Research firm Kantar Worldpanel issued its latest report on the smartphone market share numbers, this time for November 2014. Unfortunately, its numbers shows that the market share for Windows Phones went down in nearly all of its territories.
According to its research, Windows Phone's share went down in the US from 4.6% in the three months that ended on November 2013 to just 3.0% for the same time period that ended in November 2014. Even Android's share went down from 50.4% to 48.4% in the same period, but iOS jumped up from 43.1% to 47.4%. Kantar said the sales success of Apple's iPhone 6 was the reason for the increase.
Windows Phone's market share went down overall in Europe from 9.8% to 8.3% between November 2013 and 2014. Only Germany saw an increase in Europe, from 5.7% to 7.1%. Australia also saw an increase for Windows Phone, from 6.9% to 8.0%. China saw a decrease in its Windows Phone share from 2.7% to just 0.6%.
Source: Kantar Worldpanel
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Kantar's latest smartphone market report mostly shows declines for Windows Phone
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A lot of people were sitting on 520/62x. Since 8.1 it is not possible anymore as these phones became slow as hell. It is time to buy new phones and since WP also starts to lag after updates anyway, Android becomes an obvious choice. When it was 8.0 I was so happy that my cheap phone was behaving like flagships from other companies. Now I want xperia or something, not lumia
This decline is NOT so much due to lack of a new Flagship phone, (Most sales are Low end) It is due to the poor Microsoft Mrketting and poor branding. Nokia was an international company, and understood world wide marketting, and Nokia brand is highly respected around the world consumers.
Microsoft brand is disliked by most consumers, and Microsoft marketting only in US. Microsoft does not understand global consumer markets, and most of its own servcies are US only. It is no wonder that Microsoft is failing with world wide consumer devices.
Lose your US only centric viewpoint, and think about what the World Wide Consumers want.
Just want a high end windows phone.
Posted via Windows Phone Central App
Shock horror, ms does no marketing for phones and has no interesting hardware and there competitors overtake them.. No joke!
Microsoft needs to embark on a crowd mentality project, that's what is stunting the growth of windows phone. They need psychologist to work alongside their marketers.
I will stick to WP!
My Windows Phone Experience is about to come to an end and I am not looking forward to it. My works has opted to use an app to replace critical text communications and a WAP site. Unfortunately the app is only on IOS and Android. So reluctantly I must make the switch. I will be leaving my family behind which are on windows phone. At least I will be able to take my Microsoft services with me, Outlook Email, XBOX Music Pass and the Health app. The only decision is what to switch to at this point.
I don't think purely market shares represent true picture. In US iphone6 sold in big numbers skewing the market shares in its favor. In China Xaomi and other cheaper android phones not only got significatn share but increased the overall market size quite significantly.
Having said that MS needs a relook at their mid and high end phones pricing and selling strategy. I wonder if anything except the entry level Lumias, have got any traction in any of the markets globally.
Microsoft needs to release a true Lumia flagship and quickly. People are starting to lose hope and moving on to other platforms.
So, Kantar's opinion is apparently the opinion of the rest of the world, even mine... Please, when any idiot says that an iFail sells better than WP, that is clickwhoring.
The reasoning is simple:
or...
Whatever you said kantar, you are the truth, the only truth, except that they hide one simple thing: They, as ZDNet and The Verge are Apple fanboys to the core.
Talking about biased reports... ZDNet, The Verge and now joining Kantar... Pathetic!
Why is it that its always John Callaham reporting negative press about Microsoft?? It seems like all your articles are always about negative Microsoft news. Lets not forget about your article based on Microsoft supporting Android apps. Report something positive for a change!!
its pretty much expected when no new phones are put out there, if they had a killer device that could of competed with the iphone 6 it may have been a different story.
Same goes to Windows apps and services.
Sales is down because they failed to make their Xbox Entertainment service visible to the public and also made sure Windows Phone logos are displayed when companies advertise app downloads of their own apps on their website. There's no accountability of marketing what so ever.
Is it really any surprise when all the devices on offer are limited to certain carriers and completely underwhelming. There isn't a single WP device that I'm excited about at the moment.
Microsoft product for ever...
Wish they did new Zealand market share. All these numbers say to me is apple released a major phone and no one else did. Also with previous market share, android losing 5+ % points could amount to millions of lost sales whereas a small drop for windows phone is not as significant. That china drop is a worry though!
Go Aussies!! :D
I like Android, but my problem is with Google and Android is growing more and more restrictive full of Google bloatware.
All first gen Wp8 devices may not be upgradable to WP10.. that may increase market share /s
I wonder if our increase in Australia had anything to do with one of the two major supermarket chains having a pre-Xmas special on the Lumia 520 (or might have been 530) where you could buy it outright for under $50.
Beyond that a drop in most places isn't to surprising given no new flagship announcements to counter the iPhone 6 release.
Even if there are 100 reasons to join the Android/apple bandwagon, I won't because of one great reason : The dynamic start screen. I love it, can't live with static thumbnail icons :)
My buddies htc8x was dying a slow painful death, he loved WP but with no flagship in sight and with the 830 being his best option in Canada he opted out for the note 4. He probably activated it yesterday. I'm on my 3rd WP with the current one being the 830. With little carrier support, no mention of a flagship no wonder people who tested the WP waters are bailing. This is the second person I've convinced to try WP that has defected. WP 10 better be amazing with amazing new hardware or this might be the death nail. So ms wants to be mobile/ cloud first. Might be a challenge with no mobile.
