Microsoft’s new Lumia flagships show in the usage stats for the first time in December. Will Windows phone fans rally around the Lumia 950 and 950 XL?
This month’s look at Windows phone usage comes as always fromAdDuplex, which bills itself as the largest cross-promotion network for Windows phone and Windows 8 apps. AdDuplex empowers developers and publishers to promote their apps for free by helping each other. And each month it provides a glimpse at which Windows phone devices people are actually using.
This month we see the following trends:
Lumia 950 and 950 XL hit the charts. Microsoft’s new flagships have entered AdDuplex’s usage charts for the first time. “Globally, the Lumia 950 is more popular than the 950 XL,” AdDuplex notes, “but this is not the case in all countries.” I’d love to see more data, but suffice to say that neither device appears in the top 10 charts worldwide or in any country.
Little change in the most-used phones list. Globally, the Lumia 520 retains its crown with 14 percent of all usage. However when you combine Lumia 630 and 635 usage, you get 15.5 percent usage. Meaning that the 630/635 is in reality the most popular Windows phone today.
Microsoft/Nokia still dominates, apparently. And why wouldn’t it? However with 96.97 percent of all Windows phones in use, that number hasn’t gone up for the first time in just about forever. Peak Lumia?
Windows 10 Mobile upgrades are in testing. In a promising sign, AdDuplex can see that carriers are testing the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade on phones from “basically every manufacturer out there.” This includes the HTC One M8 and 8X, Samsung ATIV-S and ATIV-SE, LG Lancet, HUAWEI Ascend W1 and W2, and “others,” AdDuplex says.
Windows 10 Mobile grows to 8.8 percent of usage. By a combination of the Windows Insider program and its inclusion on new phones, Windows 10 Mobile jumps to 8.8 percent of the market, up 1.8 percent. Windows Phone 8.1, still dominates, of course, with 77.6 percent of usage. And Windows Phone 8.0 holds steady at 8.7 percent.
Unreleased phones. AdDuplex reports a number of so-far unreleased Windows phones. This includes two Microsoft devices, the 5-inch 720p Lumia RM-115x handsets, and the Lumia RM-1160/1162 handsets with 5.4-inch 768p screens. But it also includes the rumored HP Falcon, the LG V496, and the Acer 558xWWxGen1, which has a 5.2-inch screen in both 1080p and 768p variants.
