14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is getting ready to debut Windows 10 Mobile for Windows Phone devices and everyone hopes to see the platform improving its market share in the coming years, but according to analyst firm IDC, that’s not going to happen.
The latest forecast published by the company estimates that Windows Phone will decline gradually in the next four years and will drop from the 1.6 percent market share this year to 0.9 percent in 2020.
As far as shipment volumes are concerned, IDC says Microsoft would be able to bring 23.8 percent new Windows phones to the market this year, but these figures will drop to 17.8 million in 2020.
Android going up, iOS declining too
In case you are wondering, Android will be the only one to post a growth in the coming years in IDC’s vision, as an increase from 82.6 percent in 2016 to 84.6 percent in 2020 is likely to be experienced. This means that in four years, customers will purchase a total of 1.6 billion devices powered by Android.
iOS, on the other hand, will experience a small drop from 15.2 percent to 14 percent, IDC estimates, but shipment volumes will actually increase from 231 million to 269 million.
“The mature market slowdown has some grave consequences for Apple, as well as the high-end Android space, as these were the markets that absorbed the majority of the premium handsets that shipped over the past five years,” said Ryan Reith, program director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
As far as Windows phones are concerned, Microsoft is already planning some major improvements, including the Redstone update, which is reportedly bringing better sync with PCs and further enhance Continuum with new options. Redstone will arrive on both PCs and smartphones and will be shipped in two different waves, the second of which is due in the spring of 2017.