Poor advertising effort married with not enough flagship-class devices. Flagships attract customers to the platform, even those who have budget for low or mid-class products. They define platform and act as, well, "ambassadors" for the platform.
I hope MS will get things right with Windows 10 and unified apps. They have so much potential in integration of desktop, gaming and smart devices, but somehow they haven't achieved most of it. Their effort feels very... decentralized, as if there is no one central authority to sync all point the departments involved in right direction. I cannot see a reason why Windows Phone cannot be the best choice for every Windows PC and/or Xbox owner, but MS must work their strengths to make this choice simple and obvious. Shenanigans like releasing MS Office for iPad before having touch-friendly Office for Windows tablets might make more money initially, but in a long run only hurts sibling platform.
chillax everyone, what we are seeing is the release of iphone 6 in these figures, android dropped 2% wp 1.6 so actually wp stood up better than android. of equal note is wp realse throughout the year so august september are the best figures to show market position and trend otherwise figures are skewed by the annual ios launch figures
The latest lumias are a variety of the same phones. It doesn't make sense that they put a really good lens in their phone but restrict storage.
Probably the market got saturated of smartphones and people simply stopped of purchase compulsively smartphones till they really need an new one also the galaxy S5 don't caused major fanfare because some Samsung fans says that the S5 can't be, more faster than, the 4 an they are waiting the GS6
ah wherever, as long as they keep making them and it suits my needs I'll keep using it.
never really cared all that much about market share anyways since I'm not really missing anything. I just want a big time flagship like McLaren was supposed to be
The guys at Microsoft sure wasn't expecting that!
I wonder if these market share sources took in consideration my mom and dad which don't use apps or games and are not tracked by ads... You know, these starts are not accurate. I see more and more WP phones in Romania.. And every company (mobile apps) is also developing apps for windows phone.. Not just iOS and Android.
Looking forward to my next wp. Why would I switch apps that I want good camera, fast os and good battery life.
Ms purchased Nokia, what for? The 930 ( icon ) is a iPhone 5 copy, nothing since...every blog I read once loyal users are waiting to leave
Will usb otg support would come when windows 10 launches for phones??
That is hardware supported, not software support , not all androids have OTG support due hardware limitations, I wish can Bluetooth supports for generic hardware , I own, an old Bluetooth keyboard that Windows don't support,
Why is this in any way surprising? No new flagship in hardware, whatever was released was released half-ass. The so-called flagships released did not support the OS's full features like glance etc. The OS itself needs help, its at par now with the release of 8.1 with other phone OSs but nothing so far to give anyone an incentive to switch. Even die hard fans like me are reconsidering their options....
Yeah. Microsoft is putting too much money on Windows 10.
WP is being left to wither on the vine
It'll be interesting in the next few months. I honestly think WP as we know it is going away. 10 won't be a "hey we added a few new things but it's basically all the same". 10 will be "hey, everything is new but the look." We'll find out what it can do on the 21st eh? Also, we'll find out what it's going to be called. Windows Phone is going away so I wonder what it'll be? Probably just Windows 10 Mobile or something generic. :P Fine by me. Just need more flagship devices to reboot the effort.
I like the windows phone title better. Hope they can come up with something better.
One of the very few benefits of the low marketshare numbers, is that with Windows 10, Microsoft gets another 'do-over' in mobile.
The downside is, this would be what, their fourth attempt at smartphones? Aside from 'universal apps', I'm not sure why THIS time it's going to be different.
The problem is the lack of inovation in Windows Phone, all the phones have 5MP cameras and the "affordable" phones cost $400.
Not sure what u talking about? The Lumia 1520 has 20mega pixel the 1020 has 41 mega pixel and so on. If u want more then 5 mega pixel u need to fork down some more money. But u get phones with more mega pixel for cheap. Like the HTC 8x the Samsung ativ s and several lumias like 920 and so on that doesn't cost much. Even the 1020 isn't very much money anymore. And even the Lumia 1520 isn't so expensive either anymore.
I've been using my 925 now for about 10 months. I was given an iPhone 6 for work I like wp and have been on them since mango but ms just are not moving quick enough!
The iphone 6 is miles better in quality usability and functionality and I love wp! Ms seriously need to get moving before the whole thing becomes a dead duck
Its no wonder, I mean, the HTC m8 for windows is super nice, but we got an 830 Lumia for the holidays??? Thats it?? With new flagships.on the horizon to coincide with windows 10, I doubt we will see much growth until then. Microsoft is in this for the long haul, and they are just finally getting to a point in which they can switch from playing catchup to innovation. Once the stores unify on all windows platforms, we will have something rock solid! I pray they get the rest of the bugs and the locker sorted out for Xbox music too, im sick of having to download and install music on every new phone piece by piece. They should be able to just allow downloaded music to easily be ported to a new phone that has the same ms account log in. The app works much better but its still far off from how perfect it worked with windows 7.5
Oh sad news for wp fans.
Posted via the Windows Central App
Don't worry guys...... This is due to Android Lollipop and iPhone 6/6+ and iOS 8. Windows 10 will see an increase in share for our platform. Our time will come.
Are these stats to be trusted? MS must have sold bucket loads of cheap phones in the US over Christmas. I bought three 635s and shipped then to New Zealand and then unlocked them for about$10 USD each.
