IDC: Windows Phone experiences 156% jump in handsets shipped for Q3 2013

By Sam Sabri
last updated

Windows Phone moved 9.3 million handsets in the third quarter of 2013, according to a report from the IDC. That’s an increase of 156% for the same period year-over-year. Nokia was responsbile for 93.2% of those shipped. 

The current status of Windows Phone’s market share is always interesting. We’ve never really received solid numbers from Microsoft, instead we rely on third-party data from market researchers and analysts. We’ve seen some recent data from comScore, Kantar, and Strategy Analytics. Now we’re getting some new data from IDC. The big takeaway? Windows Phone saw shipments grow 156% year-over-year for the third quarter. Details below.

Windows Phone is currently the world’s fastest growing operating system. The data from IDC suggests that the platform saw an increase in shipments of 156% year-over-year for the third quarter. According to their data, in Q3 2012 Windows Phone moved 3.7 million handsets and just recently moved 9.5 million handsets. That’s a pretty impressive jump, even if it pales to 211.6 million handsets that Android and the 33.8 million that Apple did in the same quarter. But remarkably better when compared to BlackBerry moving only 4.5 million handsets, which is a drop of 41.6% year-over-year for the Canadian phone maker.

They also note that Nokia was responsible for 93.2% of all those 9.3 million Windows Phone handsets. Which is pretty impressive when you remember that Nokia reported selling 8.8 million handsets in the third quarter.  

Why are Android and Windows Phone seeing strong growth? Windows Phone is up 156% for the quarter, while Android was up 51.3%. Here’s why according to Ramon Llamos, Research Manager at IDC:

“Android and Windows Phone continued to make significant strides in the third quarter. Despite their differences in market share, they both have one important factor behind their success: price. Both platforms have a selection of devices available at prices low enough to be affordable to the mass market, and it is the mass market that is driving the entire market forward."

There’s no denying that devices like the Lumia 520 have been responsible for the massive growth seen by Windows Phone this part year.

Thoughts on the report from the IDC?

Source: IDC

Sam Sabri
Sam Sabri
72 Comments
  • Good, bring more minions to WPCentral.
  • Minions Rush??
  • Up 156% and still under 4% Market share smh....
  • that's an irony fastest growing platfiorm and still under 4%.(in 3 years)
  • A 40% rise in all smartphone shipments would be responisble for that flat statistic.
  • Meaning WP needs +600% growth to get to 10% by this time next year.
  • Agreed, but I think that a growth of +1000% does just matter for the next year.
  • It's all about hitting a tipping point. Growth is slow, slow, slow, and the bam: it explodes. What that threshold is, we don't know. I'd say it has to be at least 10%, though. It'll be tough to get there, but they've got to keep pushing towards it.
  • Agree with you. Once the share crosses 10%, the momentum will pick up. To reach 10%, Nokia/ MS will have to keep hitting the market with newer models while keeping the pricing reasonable. After 10% we can expect more developers, more OEMs and more Providers jumping into the WP bandwagon.
  • Exactly. The market got larger as Windows Phone got larger. So market share didn't see a huge bump. But it's growing. Keep pumping out hero devices that increase awareness and mindshare and keep rolling out low cost devices like the 520/521 and WP will continue to break through. It seems developers have begun to take notice as well, especially now that blackberry is out of the running for third place. Those developers who were on the fence have a clear third option now. That's good for the app situation.
  • Great news!
    Next focus must be on the China and US markets where WP is struggling.
    MS should stop charging license for the OS to attract more vendors. Only Nokia on its own is not healthy. We need the backing of the big boys Samsung/HTC as well as the Chinese vendors. BADLY.
  • Not just cutting down the license fees, but also use the hardware standards for those who want to join so the experience of the Windows Phone is as great as now, but with much lower price.
  • Investing resources to build competing products...brilliant! Someone didn't look at the many factors of the collapse of the auto industry. As a Detroit native, I'll give you a hint- the number of different car brands was dramatically cut to trim unnecessary expenses.
  • I think if enough people hit up Twitter suggesting Microsoft release Windows Phone free to OEMs they may consider doing some in that light. I think Microsoft should look into giving it away for free and make it on the backs of the Windows (Phone) Store.
  • Just walked by a dude signing up for a L925 in Brisbane, nice choice and welcome aboard!
  • Join us!
  • Is there cookies?
  • Jumbo size chocolate chip. 
  • And CAKE! :D
  • The cake is a lie!
  • ^^^ Yep, and way too many carbs.
  • Nice!!
  • Gotta catch'em all!
  • Pika Pika...
  • Anyone interested or waiting for an app who can play any format - Check this out it is moliplayer pro
    Link - http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=19ea6d3e-e3d9-401d-b30a-f6471811fe08
  • It can play mkv flv or any other format. Lives upto its promise just like mx player on android. Also there is a discount on the og price. So the one's interested grab it...:)
  • Please make noob version, free with ads.
  • Good news, let's keep it going and get a bigger fourth quarter!
  • Heh. Responsbile.
  • Nice!!, they need to get that 2% up to at least 10%, especially with blackberry dying....but some of those might go to android or ios
  • Great news! For sure, Windows Phone is definitely seeing great strides thanks to Nokia!
  • Its progress, but not strides, just baby steps unfortunately.
  • Any movement up is great, not long ago WP wasn't even on the list and was categorized in with "Other".
  • Yeah...it's a considerable growth when compared to itself. Still...it's pretty low. Specially when you consider that the second largest mobile OS shipped the exact same amount in a single weekend with two overpriced devices.
     
