We all know Windows Phone is the third most popular operating system, but it still lags significantly when compared with Android or iOS. A recent report from ABI research suggests that Windows Phone shipments are on the rise, with a year-to-year growth at a staggering 119 percent. The market share, on the other hand, only saw a slight increase, from 2 to 3 percent in the same quarter compared to last year.
“Interestingly, basic mobile phones lost 5% market share and Android picked up almost all of these users, suggesting Android is set to gain almost all of the billions of mobile subscribers still upgrading to smartphones. Certainly, Android looks set to completely dominate the high growth developing markets and increase its market share still further,” said Nick Spencer, senior practice director, mobile devices.
According to the numbers, over 13 million Windows Phone devices were shipped in the first quarter, which rose from six million during the same quarter last year. Even if we compare it with the last quarter of 2013, there’s still a growth of almost one to two million units being shipped. The figures for the fourth quarter of 2013 stands at almost 11.4 million, which rose to 13.2 million by the end of the first quarter of 2014. The substantial growth for Microsoft’s operating system resides at 16 percent, while all other operating systems saw a minor decline.
Spencer further said, “Microsoft Windows Phone is currently the only viable third ecosystem. BlackBerry has faded on all fronts (BlackBerry 10 and OS) and while Firefox remains a potential low-cost challenger, it has yet to make any significant impact.”
It will be good to see the future trend in the coming days, since Windows Phone is slowly gaining momentum, especially with the launch of Windows Phone 8.1. What do you guys think about the trend? Will Windows Phone market share increase in the coming months or will it stay constant? Let us know about your thoughts using the comments below.