Windows Phone sales have almost ground to a halt - Report

[Games Goblin]

Windows Phone sales have almost ground to a halt
Android and iOS now own 98 percent of the smartphone market.

In Q4 2014, the software giant owned 2.8 percent of the smartphone market -- not great, but still good enough for around 10 million units sold. In the same quarter of 2015, however, Windows Phone sales fell to 4.4 million, giving the OS a mere 1.1 percent of the total market. That means that it's basically in a death spiral, as consumers and app developers alike lose interest. Microsoft's rumored Surface Phone now looks like its last hope to rescue the division.

Full news article - Engadget

 

[NVMY03ION]

It's not going to get better until they close the app gap. as much as I love my windows phone. the apps are pitiful. thry have to invest something into the app market. with sales falling the app dev ppl are not going to waste time on something that may not be around

Sent from mTalk

 

[theefman]

All down to Mr "retrench". They should have worked to get OEM devices into the market and getting them to start taking a bigger share of WP sales before telling the world they are basically flushing their phone hardware down the toilet, but at this rate the bottom is going to fall out of WP sales by the time any meaningful OEM presence is established and at that point it will be even harder to gain any traction with users and especially devs.

Sent From my SP3i3

 

[Games Goblin]

We simply cannot ignore the writing on the wall now - Once, Windows Phone was a fresh-faced new entrant into the mobile OS space slowly carving out a niche, but now it seems the death knell has been sounded for Windows Phone. I can't see how we will come back from this.

Developers won't feel enticed to develop apps for an OS that has 1% market share - because of this the app gap will only widen leading to Windows Phone fading into oblivion. This is indeed a bitter pill to swallow.

 

[phlamethrowre]

I left WP in late 2014 and spent most of 2015 using iOS and Android. I recently came back to W10M and have a 950, 1520 and M8. I really don't want to go back to either of the other 2 options but if I'm forced to it'll be iOS.

 

[Games Goblin]

I really don't want to go back to either of the other 2 options

Yeah, I don't really wanna leave either - I have been using Windows Phone as my daily driver since 2013, and even with the current state of WP, I don't think I would be really satisfied by jumping ship. Android is the only real option for me if I wanted to switch - iOS devices are way too overpriced (we do not have contract phones here - only full priced unlocked ones).

After giving android a spin, I am amazed that such a mature OS still lags behind Windows Phone in some things - primarily the keyboard - WP's keyboard blows Android's out of the water! And things like storage sense are great - Android's storage management between phone and SD card isn't as good as WP's.

But the problem is Android's apps are light years ahead of what we have. Even once exclusive apps like HERE Drive is now better on Android.

I'll wait for the official WM10 on my phone and see what happens at the end of the year. If things aren't looking up by then, I'll be considering android after nearly 4 years with Windows Phone.

 

[Kavu2]

and the beat goes on...

It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

That's why we're waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

 

[Br1t]

The app gap isn't just in the consumer market. I work for a company of over 8k people and they don't offer Windows as company phones because they don't have support for our industry applications.

I've been WP since the day WP7 was released but find it as hard as ever to recommend it to anyone.

 

[Ten Four]

I tried out Android for over a month and I am back to Windows Phone to ride it out as long as possible. My biggest surprise on the Android side was that the so-called "app gap" didn't really exist for me. I am not a power app user, but the ones that I do use day in and day out are better on the Windows side: keyboard, phone, contacts, email, SMS, news, weather, etc. I even like the native Twitter app more. Security is weak on Android, and forget timely updates even when critical vulnerabilities are found. There were lots and lots of options on Android, but most of them aren't good options. Are there some missing apps on Windows? Yes! Are some apps worse? Yes! Is the overall experience worse? No!

 

[tj_moore]

The "app gap" is overblown. If people actually looked at what apps they really actually use on a daily basis, they'll probably find they're all there on Windows. I certainly did.

There are one or two that pop up occasionally where a new app is out and of course, no Windows. But then I look at it more seriously and wonder if I'd actually be using that beyond the initial novelty factor. Likely not.

I've always been a Nokia fan, and had a couple of departures, one before the smartphone craze to a Sony, and another to Android via Samsung. Both times I've returned. Okay now the Nokia is in the guise of Windows and being a 640 it's lost the Nokia branding, but there's still lots of Nokia in there, and the hardware once again is way better than I've experienced with Samsung. People just look at specs and criticise Win phones due to lower published specs, but then Android phones need high specs to run resource hungry Android. Nokia chose well in a way with Win Phone as it fitted their legacy of efficient mobile operating systems.

Windows Phone will never take on the world. It may remain a niche product. However Microsoft have shifted focus to just Windows and Windows apps and services, on any device. Some of those devices may be phones and may run Windows. Or they may not.

If Windows running on phones is a dead end, I'd be okay with Windows apps and services running on Android. Would like to see a Windows-centric Android with no Google fluff. Windows Store, able to run any Android apps.

Better still is Microsoft to fork Android and make it way more efficient. Though why bother when Windows is way more efficient anyway. Other option then is running Android apps on Windows, but I can't see that being able to make Windows Phones more attractive.

Last gasp is Windows 10. It's not looking good, but maybe it can cling to life and we still have a niche market. I'd like to stick with Windows if I can.

Oh and p.s. it's been commented elsewhere that the report is focused on a period naturally low in sales anyway, and sales are down across the board, plus it's prior to the recent launches of flagship models and then who knows what a Surface phone will bring. Still, it could be right.

 

[Dirigent82]

Is this surprising news? How many phones are there to buy currently? Are they advertising any of them? The new 650 was barely acknowledged by MS. I don't know what their ultimate plan or strategy is, but they obviously knew they were going to take a big (temporary?) hit in phone sales for now. How they rebound, if they can, remains to be seen. But, proclaiming that phone sales have dropped significantly....well, "duh."

Hopefully they're getting 3rd party phone manufacturers on board. HP is a good start.

 

[PepperdotNet]

I read the forum rules, looking for where it says that we must have at least one new "Windows Mobile is dead" thread every day. I can't find it.

 

[etphoto]

Old news. Article has nothing new. Just re-read the 30 other Windows Phone is dead threads.

 

[Guytronic]

The OP contains an offsite link that isn't actually allowed anyway.

We'll end this here so the other tuckered out threads that discuss this can regain their momentum.

Thanks everyone.