  • But the trends here what is important. As the market itself is still growing, increase in percentage means much higher increase in actual number. So, this is still great news.
  • I've run into several people who are using the 520. They wanted a smartphone without the price. I think the 520 was Nokia's best move.
  • I imagine a Lumia 400-series phone (520 with a smaller screen and no super sensitive display) would be able to compete with the low-end Android devices that are in clamshells at retail stores. Those $50 Android phones are all a health portion of the world can afford. Need to get even cheaper. I would almost say slice margins to covering all expenses, but no profit to simply boost market share (similar to Android). The difference is that it would run a million times better than those devices and actually run the same OS as the flagship.
  • 100% agree. 400 series is one of the ways to grow the market share.
  • In India 520 is already selling at around $125 and giving tough competition to ugly Samsung phones.
  • And at last it's starting to take off. WP will finally break the 10 million barrier this quarter and from then (like Android it should skyrocket). I don't see why for 2014 they can't get 250% growth and get over 30 million a quarter and have much the same sales as Apple.
  • Yeah but IOS is breaking into the low end low price now with the 5c If they were smart they would jump on that. They probably won't dive in to hard. I don't think apple thinks of itself as low end low price. IOS is a revolutionary device meant for revolutionary people at a revolutionary price.
  • Define "revolutionary"........
  • What? They aren't breaking into the low end with the 5s that is their flagship. I think you meant 5c but even that is not considered a budget phone off contract.
  • If by revolutionary you mean "same old expensive s**t", I agree with you completely.   And btw, since when did iPhone 5S become low end low price smartphone?  
  • It was revolutionary 6 years ago. Its now stale.
  • The original iPhone was totally evolutionary, combining a palm pilot with a capacitive screen and throwing in a cellular chip was hardly earth shattering. The "revolution" is and always has been the marketing and hype-machine. Standard business smartphones were just not marketed to common folks and thus rarely, if ever, sparked interest.
  • Apple reduced production on the 5c cause its not selling like the 5s
  • I can't wait till 8.1 instagram hopefully an improved Facebook for WP more apps from Rudy and more games like minion rush and candy crush!
  • then what is this article  http://www.wpcentral.com/windows-phone-gains-4-percent-market-share-q3-2...   Are you trying to confuse us or giving wrong info. 
  • Two different analysis firms with their own ways of getting figures. Until MS gives us hard numbers it all a bunch of guess work for the most part.
  • look like MS giving some money to  Canalys because no matter which firm analysis you see Android and iOS growth are not flat.
  • The 1320 should roll out worldwide to keep the momentum going. But with 2 different versions: 8GB & 16GB
  • Nice
  • I like to think about it as about 1 windows phone to every 3.5 iphones. Doesn't seem that far off when a year ago it was about 1 windows phone to every 7.2 iphones. Gaining ground!
  • YES!!!
  • Wahoo. Once you know Windows Phone, nothing else will do.
  • Nokia is windows phone.. Windows phone is Nokia..
  • I'm most proud that my wife is already talking about leaving Verizon for ATT in ~18 months because ATT gets the better phones. I'm most excited to be on GSM and actually have the ability to consider an unlocked phone. Oh yeah...my wife was all gaga over her iPhone 4 until it started having issues left and right. The fact six months in she already won't go back AND might change carriers in the name of having more choices is awfully telling.
  • congrats to my wp friends  signed an android user
