Microsoft may have just cut 7,800 jobs and taken a $7.6bn (£5bn) hit on its smartphone business, but the company's chief executive, Satya Nadella, insists he is still committed to mobile.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced it was writing off $7.6bn related to its $9.5bn acquisition of Nokia in 2013, which was masterminded by Microsoft’s former chief executive Steve Ballmer.

The deal was seen as a last-gasp attempt for both Microsoft and Nokia to challenge the dominance of Apple and Google in the smartphone market, but joining forces has failed to create a meaningful competitor.

However, like the Surface tablet and Google's Nexus devices, these will mainly be used to showcase the capabilities of Windows 10 on mobiles, rather than being intended for mass-market consumption.

"Last week's announcement was not about any change to our vision and strategy, but for sure it was a change to our operating approach," he said.

"I'm not going to launch a phone a day. I'm going to focus on a few phones that actually grab share that, in fact, showcase our uniqueness."

He qualified this by saying that, if no other smartphoone manufacturers stand up to build Windows devices, Microsoft will build them. Ultimately, Microsoft wants to get Windows 10 on as many devices as possible.

Mr Nadella went on to say the company's decision to make Windows 10 a free upgrade underscores its commitment to Windows Phone.

Although most people will come to Windows 10 on the desktop first, Microsoft hopes the ability to use apps across multiple platforms – including desktop, mobile and Xbox – will make Windows Phone more attractive to consumers.

"We will do everything we have to do to make sure we're making progress on phones," he said.

"If you come to Windows, you are going to be on the phone, too. Even if you want to come to Windows because of HoloLens, you want to come to it because of Xbox, you want to come to the desktop, all those get you to the phone."

By: DocMemory
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