Microsoft's business phone is still on the way says Microsoft CFO

Microsoft is launching their flagships officially tomorrow, with the in-store sales of the Lumia 950 starting at AT&T on the 20th.

As is human nature however, we are already looking at what’s coming next, and Microsoft’s CFO Amy Hood gave another hint at the UBS Global Technology Broker Conference on Tuesday.

Speaking at the event she said “We launched a [Lumia] 950 and a 950 XL. They’re premium products, at the premium end of the market, made for Windows fans. And we’ll have a business phone, as well.”

The announcement is in line with Microsoft’s announced plans 3 months ago, where they would deliver handsets for enthusiasts, business users and the low-end segment.

So far the Lumia 950 range and the Lumia 550 range served the earlier and later, but we do not yet know what the business handset will look like.

That device may be the Lumia 650, which is another affordable handset with an HD screen and Snapdragon 410 processor. It may also be the much rumoured Surface phone, which is an x86 powered device that may be able to run win32 apps in Continuum mode.

Addressing concerns regarding Windows Phone’s flagging sales, Hood noted that Microsoft was focussed on growth, but the right kind.

“It’s a focused approach. I think we’re not focused on what that growth will look like and should look like. We’re focused on doing it in a smart way. And we’re focused on the people who love our products and our experience.”

Not just about Windows Phone

Microsoft was however not relying on Windows Phone for its mobile relevance. Hood pointed to examples Microsoft’s cross-platform mobile strategy as signs of its competitiveness.

“If the mobility of the experience is important, then we’ll probably be in that segment, in the phone, which is a premium in the business segment,” she said. “It’s very funny, all the articles that have come out on how we own more of your iPhone space than we used to on your mobile phone,” she said. “It’s because of these beautiful experiences that we’ve put together that are accruing back to Office. It’s a very good thing to have people want to use your app. That is what we mean by ‘mobile-first.’ It doesn’t have to mean we sell a phone. Let me be super clear on that.”

Lets hope at some point enterprise users will want to use Microsoft apps not just on an iPhone, but also on Windows handsets.

[source link=”https://rcpmag.com/articles/2015/11/18/windows-phone-share-sinks.aspx”]RCPMag.com[/source]