  • A lot is perspective. If you look at a jump from 2.0 to 3.6 you are looking at a an 80% increase. Of course while it is easy to focus on the fact that it is 80% of a tiny number, it is the exponential growth that will matter.   I watched another report show the impressive rise of WP in September, then turn to a graph showing from 2011 to August, (http://www.zdnet.com/windows-phone-attacking-a-brick-wall-with-a-marshmallow-7000022922/) and using that slight upturn to signify that the growth was meaningless. Statistics can be manipulated to show any number of things, and showing months and months of negative or nearly flat growth signifies nothing. Comparing Windows Phone 7.0 to Mango to Window Phone 8 with GDR3 is just like stating that the very first iPhone had no cut and paste, multitasking, etc. It is meaninless now.   So those of us who are champions of this platform need to take off the rose-colored glasses, but so do the detractors need to sheath their daggers. The proof in the pudding will be the growth going forward. Despite rumors to the contrary, it could be anyone's game going forward.   Was before.
  • More and more people are taking notice. I've had a few people see my 920 and say"ohhhh you got a windows phone??sweet!" Since I've gotten my 1020 though, its been nothing but ooohs and aaahhs, for Nokia and the camera of course, but also for the windows Os. Microsoft knew the vision they had would take time, and I'm a proud willing participant on this roller coaster ride to success. I'm all in, windows 8.1, Nokia WP, and soon a proud owner of an Xbox one. The ecosystem will soon be complete, and it feels pretty cool to have been here since the kin/windows phone 7 days watching it build. I think the more people use windows 8, the more they understand "wait, so I can get this on a phone? A "insert favorite brand" phone? Whether I have 100 bucks or 800? Sold!"
  • I am one of those proud new WP8 members (proud 520 owner, soon to add a 1 in the front for a 1520:) ). I still have my Nexus 4 device and I must say, I am thoroughly impressed with the WP8 platform.  The new devices coming out are exciting and with exponential growth, the apps will start coming as well. I have a professional job that uses Office 365, so the choice is simple. Happy to be a new WP8 and looking forward to the future growth!
  • People notice my Lumia 1020, turns heads and they say "Isn't that the 41mp monster"
  • Since 520 has a large share in the market...... They should try to make more apps available for it (despite the low RAM 512)
  • Windows Phone 8 which is mostly Nokia, compared to Android which has LG, Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Xiaomi, Alcatel, Generals, Cherry, and other unknown hardware manufacturer. Nokia is doing good.
  • I do wonder how many people who buy the phone as pay as you go set it up correctly.
  • Well deserved for Windows Phone. It is a great and smooth OS in my opinion.
  • Here are some ideas.  Maybe MS need to write a good app and release the entire source code for it.  I'm not talking about a small app for the sake of learning.  Next they need to release some higher level frameworks that simplify UI development, Xaml is too fine grained.  We need something for UI similar to what ORM has done for database work, probablly a declaritive model where UI is written is c# and not xaml.  The viual studio templates need to layout all the app layers so dev's need not make difficult architecture decisions.
  • Installbase and ARPU is more interesting for developers, than market percentages, or at least that is what it is for the informed developer ;-)
  • So what are you saying
  • Now it's ok. Because Nokia and Microsoft try to push in quality. When they can get more like 50% overall market then quality change for massive production.
  • WP is on the rise. But Is that market share globally or just US? Because in emerging countries and Asia WP is outselling iPhone and in Europe WP has about 10% market share I think, while iOS has only 11% or so.