I was asking myself the same thing. In a previous article, there were also some 100 percent wrong stats given.
I went from a Sony Xperia ray to the xperia arc then to Lumia 520 and now to the Lumia 830 and I'm never gonna switch to android or ios.
This is mostly due to carrier exclusivity in the United States and the lack of any new high end Windows device. Many of my friends was interested in the Icon until Verizon support selling it. The lack of support from Verizon has now turned all of them away from any interest in Windows Phone. In fact, it's starting to turn me away as well, and I'm one of Windows Phones BIGGEST supporters! Microsoft seriously needs to release a new flagship phone and ensure it is NOT exclusive to any carrier out I'm afraid Windows Phone sales will continue to dwindle!
This is mostly due to carrier exclusivity in the United States and the lack of any new high end Windows device. Many of my friends was interested in the Icon until Verizon stopped selling it. The lack of support from Verizon has now turned all of them away from any interest in Windows Phone. In fact, it's starting to turn me away as well, and I'm one of Windows Phones BIGGEST supporters! Microsoft seriously needs to release a new flagship phone and ensure it is NOT exclusive to any carrier or I'm afraid Windows Phone sales will continue to dwindle!
Could have something to do with not having any flagship phones and all the insurance companies trying to replace windows phones with galaxies
Iphone6 effect
Why would the platform be doing well, when there aren't anything but cereal box devices available, and Microsoft is prioritizing iOS and Android themselves these days. Windows Phone is the neglected red-headed step child inside Microsoft.
If they don't give a fig, why should anybody else??
Its all about apps...there still just aren't any...look at any advert....they never promote windows phone..just "available on app store"!!
This just shows that Apple holds the leash on the flagship smartphone market. Anytime they release a flagship that the masses are excited about, other devices are going to lose marketshare. They sell millions in a matter of days.
Windows Phone market share will improve when users can run Android or iOS apps natively. Until then, good luck.
of course there is decline because everyone is waiting for real new phones, real new flagships... I have a L1020 but waiting for the L1030, I will buy a new Windows Phone when it arrives and it is very frustrating that new real flagship arrives
I'm sick n tired of being last and always catching up... But 730 forces me to stick to WP!! Ah! What a masterpiece from Nokia! Sad coz it's the last Nokia!
Am I the only one that doesn't give a sh*t about stats? I'm not trying to read into them and become an armchair analyst. I have my choice of phone, and that's all that matters. Once I hear it from Microsoft itself that WP is done, then I'll act accordingly; if I feel the need to switch to another OS, I will. That's the beauty of being a consumer..I can buy and use whatever I want.
I have just as much loyaty in WP and Microsoft as it has in me. For that matter, that goes for any OS...Android, Mac/iOS or Windows/WP.
I like your thoughts. +1
This ^ ^
Not surprised by these figures. There must be other people like me who are waiting for new models to be released. My 1020 was due for upgrade in November and I refuse to replace it with anything but a worthy successor.
Speaking from personal experience locally in UK; we're seeing much more of Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices also our company is switching many client users to Windows Phone devices every week so this news comes as a surprise however we've seen this pattern before where there is a "new low" and "new high" therefore hopefully we'll see more of "new high" soon... Assuming Microsoft continues to take the right steps unlike selling MixRadio!
This is unsurprising, as there is nothingi n the U.S. for people to buy, except for the overhyped (yeah, even by its lowly standards) and underpowered Lumia 830. Verizon never pushed Windows Phone, and they've now taken everything but the half-assed port jobs off of their site. AT&T never got a 930, meaning they have the 1520 and some mediocre (at best) devices.
This is a direct result of having Microsoft spin its wheels for a year and Nokia skip 2013 for a flagship release. You can't expect market improvement without phones to buy, and now that Microsoft has left such a giant hole in the market for users, it'll probably be a hole that's hard to fill with a new flagship, just because people can't help but wonder what kind of long-term upgrade path or software support they'll get with Windows Phone now.
Lumia 1020 users are already missing the new camera features that came in with denim as they are only for L830, 930 & 1520. thats fragmentation
That really isn't. It is called technological advancement. The fact of the matter is that the 1020 runs on 3-year-old hardware. To make the software work on hardware that old would be a matter of holding back other advancements or delaying the software for stop long to optimize that it would be topped by the competition by then. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Microsoft needs a 1020 successor to go with the new software.
Iam waiting what will happen with Windows 10 and an new flagship phone
if msft fails with windows 10... then i think that's pretty much it for WP's future. wtf you're doing msft? :(
work more on the app gap. THE APP GAP. though i hv less issues with it now prsonally, it does still remains a huge concern when it comes to this platform.
These figures are very biased too, as it covers iOS phones AND tablets, and all android (forked or not) phones AND tablets... And only Windows Phones, no tablets, laptops, PC's.... Windows 10 will fix this disparity in the figures, that actually paints a false picture.
I really think Microsoft's complete ignoring of anything other than the low end market for the next nine months or so is their own bullet to the head. Most boneheaded decision EVER... "lets just completely cede the high end and alienate or most faithful users who used to be our biggest evangelists." yeah, great plan MS. Morons.
I have a Lumia 920, but i'll only wait until Windows 10. If nothing changes to a big and really great SO, I'll jump to iOS or Android. I'm really tired of waiting...
My thoughts exactly.
