>I think Windows Phone was just wildly mismanaged. I say this as someone who bought a WP7 phone very early on because I found the UI so compelling.
I like to think that WP7 was a smart dumb phone. I had a great UI, that I loved. And just enough smart stuff to make me happy. Maps. Unified messaging. Cortana wasnt completely enshittified yet either. Small package (L520) and I loved it.
WP8 tried to incorporate Windows 8 design features, and everything got worse. Vendors pulled out of the unified messaging. Cortana would send my maps to the advertisers address rather than closest requested. And the L525 that ran it actually went backwards in specs.
I would still, today, go back to a supported, bugfixed, WP7 in a heartbeat. And I bet there are dozens! of people just like me.
I like to think that WP7 was a smart dumb phone. I had a great UI, that I loved. And just enough smart stuff to make me happy. Maps. Unified messaging. Cortana wasnt completely enshittified yet either. Small package (L520) and I loved it.
WP8 tried to incorporate Windows 8 design features, and everything got worse. Vendors pulled out of the unified messaging. Cortana would send my maps to the advertisers address rather than closest requested. And the L525 that ran it actually went backwards in specs.
I would still, today, go back to a supported, bugfixed, WP7 in a heartbeat. And I bet there are dozens! of people just like me.