Okay, I know this sounds harsh, and I realise I'm gonna get a lot of negativity, but I ask you to hear me out and let me know what you disagree with objectively.
1. Limiting choice of phones
As of mid-2014, WP has three high-end, almost-flagship devices: The 930, 1520 and 1020.
I say almost-flagship because each of these phones is missing something - either glance or wireless charging or SD card support
There simply is no flagship phone:
I mean come on, if people can look forward to and make purchase plans for an unknown, unnamed concept device like the McLaren that we know next to nothing about, then you *know* WP is missing something big.
2. No one cares about WP
It?s been months and WP8.1 isn?t out yet, Cortana only speaks American, and ?something big? is apparently coming to WP that no one seems to know about.
Also, the rumours that MS might make an Android-powered Lumia isn?t helping either.
3. Monotonous designs
Don't get me wrong - I think unibody polycarbonate is awesome.
But I also like unibody metal (like on the HTC One), front-and-back glass (XPERIAs and previous gen iPhones), and even the rubberised, plasticky or fake leather casing like on the Samsung and LG phones.
The point is, different people like different designs - and with the limited number of WP devices (see #1 above), almost all of which follow the same design language, it's not going win fans everywhere.
4. No brag-able or show-off worthy features.
...like self-healing back panels. Heart rate monitors. Fingerprint scanners. Or even curved displays.
A lone Samsung phone (Ativ SE) has an IR blaster. And a few Lumias have PureView ? which is awesome and is not a gimmick, but cameras aren?t everything, and almost seem like a one trick pony at this stage.
5. No rugged or waterproof phones
6. Doesn't work with wearables
7. Misses official google apps; and games/apps in general.
Yes, I know, but sorry I have to say this.
I know this topic has been discussed to death and beyond, but the plain fact of the matter is:
1. A lot of people use Google
2. WP offers no official apps for most google services.
To sum up, WP is a platform with a unique UI and great potential but the fact of the matter is, there isn?t any true flagship (in the same league as Android) to really help it shine today.
And in the long run, I don?t see how WP can progress when it?s more an after-thought or ?plan B? for OEMs, seems all but forsaken by its manufacturer, and ignored by the developer community.
Cheers!