We’ve all seen our technology become obsolete much faster than we hope or anticipate, but this case is a little more extreme than buying an iPhone 6 just as the 7 Plus is announced. The New York Police Department is getting rid of 36,000 Windows Phones just two years after equipping New York’s finest with the devices.
Microsoft loss is Apple’s gain. The department will transition to iPhones starting this fall, according to The Verge. Apple is expected to unveil its next generation of iPhones in September.
NYPD purchased the Microsoft-based Nokia smartphones as part of a $160 million “Mobility Initiative,” according to the New York Post. The report claims the decision to equip officers with phones that run on a system whose days are numbered fell largely to one IT professional.
Last month, Microsoft ended support for Windows Phone 8.1, which many Windows-powered phones are still using. Even with the availability of Windows 10 Mobile, media outlets declared the announcement the end of the Windows Phone era.
The Microsoft smartphones allowed officers to receive notifications of 911 calls and use other crime-fighting apps. There was skepticism from the beginning, with a CNET report in 2016 raising questions about life and death situations relying on “outdated phones running Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.”