I was a top proponent of WP. I can't be anymore. And it's all Microsoft's fault. How can I advocate an OS that cannot check it's own Outlook mail for the last 8 months (not to mention sync contacts, backup SMS, etc)? MS dropped the ball. If WP10 is the same, I am quitting even though I still think WP is the most convenient OS.
I'm no than of Microsoft's strategy, but what the hell are you talking about? Outlook works just fine, as does contact syncing.
Right.
It doesn't if you get the 80C805E2 error, and I, along with thousands of WP users, do get it. Out of nowhere, one day it pops. There's no fix other than wiping the phone. I don't have the time nor the will to wipe a phone and rearrange contacts on Microsoft's whim. OS updates don't help. This is a travesty, completely inexcusable, unacceptable, and has turned me away from believing in WP.
No flagships, so... People with a 1020, 1520.. Most likely won't downgrade for a new phone
We got the beastly 1520.
Carriers are killing WP in the US.
No.
*Microsoft*, through sheer mis-management, is killing Windows Phone, all on their own.
This is what happens when your product lineup stagnates. When there is nothing to buy, people buy nothing.
Hardy a surprise
When I went to buy my windows phone the salesperson at att deliberately tried to talk me into buying a Droid.
This happens.
Sometimes I feel like Windows Phone is Microsoft's little side hobby and they don't really give a fcuk whether it sinks of swims. :)
As far as they keep patent-trolling android devices, Microsoft apparently won't get very serious about it. IMO they should advertise more aggressively. There are some people who doesn't even know there's a windows OS for phones
Some people I know don't even know what a windows phone is.
This is EXACTLY what it had felt like... since WP's introduction. But especially now with their anti-flagship crusade.
I have bought a Lumia 730 and this is my third windows phone after 520 and 525. I'm really satisfied with the performance and very much pleased with the Lumia Denim. Never gonna switch to any other platform.
I'm with WP until the wheels fall off. I'm just hoping for an outstanding upgrade to the 1520. New must have software and software features is a must.
Going down to 0.6% in China, the world's largest market, IS the wheels falling off.
Not really what I mean by wheels falling of is, until MS stops trying. When they stop trying, I will unfortunately have to choose between Android or iPhone. I'm not really keen on the idea of having just two to choose from. The biggest ISSUE for WP is lack of apps that people will want. WP have plenty of apps and many of them are actually better than the official ones. However, people want official apps. I love WP and don't really see myself switching to Android or iPhone right now. But, if I had to choose, iPhone 6 Plus would probably be it.
*SIGH* whatever... I'm happy where I'm at right now and could care less. Just put the sacred to these ppl and get is the apps we're missing devs!
No flagship phone at the moment, waiting for 1020 successor
No cortana for for most of us in the third world who doesn't want to switch from our regions, (Android doesn't select but gives every use the same treatment on features). How long are we going to wait for International Cortana who doesn't care which region you are in???????
We are denied the right to purchase certain items on Xbox e.g. On spartans, though you have paid for the game on store, but we can't buy the credits, same on Six guns
WE NEED ANSWERS FROM MICROSOFT, THEY ARE NOT LISTERNING ON THIS ONE, MAYBE IF YOU ASK THEM ON OUR BEHALF PLEASE! THEY MAY FORGET US!
I'm from India and Cortana is only at Alpha version. But I'm using the Cortana. Just change the region and speech to US and you can enjoy Cortana. It's really fun and easy to use it.
But changing the region doesn't that mess up the searches, maps and location services,etc. And even if do, what would happen if I changed it back to the old region? Would Cortana still be available on my phone.
Cortana would be removed if you revert back to your region!
So is it really worth it? To change the region in order to get Cortana even if it messes up some settings and features of the phone.
That's what happens if you don't care about your own platform.
No Nokia, no customers....
Off topic, anybody has a problem to search for images on google using windows phone? The image quality is terrible, i got much better results on bing.
Microsoft missed the boat in launching the smartphone, and again with the tablet, and now appears to miss it with televisions.
I see the slew of smart tv's that are adopting an open source OS and wonder why hasn't MS done this already?
Sure, xbox1 is nice, the SP3 is great, and I really enjoy WP. So much so, that I really don't have any envy for iOS or Android.
I think MS is on the right path in building an OS that can be used everywhere and will be the dominant force of the future in providing a unified approach for integrating the Internet of Things with the tools we use to make our lives better.
I remain optimistic and support MS and their current strategy.
However, I wish they would just paint the true bigger picture and deliver it.
MS's evolution has been a long and painful road. But, it has gotten us to this point and I believe the best is yet to come.
Market share reports are not always the best data point to gauge success. MS is finally leading and the hardware makers are responding.
Get your popcorn ready the show is unfolding before our eyes.
Kantar never Heard anyway this is just a prediction right. Honeatly don't give a f*** I have really good hopes Microsoft will pull off the eco system for WP. I rather have a flip phone than iPhone or android
Good for you. You must be new here :D
Kantar, btw, is always showed numbers favoring and flattering towards WP.
WHo cares? If Android is bringing in billions for Microsoft, then just transfer the money to the development of WP until things pick up. In the mean time, if MS could find a way to make it so we didn;t have to use a carrier that could be a game changer. Right now in the US market we are being hosed by the carriers. I am paying a ridiculous amount of money to have 3 phones on my family plan and any way around that would be awesome. Furthermore, no one can say that the carriers aren't part of the reason that WP8 isn't picking up in the US. We owe them no favors....
