Windows Phone Usage Stats for May 2015

Every month, I highlight the state of the Windows Phone hardware ecosystem, using data from AdDuplex to see which handsets are the most widely-used. This month, we see a big bump in Windows 10 usage and more gains for the Lumia 630 and 535.

As you may remember, AdDuplex bills itself as the largest cross-promotion network for Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps, empowering developers and publishers to promote their apps for free by helping each other. And each month it provides a tantalizing glimpse at which Windows Phone (and Windows) devices people are actually using.

Note: Also please remember that this data measures handset usage share within the market for Windows Phones. It does not compare Windows Phone usage (or sales) to Android or iPhone.

Here’s what’s happening this month with Windows Phone device usage.

Lumia 535 surges. Usage in the Lumia 535 surged in May, showing the biggest worldwide usage change among devices. The 535 is the third-most-often-used Lumia in the world, with 6.7 percent of overall usage.

Nokia/Microsoft still number one with 96.75 percent usage. That said, “other” grew a bit too, to 0.46 percent.

Windows Phone 8.1 hits 75 percent of devices. The latest version of Windows Phone OS hit a new milestone, appearing on 75 percent of devices this month.

Windows 10 usage surges. Yes, it’s still in testing, but a recent build of Windows 10 Mobile for phones helped Windows 10 usage surge to 2.3 percent in May.

Lumia 635 is number one in the US. And if you combine it with the 630, which you should, it constitutes 37.4 percent of all Windows Phone usage in this country. The rest of the top five is all low-end devices too.

AT&T/Cricket rule in the US. AT&T is the top carrier here with 33.8 percent usage, but if you combine that with Cricket (which is owned by AT&T) and its 21.5 percent usage (good for second place), you get over half of all Windows Phone users in the USA.

No new phones. Sadly, there are no newly reported devices this month.