Microsoft wanted an ecosystem of competing handset makers like Android, where they could just make the OS and rake in the money; they have realized they aren't

Microsoft wanted an ecosystem of competing handset makers like Android, where they could just make the OS and rake in the money; they have realized they aren't going to get it, and the one handset maker who took the sucker bet was dying fast. So (I predict) they have decided to switch to the XBox model, where the hardware is in-house, subsidized, and used to gain market share.