14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 Mobile is supposed to help Microsoft’s mobile platform grow bigger and become a stronger rival to Android and iOS, but the latest market statistics show that Windows Phone’s market share is collapsing ahead of the debut of the new version.
The lack of “real” Windows Phone flagships has always been considered one of the reasons why adoption of the platform remained low in the United States, despite the fact that the Lumia 930 and 1520 sold relatively well in other parts of the world.
But now that the Lumia 950 and 950 XL are both available with Windows 10 Mobile, including in the United States, it turns out that the lack of high-end devices wasn’t actually the reason why Americans preferred Android and iOS instead of Windows Phone.
All-time low in the United States
Yesterday’s statistics showed that Windows Phone reached an all-time low in the United States, dropping from 3.8 percent market share in December 2014 to just 1.6 percent one year later.
This is a 2.2 percent drop in just 12 months during which Microsoft not only started work on Windows 10 Mobile but also announced the development of new Lumia models, plus innovative features such as Continuum and Windows Hello.
At the same time, statistics provided by AdDuplex show that the new Lumia devices, be they Lumia 950, 950 XL, or the more affordable 550, are yet to gain traction in the United States and the few users of Windows Phone in the United States actually own older models.
Lumia 635 is the number one Windows Phone device in the United States with a share of 30.9 percent of all Windows handsets, followed by Lumia 640 and 521 with 18.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.
The last in the chart is the Lumia 928, which is said to account for 2.4 percent of the Windows phone user base, so the new Windows 10 Mobile devices are certainly below this threshold.
Microsoft is reportedly working on a new, even more premium device that could be called Surface Phone and which might actually boost the US market’s interest in Windows devices. Of course, this is clearly a risky bet, but if Microsoft gets the Surface Phone right, it’ll be really hard not to give it a try. Especially if Win32 apps are added to Continuum.
