Verizon has pulled the plug on its support for Microsoft’s Windows phone platform. The largest carrier in the United States has ended sales of the Lumia 735. That means there is not a single Windows-based handset available from the company. Not even the excellent HP Elite x3 running Windows 10 Mobile.
Sure, Verizon has never offered much support to Microsoft’s Windows phone. With that in mind, not much has been lost by the Lumia 735 being removed. The device itself was released back in September 2015 and was among the last Nokia branded Lumia.
By time Verizon picked it up, the carrier had replaced Nokia with Microsoft. Either way, the company was not giving the modest handset a big sell, and only offered it in black.
Since then, Verizon has been checking off on Windows phone devices. While the Lumia 735 is the last to go, it is still on the Microsoft Store but permanently out of stock. I guess there are some bricks and mortar locations that have Windows phone stock.
The news here is not really that a generally cold Microsoft partner has pulled the plug, but more that it is the latest to do so. Of course, Microsoft went first when it decided to end Lumia mobile production last year.
Since then we have seen something that is reminiscent of a culling. With no new stock coming from Microsoft, retailers have been selling off their remaining Lumia inventory. Of course, Verizon has taken it a step further and does not sell any Windows based smartphones, even those not under Microsoft’s umbrella.
AT&T
Back in February, Verizon’s big rival AT&T ended its support of Windows phone devices. The second largest US carrier showed a little more support to the platform, but no longer sells any devices. Again, this included for handsets such as the Elite x3.
As I said at the time, this does not mean your existing Windows device will not work on AT&T, or indeed Verizon. The networks still support the smartphones.
