The subsequent attempts to turn desktop Windows into Windows Phone were infuriating and ill-conceived. Almost everything that I liked about Windows Phone did not translate to the desktop.
Windows Phone was definitely NOT good. It was stable, and it was visually appealing. But it was always "almost there". It always gave you the impression that the next update would get there, but updates were super slow, if you would get them at all.
At some point MS switched update strategies for WP to cut out the carrier delays. Everyone gets WP updates on time if your device is still supported. They still seem to come out once every month or two, though there haven't been any major feature updates in a long time.
Windows 10 Mobile gets updates every month, just like Windows 10 does. (Also, it's fun to measure how much faster Windows Mobile phones are still patched for major vulnerabilities than Android phones. Even the Pixel took like three extra months to get the KRACK patch.)