Is Windows Phone OS Dead?

Mindfire Solutions
Jul 24, 2017 · 3 min read

According to the updated data posted on NetMarketShare.com, the Windows Phone OS market share on smartphones and tablets currently amounts to 1.33 per cent. The steady decline in its worldwide market share makes many analysts, bloggers, and mobile app developers discuss that Microsoft’s mobile operating system in already dead. In 2016, Microsoft replaced Windows Phone OS with Windows 10 Mobile.

The company subsequently announced its decision to stop producing Lumia phones. Also, Microsoft sold its feature phone business to Foxconn for $350 million. Microsoft announced its decision to keep developing Windows 10 Mobile, in addition to providing support to specific Lumia phone models. The current worldwide market share of Windows 10 Mobile depicts that it is no longer a major player in the smartphone OS market.

Assessing Current State of Windows 10 Mobile

Microsoft still develops Windows 10 Mobile

In 2016, Microsoft announced Windows 10 Mobile as a successor to Windows Phone 8.1. Windows 10 Mobile is designed with features to provide greater consistency with personal computers. Further, Microsoft aims to use the edition of Windows 10 for unifying Windows application platform across multiple device classes. The company further enables developers to run a single application on varying Windows 10 devices by launching a new universal application platform. Despite winding up its feature phone business, Microsoft has announced its decision to develop and update Windows 10 Mobile actively in the longer run.

Declining Worldwide Market Share

The latest market share data posted on various websites depict that over 99% new smartphones and tablet’s run on Android or iOS. At the same time, the information posted on various websites depicts a steady decline in the worldwide market share of Windows 10 Mobile. The worldwide market share of Microsoft’s mobile OS amounted to 3.26% in June 2016. But Windows 10 Mobile’s worldwide market share currently amounts to less than 2%. The gradual decline in its worldwide market share makes both users and mobile app developers believe that Windows 10 is already dead.

Rumoured Surface Phone

Many analysts speculate that Microsoft will try to make Windows 10 Mobile a major player in the worldwide mobile OS market by launching new Surface Phones. However, Microsoft is yet to reveal the features and specifications of the rumoured Surface Phones. Also, the company has not announced the release date for the new device. Many analysts believe that Microsoft will use Surface Phone as a tool to showcase Windows 10 Mobile and highlight its capabilities. The company will even use the new mobile device to boost the worldwide market share of its mobile operating system.

Windows 10 Creator Update

Microsoft has announced its decision to roll out Windows 10 Creators Update in April. The latest feature update to Windows 10 Mobile aims to provide optimal user experience through new features, security capabilities, and innovative apps. However, Microsoft plans to roll out Windows 10 Creators Update in phases. Initially, the updated version of Windows 10 Mobile will be available to newer devices. The company will subsequently extend the latest version of its mobile OS to additional devices. Also, Microsoft will try to regain the lost market share of its mobile OS in the longer run by updating Windows 10 Creators Update on a regular basis.

On the whole, Windows Phone OS is already dead as Microsoft has replaced it with Windows 10 Mobile. Despite winding up its feature phone business, Microsoft is still working on Windows 10 Mobile. Also, the company is providing support to certain models of Lumia phones. But the less than 2% worldwide market share of Windows 10 Mobile depicts that it is struggling against popular mobile operating systems like Android and iOS.

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Mindfire is a software service provider, with unrelenting focus on small-team offshore software development using Agile methods.

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