Joe Belfiore, former head of Windows Phone development, upsets fans and users again

Once again former head of Windows Phone development Joe Belfiore has managed to stoke the flames. Aangry and jilted fans and phone owners of Microsoft’s failed mobile platform fired back as he explained a new feature found in the latest Windows 10 Insider preview 16251.

We have no hate for WP! In fact, we're trying to bring some of it's benefits (Cortana, PC connection) to our tons of iOS/Android users.

— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) July 26, 2017

While his intentions may have been to clear up some misunderstanding between the direction the Windows development team was taking and the disheartened assumptions of a lingering tribe of Windows phone fans, his explanation was met with clear upset and disappointed fervor.

Ok, again, how exactly does this (or anything else) benefit WP or its users? An answer of some sort, for once, would be nice.

— Not_That_Dude (@Not_That_Dude) July 26, 2017

We don't feel the love though. We usually feel more like 2nd class citizens when it comes to MS products and services. Just sayin'.

— Dan Roth (@Dan12R) July 26, 2017

Not that you know, the fans just wanted some concrete evidence that wp is not dead like a new device.

— ????Johnathan Dalipsingh???? (@JohnathanDavidD) July 26, 2017

This latest muddled communication effort isn’t the first time Joe B has been on the receiving end of a bunch of angry and disappointed Windows phone fans as it would seem he has a history of delivering bad news under the guise of transparency for the platform.

Back in 2011, Joe B was under fire from fans and users as the pledge to get the platform on track with regular and transparent updates, to rectify the platform’s omission of very basic features such as copy/paste. Then a year later he was once again being raked over the coals about how Windows Phone 7.5 devices could not be upgraded to Windows Phone 8 due to a structural engineering hurdle.

Perhaps, Windows phone fans and user base are a bit more temperamental than others when it comes to showing love for their chosen platform, but after years of empty promises, failed marketing, and the gradual degradation of the operating system, Joe B’s attempt at explaining the broadening of the Windows 10 ecosystem at the expenses of Windows 10 Mobile probably feels like trolling at this point.