【2017 Archives】

017 Archivesslow death of Windows Phone continues.

In what seems like the most predictable outcome of its plan to equip every officer with a Windows-powered smartphone, the NYPD reportedly plans to dump all 36,000 of its Windows Phones and replace them with iPhones.

The news, first reported by The New York Post,comes less than a year after it finished handing out the devices to all its officers.

Besides the fact that the phones themselves were two or three years old, the move was all but inevitable considering Microsoft effectively killed what was left of Windows Phone earlier this year when it announced it would stop supporting Windows Phone 8.1.

Though Microsoft still technically supports its mobile platform with Windows 10 Mobile, very few handsets are still eligible for the latest updates and the company claims less than half a percent of total smartphone market share, according to Gartner.

Both Windows Phone models used by the NYPD were powered by Windows Phone 8.1. Microsoft had worked with the police department to build a suite of specialized applications to help police officers keep track of cases, fill out paperwork, and communicate with residents of the neighborhoods they policed.

The department first began handing the phones out in 2014 as part of a widely publicized effort to modernize the police force with new technology. Though three years may not sound like a bad run in smartphone upgrade terms, the NYPD was still issuing years-old Windows Phones to officers as of last October.

But with Microsoft no longer providing security updates or other support, it's finally no longer tenable to use the outdated phones. Instead, the department will replace the phones with iPhones by the end of the year, according to The Post.

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