RIP Windows Phone

Goodbye Windows phone. According to a recent article posted by TechCrunch, the head of the Microsoft Windows division has confirmed reports that the Windows Phone project is shutting down.

The process has been long and painful, and Microsoft has announced it will no longer roll out new versions of the Windows Phone. TechCrunch reported the company will continue to update the phones that have already been released — including security enhancements and bug fixes, among other elements — but nothing new will be coming down the pipe for the devices.

“We have tried VERY HARD to incent app devs. Paid money.. wrote apps 4 them.. but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest,” Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president of Windows 10 at Microsoft, wrote in a Sunday (Oct. 8) Twitter post.

Microsoft knows when it is beaten — after all, reports of the death of the Windows Phone have been common since 2012, TechCrunch reported. Still, as some tech heads have noted, the loss should be felt, since the Microsoft phone team did legitimately try to think outside the Apple design box. Most of the operating systems featured a black background with a focus on text instead of icons. The home screen featured tiles with previews of users’ apps instead of the apps grid found on Apple, Samsung and other smartphone devices.

Instead of making its own phone, TechCrunch noted, Microsoft will go back to doing what it does well: creating software. The company will focus its efforts on developing its suite of mobile apps for other platforms, especially as it continues to see constant or growing popularity for some of those apps.

Additionally, according to TechCrunch, Microsoft Edge is joining the ranks of Microsoft Office, Outlook, Swiftkey and Skype and also coming to Android and iOS.