Samsung becomes the latest important company to pull its app from Windows Phone, most likely as a result of the dropping share of the operating system.
The South Korean phone manufacturer announced in a blog post today that its SmartThings app will no longer be offered to Windows Phone users as of April 1.
SmartThings, which is an app that allows users to control their smart homes, is available in the Store not only with support for Windows Phone 8.1, but also for Windows 10 Mobile users. The app will be removed on April 1, and users will no longer be able to download and install it on their devices.
Focus switching to iOS and AndroidThe statement offered by Samsung says nothing about the reason behind this decision, although there's absolutely no doubt that the dropping share of Windows Phone is the main factor that convinced the firm to switch focus exclusively to iOS and Android.
"We also regret to announce that version 1.7.0 of the SmartThings app for Windows Phone will be the last major release for the Windows Phone OS. We are no longer able to provide the desired level of updates and support for this platform and have made the tough decision to discontinue Windows phone development," Samsung said.
"Version 1.7.0 now offers support for Windows 10 features. Barring unforeseen issues, this version will continue to function (with Windows Phone 10 Anniversary update). On April 1, 2017 version 1.7.0 will be removed from the Windows app store, and it will no longer be possible to download it and install it onto a new device. We will continue to offer technical support through June 2017 for existing users."
The app will continue to work until April 1, but this obviously doesn't change anything for those who hoped to get updates at the same cadence as iOS and Android users.
Fortunately, there are already several alternatives in the Windows Store, and one of the most popular is Vera, which not only that offers features to control your smart homes, but it's also offered as a universal app with support for both PC and mobile.
Source: Samsung to Pull Windows Phone App
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