HP killed their Elite x3 WorkSpace virtualization app which belies their 2019 support claim
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There have been strong rumours recently from a number of sources that HP is set to stop selling the HP Elite x3 Windows 10 Mobile handset on the 1st November.
In an official statement, HP strongly denied this, saying:
HP is always responding to customer feedback to deliver the best product experiences. We remain committed to our mobility strategy and vision and will sell the Elite x3 through 2019 while continuing to enhance our portfolio delivering multi-OS devices, accessories and workflow transformation solutions. Mobility is an exciting and rapidly evolving area, and HP will continue to explore ways to address our customers’ mobile computing needs.
It has just been revealed that HP has however shuttered their virtualization service, which allowed HP Elite x3 owners to run Win32 apps. In a statement HP said:
Thank you for your interest in HP Workspace! As of July 31, 2017, HP has discontinued the HP Workspace product. When the HP Elite x3 was introduced, there were limited options to deliver Windows PC applications to Windows 10 mobile devices. So, we created HP Workspace to enable HP Elite x3 users’ access to Windows “desktop” applications. Since then, leading providers such as VMWare®, Microsoft and Citrix® have released or improved their solutions for this operating system. Please visit their respective websites for more information on their solutions.
HP’s WorkSpace was always a stopgap measure to make up for the deficiencies of Continuum for Phones, but this was something we thought would be addressed by improvements on Continuum rather than 3rd party virtualization software. Microsoft’s cessation of development of Windows 10 Mobile has meant this is no longer on the cards.
While I have no doubt HP has a legal obligation to continue to support their handsets, I believe the likelihood of these handsets remaining on sale to 2019 is slim to none. Discontinuing HP WorkSpace is simply another pointer in the opposite direction.
