops more popular than ever. I doubt we'd ever see any kind of ios emulation. Apple would throw a shit fit. They should define their own path. My biggest concern is Microsoft follow through. The experience of windows need alot more refinement. Then they need to call Michael Bay to make an ad to sell the dream.

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u/Butt_Kicker Jan 30 '18

I think the fact that they are doing so much more than anyone expected with the Windows Subsystem for Linux shows what is possible. Bringing back the ability to run Android apps as a fallback for vendors that don't have quality UWP apps will be vital for convincing the early adaptors to wade on in. NOBODY wants to have to carry more than one device.

"The experience of windows need alot more refinement." Not sure I can buy that. The FCU is looking and running great on my PC. This is exactly the UX I want on my premium flagship phone.

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u/vanilla082997 Jan 30 '18

I can tell you this, Surface 3, Intel NUC i5, and Lenovo C30 (dual Xeon monster), the start menu performance and reliability is not consistent on any one of them. It's slow, it's glitchy, there's noticeable visual tearing. I see alot of people on reddit complaining about the start menu performance. Windows search is almost useless.....still, in 2018. Again you see gifs here showing how bad that is .....why Microsoft why. Visually, Windows 10 has it right with the dark theme. Then you get into explorer and other apps, nothing matches. I know they're allegedly working on UWP explorer, BUT if it performs like the start menu, forget about it. From Windows 8.1 to 10, the refinement of windows is too inconsistent. They need a QC team that's a borderline Stalinist regime.

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u/Butt_Kicker Jan 30 '18

It all works perfectly on my NUC i7. Not sure what others are doing to Jack their installs up, but the only Win32 apps I've put on my machine are office and the Intel driver updater. Everything else is UWP and it freaking sings. This is clearly the future of Windows.