Back in 2012, I wrote an article called Lumia 920–Best Smartphone I Have Owned. It’s gotten a nice amount of views and several pages of comments since then, mostly about Windows Phone 8. That was my second time trying a Windows Phone, and after a couple of years with it, I’ve gone back to the iPhone with the iPhone 6 and will most likely stay with that going forward. I still stand by most of what I said in that article. The Lumia 920 is a great piece of hardware, and Windows Phone 8 is a nice mobile OS, but it isn’t for everyone and I needed a platform that’s going forward, so I ordered the iPhone 6 once it was available.
Windows Phone 8 has made some decent improvements in the app ecosystem over the years, but it’s still lagging behind and in all honestly, developers just don’t care much about it. It has roughly a 3% market share, so priority for developing or updating apps just isn’t there. Many long-awaited apps like Instagram finally made their way to Windows Phone, but are slapped with a Beta in the title, and then they go back to working on the iOS and Android versions of their apps. When something new comes out, you can guarantee it will available for iOS/Android. Windows Phone might get it eventually, and usually a dumbed-down version. Latest example: Flipboard (which doesn’t flip on Windows Phone).
Outside of the home or office, my mobile device is key for my music collection. I’ve really tried to like Xbox Music, but it’s a huge embarrassment not only on Windows Phone, but in Windows itself. It’s slow, clunky UI, playlist feature is just horrible, and syncing with Windows is frustrating. Being branded with Xbox, these apps should be top-notch, but they feel like they were put together by people who don’t even use it.
I do still like the Live Tiles concept. It’s a big part of what sets Windows Phone apart, although I really haven’t missed the feature much when using the iPhone. As far as hardware goes, wireless charging was a neat feature on the Lumia phones, but again, I really haven’t found myself missing it. Yeah, it would be nice to have, but not something that’s a deciding factor for purchase now.
So overall I’m happy I switched, and I don’t see myself going back to Windows Phone again. For me, it’s just not worth the hassle.
Let me mention though that I’m not trying to sell iOS 8 or the iPhone 6 here. I recommend you use and purchase whatever mobile device works for you regardless of the OS or hardware brand. As I said, Windows Phone is a good mobile OS, it’s just no longer working for my needs and wants.