14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced its FY15 Q1 financial report, and while the company had strong results during the last quarter for almost all of its businesses, Lumia sales are extremely disappointing.
According to the report, Microsoft sold only 5.8 million Lumia smartphones in the last quarter, which is more than half the number of units sold last year during the same period (9.3 million).
Microsoft confirmed that its phone revenue has seen a 54% decline when compared to last year's numbers.
Obviously, this is not unexpected since Microsoft did not launch any interesting device in quite a long time, which is one of the reasons for the low number of Lumia phones sold in the last couple of months.
But the situation is likely to improve when the new Lumia smartphones powered by Windows 10 Mobile will make their debut on the market.
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Since Windows Phone sales are usually driven by affordable smartphones not flagships, we expect the Lumia 550 to sell much better than the Lumia 950/950 XL.
Even though Lumia 550 will sell better, it's less likely to bring Microsoft too much profit since the smartphone is meant to expand Windows Phone market, hence the low price.
This is why Microsoft needs Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL to be successful, otherwise Windows Phone won't stand a chance competing with Android and iOS.
We're also expecting Microsoft to cover the mid-range tier with another Lumia handset that's supposed to come out in February, the rumored Lumia 650.
Once Lumia 650 goes on sale, Microsoft will have Windows 10 Mobile smartphones that cover all price ranges.
There's great momentum for the Lumia lineup since there are no other Windows 10 smartphones available on the market, and both Acer Jade Primo and Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL won't hit shelves until December.