[emerongi]

I believe so as well. They've switched focus and are going in the right direction now.

A few years ago I actually advised everyone to not use Microsoft's products. Every single product was subpar (Windows, Windows Phone, their laptops etc). Today, I'm happy to advise Surface Pro, Windows Phone, etc to anyone. They're striving more for innovation (e.g. Surface Pro, Surface Book), which is cool and will bring them success.

[greyman]

I agree with the general sentiment, but imho Windows Phone is still not there. Lot of apps are iOS+Android only, or the WP alternative is sub-par.

[WorldMaker]

The app situation is going to change very rapidly in the next few months. It's why Microsoft is making a big deal of the Windows 10 install base. There was a quick slide follow up in the devices announcement that showed that the growing install base has already attracted some big companies to the UWP [Universal Windows Platform] that previously had be meh on Windows Phone.

With Windows 10 on phones in November that platform will light up on phones finally. (Already the UWP Facebook app, as one example, is a leap forward in cross-OS feature parity compared to previous versions and it will be great to see that "day one" on Windows 10 phones.) On top of that you have "Project Astoria" which will mean very easy ports of existing Android apps to Windows 10 Phones for developers looking to leverage existing code investment. (Already somewhat released and being utilized is "Project Islandwood" and we're starting to see some iOS software ported to Windows through it.)

The UWP support on the Xbox One (and the merging of the Xbox and Windows Stores, huzzah) is supposed to light up as soon as November and we now know that a lot more developers will have access to HoloLens (which will also utilize the UWP) early next year. I think that access to Xboxen and HoloLens will encourage more developers to also consider cheaply scaling "down" to people's phones as well. So too should Continuum phones and their ability to offer side-by-side run "desktop-like" versions of UWP apps may drive some interesting apps to Windows Phone moving forward that have ignored it thus far.

[CaptainZapp]

While I agree on the app front, which is not really that relevant to me, I still believe that it came a very long way in terms of UI and usability.

The one thing I dislike is the mail application (well, one day when I have the nerve and gumption I'll actually figure out how to attach a PDF, I think it has something to do with OneDrive and compatible applications, but I digress) and that there's not really an alternative to it.

In terms of usability it feels to me snappier and more logical than the IPhone of my girlfriend. Even after almost two years it doesn't feel like the performance is degrading.

If they don't kill the platform I plan to stick with it.

[rdudek]

I only use a handful of apps on my phone and the ones I do use, do everything I need out of them. As someone who used iPhones, androids, and now as of this year a Windows Phone, I have to say, the UI is extremely well done. The live tiles give me most of the information I need. Glance is great, I don't have to turn the phone on, I just lift it and it gives me a low light version of date, time, notifications, etc.

I'm definitely going to pick up the Lumia 950XL phone when it goes on sale.