Microsoft’s mobile platform attracts more users in Europe

Jun 30, 2015 09:46 GMT  ·  By

They say Europe is a much friendlier market for Windows Phone, at least as compared to the United States, and statistics that have reached the web lately confirm that Microsoft’s mobile platform has many more users on the Old Continent than in the other regions.

Data provided by Kantar for the three-month period ending in May 2015 shows that Windows Phone still performs better in Europe than in other markets, but it still has a long way to go to become a powerful rival to Android and iOS.

In the United Kingdom, for example, Windows Phone managed to increase its share from 9.2 percent in the three-month time frame ending May 2014 to 10 percent this year, thus posting a growth of 0.8 percent.

A bigger boost in market share was recorded in Italy, where Windows Phone jumped from 9.8 percent to 13.9 percent, thus scoring an increase of 4.1 percent.

The fight against Android

In the United States, Windows Phone did manage to post an increase, but it’s still way behind its rivals, with only 3.5 percent of the smartphones in the country currently running it. In this specific market, Android is number one with 64.9 percent, followed by iOS with 30.9 percent.

As far as China is concerned, Android is once again the king with 76.8 percent, followed by iOS with 21.5 percent and Windows Phone with only 1 percent, down 0.1 percent from the three-month period ending in May 2014.

The best news for Microsoft is that Windows Phone managed to overtake iOS in Italy, where it has 13.9 percent of the market, while iOS is now powering only 13.8 percent of the smartphones in the country. Windows Phone is also getting closer to iOS in France, with a share of 11.1 percent, versus 17.2 percent for Apple’s platform.