-in other news, MS dropped the patent cases from rockstar against google, basically android revenue will become a bit fat Zero in the next few years as more patents fall.
I don't think if MS was using patents from rockstar to go after android, if they did then Apple would be making billions from android too. MS legal issues with Android stem from in house developments and things they bought with Danger Inc. I have heard of no manufaturer other than Samsung that is trying to get out of paying MS. And in Samsungs case it's trying to say it's because MS is now competing with them in the Android market with that Android forked Nokia phone that was out for like 1 month.
You're telling me that releasing a bunch of low spec glorified feature phones targetted toward island chains in the south pacific isn't moving the needle?
my plan to fix WP:
1) accept the strategy has failed. trying the same will fail. accept drastic changes are needed. not doing so will mean certain defeat.
2) once getting past that, let's distrupt: open source WP completely so that the community can create cyanogen-like variants that will install on phones made by OEMs that dislike WP (i'm looking at you nexus). Give it away to anybody and allow an OEM to customize it in any way they see fit. Create an official branch like android does for the pure WP experience which any user can install at any time and override the OEM flavor. Provide OEMs with a rich API like windows has which lets them customize it or skin it without breaking updates, just like windows has had since win XP.
3) port the android runtime to WP allow android apps to be installed/migrated from peopler's droids. Plus allow C# to be used in android apps via a VS template for MS devs who don't want to deal with java but still make WP/Android apps just as xamarin does.
4) sell nokia off completely. get out of the hardware game and instead pull a google nexus move and partner with OEMs to create a Surface phone series where surface phones are manufactured by OEMs who benefit the same way nexus OEMs do.
5) invest the crap of your location services. cortana sucks because it relies on bing maps. MS should outspend google 2:1 in location services if it hopes to catch up.
6) allow android apps on the WP store similar to amazon to completely cut off google from the distribution of android apps. Let developers upload apk's for free of their android creations. Offer then 100% of profits. Kill the 70/30 split.
7) make all your apps best on windows phone and not worse and last.
8) fire the entire executive team responsible for every WP decision. Appoint a real developer super start like Scott Gu to deal with the SDK evolution and platform.
9) Create a true developer preview program where users get firmware and software updates regardless carriers. Let OEMs chip in firmware updates if they want. This will be an effective carrier bypass in disguise.
10) partner with a carrier like tmobile, interested in distruption of the market, to offer a 100% update policy on all WP devices. tout this as a superior android alternative where the carrier no longer gets in the way. "uncarrier 2.0"
The only way things are going to change is if we accept defeat and move to a strategy of victory.
Kantar data has always been iffy, but if this is true, MS kind of brought this on themselves. I get that lower end devices move in higher volume worldwide, but that's not an excuse to stop producing flagships altogether. I've got a 920 I've had since Nov 2012, and as of a few days ago it's hobbled (side button issues). So, as a customer in the US, what options do I really have for a comparable replacement? I'm on AT&T, which has probably has the best set of options overall, and all they've got is the HTC One M8 with Windows (9 month old hardware and mediocre camera) and the Lumia 830 (barely an upgrade and AT&T is charging way more for it than what even an unlocked version costs). If you're on Sprint, you have no options at all. Seriously, what are they thinking. They needed either the 930 to be everywhere or they shouldn't have canceled the McLaren. This situation is a serious shame, b/c software-wise 8.1 is actually a huge step up from 8.0.
I ended up with the HTC M8 coming from the 920. The fact is that this is a very capable phone and the photos are above average if you learn how to actually use the settings. It's not Pureview, but it's more than capable for the average Joe.
How does the camera compare to the 920?
There is the Lumia 1520 probably best windows phone yet.
Which AT&T has discontinued. There is literally no high end Windows Phone available in the US at this point.
Yes the HTC one m8 and the Lumia icon and the Samsung ativ se are all pretty current flagship devices.
Lumia Icon is discontinued. There are no Snapdragon 800 based Lumias available in the US, other than existing stock. Completely ridiculous.
I agree it's a good phone spec-wise, but I'm not really looking for a phablet.
Then u have the Lumia 930 international or icon for USA. And the HTC m8 both are pretty recent and the Samsung ativ se.
I doubt its true. More and more people are buying windows phone. I'm saw WP more in 2014 then recent years. MS is bringing more low end and midrange phones in march. 2015 will be big for them. But still hoping they bring 1020 successor by Q2.
Really though, it's not going to make it by just selling low end devices.low spec. exclusive do not work.
And what's the news, this always happens
I think only in India windows phone market share is increasing.
Yay!
Canada has no high end devices e.g. any 900 series or the 1520 i.e. nothing to compete with the iPhone or Galaxy S5 or Note. No HTC, no Band etc. The trouble is that like it or not Microsoft does not depend on Windows Phone for survival a la Apple and at this point it really seems like they are trying to save face than admit defeat. I think they should give up making millions of devices and just adopt the "Surface approach" by putting all their energy into one great premium phone. That way their focus can go back to making software for all platforms so that Windows or Microsoft apps run on everything.
