Microsoft’s mobile OS grows bigger on the Old Continent

May 7, 2015 06:01 GMT  ·  By

As Microsoft works at full speed on the new Windows 10 for phones, Windows Phone keeps growing in almost every single market across the world, becoming a fiercer alternative to Android and iOS.

New data provided by StatCounter for the month of April shows that usage of Windows Phone is growing in Europe, a market that’s still led by Android, but remaining at pretty much the same level in the United States, where iOS is still king.

Microsoft’s strategy of focusing on budget Windows Phone models is more or less paying off in European developing markets, and this is clearly one of the reasons behind the growth, while in the United States, buyers seem to be more interested in flagships, hence the domination of Apple, which is entirely based on high-end devices.

Microsoft flagships are still nowhere to be seen, and those looking for a high-end device running Windows Phone can only choose between Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520, both of which have been around for a while and are still lacking some functionality available on expensive Android and iOS devices.

Market share numbers

In Europe, Android is the leading mobile operating system with a share of 64.12 percent, while iOS is the runner-up with 28.2 percent. Windows Phone is far behind but showing signs of improvement, with 4.02 percent, followed by BlackBerry 10 with 1.48 percent.

As far as the United States is concerned, iOS is the number one mobile OS with 49.5 percent, but Android follows up closely with 47.55 percent. Windows Phone is again far behind, this time at 1.76 percent.

Needless to say, the lack of flagship devices running Windows Phone is one of the main reasons Microsoft still loses ground in the United States, but this is all expected to change later this year, when Windows 10 for phones becomes available.

Microsoft is believed to be working on several new flagships, including a successor to the Lumia 930, which could come with both a regular and an XL version that would push it in the phablet battle.

Windows Phone's market share in the United States last month
Windows Phone's market share in the United States last month

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Mobile OS market share in Europe in April 2015
Windows Phone's market share in the United States last month
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