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Comment by distances | Hacker News Reader

It's hard to see any manufacturer seriously revisiting the Windows story on mobile platforms. It has died a couple of times already, and for a casual observer it looks like Microsoft is more committed to Android+iOS story now too.

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Yes, but the big difference this time around is that it's the same Windows as on the desktop with the ability to run desktop software. You get mobile plus desktop on the one device which is something Microsoft's better positioned to deliver on than either Google or Apple. And because of that Microsoft will finally start succeeding on mobile.

That was the story with Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 too, and it never happened. Believe me, I bought into the ecosystem and was a true believer. And it never happened.

But again, the difference is that it's full Windows 10 on ARM with x86 Win32 emulation. You can take your 32-bit Windows x86 software and run it with no changes needed if you want to. You don't have to buy into any new ecosystem because there is no new ecosystem.

Here's a demo video they released at the start of the year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_GlGglbu1U

TBH, there is not much you can do on a phone of that size. There aren't many windows exclusive applications that you would want to use on a phone.

Also, it simply doesn't make sense when seen through a buisnessman's perspective.

The x86 desktop application support is for the desktop use case. For a phone you'd plug it into a dock and use it as a desktop or into a laptop shell and use it like a laptop. Like this for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNzatcI9Fqw

But I don't want to?

Then it's not for you. But it is for me, it is for the company I work at, and it is for many companies like it. This capability will be huge.

> And because of that Microsoft will finally start succeeding on mobile.

Has been said so many times before.

> And because of that Microsoft will finally start succeeding on mobile.

I've heard this joke before, but go on..

This was the mistake that MS made before.

Phone software is so radically different to desktop software that attempting to target the same program to them both makes both worse.

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