After two years of struggling to make its Windows 10 Mobile operating system take off, Microsoft has admitted defeat.
In a series of tweets over the weekend, the company's vice president or Windows 10 said that building new features for Windows smartphones is no longer a focus" for the company
"We have tried VERY HARD to incent app devs. Paid money.. wrote apps 4 them.. but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest," Belfiore tweeted .
"Of course we'll continue to support the platform.. bug fixes, security updates, etc. But building new features/hw aren't the focus."
Microsoft hasn't launched any new Windows handsets in years, but this if the first time a Microsoft executive has publicly admitted that the company has stopped working on Windows 10 Mobile.
The operating system now accounts for less than 0.1% of worldwide marketshare, with just 1.1 million units expected to ship in 2017, according to the latest IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
Belfiore admitted that he has now switched to Android, and that Microsoft will turn its attention to supporting Windows 10 customers who want to use Android and iOS on their phones.
The company recently launched Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps on Android and iOS, and is also planning to bring its Edge browser on the mobile platforms.
It is also working to improve the experience of using apps and documents across multiple devices.
Commenting on the news, Richard Windsor, analyst at Edison Investment Research, said that Google would be the big winner from Windows Phone's demise.
"The real loser here is not Microsoft, which is going from strength to strength in the enterprise, but the Android handset makers," he said.
"If Windows had become a thriving alternative to Android and iOS then they would have had far more leverage over Google which could have resulted in much better economic terms as well as greater freedom.
"Unfortunately, with its failure, they are completely stuck giving Google a free reign to continue draining the Android industry of its profits."