The HP Elite X3 was launched earlier this year with much fanfare and users in the Windows Phone community hoped this to be just the beginning of a longer series of new devices running Windows 10 Mobile.
In the end, the Elite X3 proved to be one of the few Windows phones that got to see daylight this year, and rumors claim that Microsoft itself is now planning to kill some devices with the official retirement of the Lumia lineup.
We recently reviewed the HP Elite X3, and our verdict was as simple as it could be: this is the best Windows phone to date, and not even a Lumia can match its performance. It’s kind of ironic that the number one Windows phone is not manufactured by Microsoft, but Redmond itself said on several occasions that it planned to work with partners on building “great devices.”
But despite the HP Elite X3 being a hardware monster, the software side of the device is simply dragging it down, and I’m saying this as a big fan of Windows phones. It’s nearly impossible to come from Android or iOS and be happy with Windows phones (although I’ve personally seen people doing this, but you can count them on the fingers of one hand), and there are three main reasons for this.
Spoiler alert: Windows phone fans aren’t going to like this, but as always, head to the comment section if you think I’m wrong. I’m preparing my argument bag as we speak, so let’s have a conversation.
Buggy operating system
Windows 10 Mobile has improved a lot since the first preview builds were released a long time ago, but after using it for so long on the Lumia 950 XL and then on the HP Elite X3, it’s more than obvious that it still has a long way to go before it becomes a strong rival to Android and iOS.
Bugs are still there, and it goes without saying that these easily ruin the experience with a powerful phone like the HP Elite X3. The “Resuming” bug is still there, and so are crashes that occur every once in a while when using various apps.
It happened several times for the camera app to crash all of a sudden, just when trying to take a photo, while Outlook closed without a clear reason just after pressing the send button, with the phone going back to Start. Long-time Windows phone users know these are common bugs, but they are unacceptable when the operating system is installed on a device so good.
Performance also needs to be improved, and the best example is once again the Camera app. It takes at least 2 seconds to take a pic, so there’s a good chance that you miss the perfect shot, especially if you’re trying to capture a moving object or person.
Lack of apps
Everyone knows that the lack of apps on Windows 10 Mobile is one of its biggest problems, and so many people complained about it that it’s annoying only to mention it. But this problem is real and, unfortunately, it contributes to the bad experience that Android or iOS users might have when switching to a Windows phone.
Microsoft has invested aggressively in universal apps and the company worked with developers to bring more of them on Windows 10, including PCs and smartphones, but the platform still lacks essential apps that Android and iOS users can’t live without.
There are no banking apps (especially for users in Europe), no games, no browsers (except for Opera Mini and a couple of others that are rather unpopular), no email clients. Windows phone fans will probably say that you don’t even need any because you already have Edge and Outlook, but it’s all about choice and alternatives.
And what’s even worse is that developers are still abandoning the platform these days, mostly because of the declining market share, so it’ll be very hard for Microsoft to tackle the lack of apps on its mobile OS.
Poor support for advanced features
One of the biggest problems with Windows 10 Mobile on the HP Elite X3 is the somehow limited capabilities that the device boasts because of the operating system.
For example, the phone comes with a LED notification light which, to be honest, comes in super handy when trying to never miss a notification, but Windows 10 Mobile does not let you configure it for third-party apps. Or for any apps.
On Android, you can have different colors for different apps, and this is why the LED lights are so useful, and there’s no doubt that Windows phone fans would love to have similar functionality.
HP clearly pressed Microsoft to improve Windows 10 Mobile and the support for fingerprint readers is living proof, but more improvements in this regard are clearly needed.
In the end, there can only be one conclusion: Windows 10 Mobile is just not there yet. Not even with a device like the HP Elite X3. And it’s all up to Microsoft to change this.