Honestly, I'm not surprised by this news after all. With no real Flasgship being announced in 2014, few apps that are on Android/IOS that work, or none at all (snapchat etc), MS releasing far superior apps on Android/IOS than on WP this was bound to happen. Too many low-end phones and not enough mid-high range. I went to WP to have something different, I loved it, but I have no left and went back to Android with my OnePlus One, and I can tell you it's a fresh of breathe air. If MS announces a TRUE high-end flagship this year then I may consider going back, but until then i'll be sticking with android. And before you all abuse me (Like the WP community tends to do) I love MS, I use everything MS related but this is my opinion.
Well u must have forgotten the Lumia 1520. It is still up to par to everything else out there. So I see no need for new flagship if u still have one in the Lumia 1520 and the 930. What else do you need? The HTC one m8 is ok but a lazy HTC excuse to make a wp8 devices. They only flashed wp8 on to it. Great job HTC. Not.
The 1520 has been discontinued. There are no flagships currently available in the US (just remaining 1520 stock).
I had a Lumia 1020, which is 2 years old. The hardware was starting to get outdated. My OnePlus One is more up-to-date. And the fact that the OnePlus One costs considerably less than the Lumia 1520 too. I'm from Ireland, so we don't have the HTC One M8 for Windows and by time the 930 hit Ireland the specs were already outdated due to Nokia/Microsofts annoying exclusive deals. For me, something like the 1030 specs would have me interested. But until then I will be staying with android.
Unless universal apps work as expected, wp just has no chance
Universal apps is more of a thing to court developers. It's not a consumer facing feature.
I don't know.. But I just can't stand Android... Despite all that material design horsesh**, that thing is butt ugly. If I ever switch from WP (and that's a big if), it'll be BlackBerry... Here's to Hoping they stay kicking.. iOS... Ain't got no time for that overpriced POS glorified launcher crap.
I'm sure that the december sales have at least brought us to the level before, maybe even better.
Well that is a given as there has been no flagship as of late to win mindshare, the HTC W8 doesn't count as it still confined to the US. Most people generally do their xmas shopping in November and given there was nothing to get flagship wise. Not to mention the icon debacle, if MS doesn't wake up from this and still releases carrier exclusive devices then there will be no hope for them to win the US market ever.
Furthermore if nothing amazing materialises with Windows 10 for phones then they might as well give up. I hate to be a downer but how many times can you reboot a product and expect to win?
Especially windows central and even reddit is now awash with negativity, the loyal users can only take so much... people expected amazing things with WP7, nothing happened then we had WP8, which was mutilated by the abandoment of the hub model and caving into the demands of people who wanted it to become like ios / android.
Sure they could keep throwing money at it like the xbox, hope the pit slowly fills up and tops out. But that is really not going to work as MS would rather be an platform agnostic company as opposed to putting Windows first. If they don't change this approach with Windows 10 then I don't see them going further than 3rd place.
I wish I could get the facts about India (not joking though :P )
Because I've been seeing a lot of WPs here after the launch of 530,630 and 535.
I dont know how kantar founds these numbers but during Christmas we saw Lumia phones were third on list of phones being activated may be next month the numbers will change again..
That's because you don't know the difference between increase in sales and increase in marketshare.
Maybe 5 bought a wp device last december while 8 users are leaving?
Great.. Who would prefer if Microsoft places restrictions and maintaining app gap and releases non functional video and music apps and useless gallery... No better file management no USB on the go and flagships lack SD card and many many issues with WP... Who would dare to waste their money for an OS which is still under development..app gap hasn't filled yet they took years to update basic features..Settings is a mess on Windows phone... No background download option too
I don't think W10 will help. It is the name and the look of the OS that is being rejected. First and foremost drop the "WINDOWS" name since doesn't generate excitement anymore. Call it "SPARTAN" OS and then dump live tiles for now and make the OS look and feel of the other two. Once market share rise then slowly introduce live tiles. I am still hoping for W10 success just not too optimistic since even the best hardware didn't help market share grow.
You are seriously suggesting to make the OS like the other two as a way to compete? That is a way to conform. WP needs to offer something different and unique. If it doesn't, they might as well just be Android phones.
lol lol. so firefox OS is taking off because it isn't called windows. don't be silly. people don't buy android. people buy a phone, just comes with android. people don't buy windows, people buy a PC that comes with windows. The mechanics of the dominant OS isn't in targeting people with its name, it is in the tyrany of the default choice. MS is just on the losing side.
Great point. People would buy the phone having Windows if the device were nice enough for them to want, i.e. flagship device. Yes, low end devices are important to get out there in small/poor/emerging markets, but it is only the flagship device that will get you the required respect.
Why I can't see middle east, I really would like to know!!
Agree. Who needs a banking app or local news app on a phone. WP apps work fine for me. I have things to do. WP is efficient and meshes with other MS services I use - One Note, etc. Plus a screen of equal size static little icons is lame in comparison. Similar comparison between Surface interface and iPad. My 928 always impresses.
How's that "No new flagship phone" strategy working out?
Agreed. This is by far their biggest problem at the moment. They are completely alienating their staunchest fans on a daily basis, and seem completely content to continue to do so for the next nine months plus. So nobody recommends the platform anymore, and people are leaving as they upgrade so they can actually get a "current" spec smartphone, as opposed to something straight out of 2012. This "no new flagships" policy is the most boneheaded decision I've ever seen come out of MS. And that's saying something.
Marketing...lots of it would help... But it has to be good... Not just any marketing will help.
Yep, you're right, I showed some of WP features at school, and three of my friends bought 830.
