14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is working at full speed to bring Windows 10 Mobile to the market this year, but in the meantime, the company's growing interest in budget and mid-range phone models is hurting its share in markets where buyers are rather keen on flagships.
The best example is the United States, where Windows Phone still has a hard time getting closer to rivals Android and iOS, partly because of the lack of high-end devices that can compete with expensive phones such as Samsung Galaxy S5/S6 and iPhone 6.
comScore data for the three-month period ending April 2015 shows that, as compared to the three-month window ending January 2015, Microsoft lost 0.6 percent of its users in the United States, whereas Apple managed to increase its share by 1.8 percentage points.
On the other hand, Android, which continues to be the number one mobile platform in the country, lost 1.0 percent and is now powering 52.2 percent of the phones used by Americans. Windows Phone now stays at 3.0 percent, whereas Apple reached 43.1 percent.
Windows flagships expected later this year
Until Windows 10 Mobile sees the light of day, Microsoft seems to be playing a different card, and instead of launching high-end devices, the company is betting big on low-end and mid-range phones that could actually help it gain share in developing markets.
But on the other hand, sales in markets where high-end devices are more appealing to potential buyers, including the United States, are impacted by this strategy, so there's no doubt that the release of Windows 10 Mobile will be a turning point for Microsoft later this year.
Together with the new operating system, Microsoft is also expected to introduce new flagships that would serve as pioneers for Windows 10 Mobile and present the full capabilities of the new operating system. Early reports are already pointing to Lumia 940 and Lumia 940 XL as two potential flagships that would launch with Windows 10 Mobile, but Microsoft is remaining tight-lipped on this topic.
Windows 10 Mobile is expected to launch in October 2015, a few months after the debut of the PC version in late July.