HP denies rumours Elite x3 is for the axe, admits coveting neighbour's OS

HP Inc, the only phone vendor with a serious commitment to Windows 10 mobile, has refuted reports that it will kill off its HP Elite x3 enterprise phone this autumn.

A German article on the Windows United blog claimed sales would cease from November 1.

HP has said it will continue to sell the Elite x3 throughout 2018, and to expect more devices, although not necessarily running Windows:

The Elite was announced in February 2016 and is built around Microsoft's Continuum multimode functionality, which allows the device to be docked and used as a desktop PC.

HP invested heavily in building a hardware and service ecosystem around the x3, including a laptop shell, docks, cases and a secure virtual app service HP Workspace. HP killed off Workspace in July. VMware and Citrix now take up the slack. The device has been successfully used in IT pilots and has its supporters in the business community.

However, HP has been hampered by Microsoft's lack of progress developing the feature key to the mission's success: Continuum. More improvements are due in Redstone 4 Windows 10, which is now due next Spring.

Samsung's DeX feature apes Continuum on Android

Earlier this year Samsung added Continuum-like capabilities to its high-end Galaxy phones, so apps can switch from a mobile view to a docked, multiwindow PC mode. Even though DeX is a 1.0 product, we found it worked well and had one huge advantage over Continuum: a far deeper app catalogue.

HP denied it was edging away from Continuum only last month. The statement suggests ("multi-OS") it is looking beyond Windows for its business-class devices. ®