I switched to android for about 2 months and guess what I'm terribly missing my Windows phone.. I'm just waiting to save some buks just to buy next lumia Microsoft phones cz i know 535 touch is not good..
Posted via the Windows Central
Well the 535 touch issue is solved now...so if you have the bucks you can buy it...
its not
My friend..said..his phone..is working..better...i thought its fixed...
Not surprised,holiday season the phones people wanted were not sold in some markets & the phones MS had on specials had no front cams,some no flash so if a person had money to spend why would they go buy an inferior product...joke marketing
The decline is because if you have one you don't tend to upgrade yearly because the updates make your phone feel like new, often with awesome new features... and there's no clear flagship, although the Lumia 930 is the best phone I've had, and with the camera update its set to be even more awesome =D
It's the tide going down before the tsunami...
ive tried using android but have happily gone back to my windown phone. i know W.P is the best O.S. and if the rest dont getbit great, judt means we're all more unique than the sheep. F@#$ing hate Apple with a passion!!!
Agree
I see people saying "It's because there is not a new flagship phone" but I doubt a flagship phone will really make a difference. People able to afford a flagship a year after they bought a flagship is not the majority. Neither is people who bought a flagship from another OS. In fact, I believe midrange is where the thick of the market is at.
I feel that windows phone is a strong plataform but has a bad advertisement. Cortana vs Siri were fun for a while, now they're like "Come on, be more imaginative" They should show what the phone can do in real life situations.
Another thing is the market. Yes, there are a lot of apps and that's great... but there are way too many apps that have been on beta for a year+ I believe MS should talk to big developers to see what can be done to get the apps out of beta, to release their apps in WP if they are not and even release their apps on WP first. xbox one, for example, MS did work with Blizzard to improve and optimize the game... something like that for WP would be awesome.
I love my WP, I don't use much the live tiles but I think they are useful from time to time. I love the interface and the home screen. People asking for a different home screen is asking for a not/windows phone. But no matter how much I love my phone, I don't feel I can recommend it to other users.
My GF for example. She is an iPhone lover but I can't tell her to switch to SP plataform because she would lose most of the functionality... heck, she could survive without 90% of the apps but Waze is a deal breaking app for her. Everyone uses it in my country... except us, the pariahs with WP.
It's okey if we look at all WP devices we find all with same version of MS operating system for along time,same UI , so no new only some budget phones. It is the time for WP 10.
MS only look at W 10 for Pcs , lol
Cmon microsoft..release the beast! 1030 and 1530 is a game changer!
And they should drop them at the same damn time
I'm loyal to windows phone ios and android can kindly thoroughly f..k off
Smartphones from the past can't just disappear you know. As new phones are released over the year the numbers are a bit misleading. I mean we could be improving but iOS is still selling like hotcakes. Look at the bright side! I've actually seen quite a decent amount of WP in the wild nowadays. And Win 10 gonna be kickass.
That's because of no new flagships available yet.....
Whether WP numbers are in decline or not I'm staying on this boat, I was from android and well I don't want to go back. As for Macintosh apple, well I cant afford it
Holy moly China sure dont like them win phones!
Only Microsoft know if they're selling more or less phones.
And given recent web browser stats, we all know how reliable stats can be...
Their marketing needs to change. The commercials for WP7 showed the device, all features, and were cool. They suck now, bashing the iPhone. It's unfortunate, but with my friends, too. They have iPhone and Android because it's a bigger market and more well known. Microsoft NEEDS to make that happen.
This is what happens when u don't release a flagship phone. Alot of people like me still have the 920 and we have nothing to upgrade to in the WP world.
WP have til the z4 come out to release something good otherwise im off too.
Yup. I was in the same situation as you with my 920. I got tired of nothing happening and jumped ship. I have an LG G3 now. I miss the WP OS a lot, but I don't miss the lack of quality apps.
Microsoft should bring the (remaining) and most popular apps (snapchat- tango etc.) and games (hay day - clash of clans- 8 pool ball) . The system is already satisfied since 8.1 update.
Well, let's consider the increase in iOS devices and the decline of WP devices here. Apple put out only 2 phones, both are considered flagship, or high end devices. That is all. Microsoft put out no flagship devices that could tech spec-wise be considered in the same league as high end, flagship iOS or Android devices. We could argue all day long how you don't need high end specs in WP, but the public majority and tech bloggers don't see it that way. Micrososft better put out something people will talk about in the same league as iPhones or they will fall further in decline in 2015. I would hate to see that happen, but I think just a couple startegic high end device with Windows 10 will change everything. The challenge is not having people swear off the OS as irrelvent before that happens.
HTC m8 for windows is the only high end WP spec wise. and even that is a copy of the other OS. sad is it not.
I think MS should simply give up US market (for now)
They should but they won't. They'll sooner shut everything else down than to admit that their own market doesn't care for them anymore. And that's how you crumble from 1st place.
Clearly they don't know how to adress their own market.
They should have at least a quarter every year (like Q4) when there's no exclusive phones anywhere.
what would that acomplish? nothing.
They should shift their focus elsewhere, make something everyone would want to buy and then bring it to the US.
you're saying they are capable of making something everybody would want, if they can, why not make it for the entire planet? The problem with your premise is that you assume MS will succeed even if fails in the #2 market on earth (after china). Realistically MS will just flop overseas too as they have AND they will have no chance to EVER return to the US.
Just look at nokia. Their comeback was worse than michael jordan's
samsung took on ROW, won and then entered US
The reason they won't do this: most third party app development, along with most of the popular apps and services are a Western U.S./California thing.
If Microsoft wants to see even their small apps support fall through the floor, they'll give up on the U.S. market.
Your suggestion has precedence: Nokia, with Symbian, tried it. But once the iPhone was introduced and took off everywhere, along with an App store, Nokia tried to re-enter the U.S. market, that they ignored, and court developers. And we all know how that worked out.
Something that people forget is that profitability counts more than market share. If companies can make money on Windows Phone then 3% 5% or 10% doesn't matter. It is a very big world market and there is room for more than 2 players.
marketshare is the reason nobody is making money with window sphone according to Huawei. No marketshare = no apps. No apps = no user traction. No user traction = low sales. Low sales = OEMs give WP the finger.
If WP had marketshare, the money would follow and the profits as well not just for OEMs but for app devs, which will bring more apps, thus entice more consumers, etc.
Same procedure as last two years, nothing will change. Windows mobile 10 will not, in my opinion, boast sales at all. Apps, apps its all about apps.they are not even updated a single time some important apps. Windows phone will keep a marketshare of 3-5% coming years sadly. It's a good OS anyway, I am still rocking a lumia 1520 high-end but hey there are lots of choices. It isn't all about the camera.
Microsoft only has itself to blame. No flagships or even broad availability of medium flagships during this time.
This^
That has nothing to do with it - at all!
Lack of apps. Pure and simple.
The one thing MS has an issue with is marketing, they can never get this right. I am primarily an Android user (sorry about the avatar, I am coming from androidcentral), and Google, like Apple, market the hell out of their products. I live in NYC, and during the holidays the android be together not the same ads were everywhere, bus shelters, billboards, Times Square. Apple does the same thing, I do not see Microsoft ads anywhere.
I am on this forum, as I am getting back to Windows Phone, I hadn't used it since the CE days. I am quite impressed, I needed to learn it for work (I am IT and we had a big dept. head use WinPhone primarily).
When re-teaching myself, I rediscovered Win Phone, I do like it a lot. I still use my Nexus 5 as primary, but I got a low end phone to get familirar with it (I got a 635) and I liked it, it was smooth considering it had 512 MB of ram. Mind you, it does not have all my apps I find on Android (a lot of root apps), but that is OK. I love my Nexus 5, but I will admit Android 5.0.1 (Lollipop) is really laggy, buggy and Google is stating they are working on the fix.
If MS could get a better marketing team and talk to their carriers too, as this person at my fimr stated when you walk into a AT&T store and say you are interested in a Luma xxx, the ATT person will immediately try and shift you to iOS or Android.
So it seems wp going bb 10 way from all the comments.
Posted via the Windows Central App
I've asked this and I'll ask it again, if you were MS CEO would you give Joe Belfiore another year after 3 consecutive years of flop? Or would you poach/hire/promote a new leader to fix the trainwreck that is windows phone?
I think CEO is the one who should be fired. The last decision should be made by CEO isn't it? If the CEO disagree with what Joe Belfiore had done, those projects/devices wont even come out to public. This is my opinion.
But remembe that Joe B was a Ballmer era exec. He took over WP and launched it in 2011. Then he screwed up dev relations with the WP 8.0 break. Took forever to ship 8.1, slower than even the windows team. Now seems like another WP 10 break from 8 will happen further hurting developers invested in 8.1 tech. And all of this among decline share?
Again, if you're Satya and inherited this executive, would you chop his head of give him a 5th or 7th chance?
No. With me in charge, Belfiore would have been sacked long ago. However, with me in charge, Microsoft wouldn't be producing phones either. Nokia would. Because I would be enough aware that Microsoft's strenght is software, not hardware. So instead of wasting money on phone development and production, I would put those resources towards OS development and app financing.
No.
It's not working.
Market share isn't moving up.
App developers are not on board.
They can't even get Starbucks - headquartered 20 miles from them - to develop an app.
They should NEVER have bought Nokia's hardware division. What did that get them? Tens of thousands of new employees, new divisions, new headaches, manufacturing issues, distribution issues, marketing, branding issues.
Sorry Microsoft, you're not going to "engineer" your way out of this fix.
Time to get onboard the Android boat or start giving away your devices.
You're assuming Satya Nadella is interested in keeping Windows phones around. I suspect he's looking for any excuse to bail on it.
When 8.1 comes, ppl say WP will gain a lot of market share. But... And now ppl says win10 will help WP a lot...
This also shows that Microsoft entry level/low cost device strategy is a failure to capture more market share. Apple can capture market share with their FLAGSHIP device!
Market share isn't the same thing as sales though. Microsoft could have sold 10 times more than before, but if Apple sold 20 times more than before, Windows Phone market share would be down. Are Lumia/Windows Phone sales up or down?
Untimately, to attract developers, sales are irrelevant. Market share is. If the potential audience for an app on WP is still massively inferior to one on Android or iOS, the developers will still not invest resources in the WP app.
That's not strictly true.
I am a developer. The most important is the absolute return for your investment.
MS development tools (Visual Studio + C# / VB) are better than Android based (Eclipse + Java). That allowed me to create WP app much quicker than Android.
Not to mention the higher fees Google charges and tough competition.
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