Windows Phone Usage Stats for January 2016

It’s January, and Microsoft’s new Lumia 950, 950 and 950 XL have been out in the market for over a month now. How are these devices faring in usage compared to more established Windows phones?

Not too well, according to AdDuplex, which as always provides this month’s look at Windows phone usage.

As you may know, AdDuplex 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 (and Windows) devices people are actually using.

This month … well. Nothing has really changed. As AdDuplex notes, “holiday sales seem to have had little effect on the Windows phone device landscape … there are no surprises here.”

Here are the highlights, such as they are.

None of Microsoft’s new phones have cracked the top 10. Some will argue that such a thing should be obvious, but I disagree: There was allegedly such demand for a new flagship that the worldwide availability of two new flagships should have moved the needle a little bit, even given the availability issues. That didn’t happen. In fact, the AdDuplex report doesn’t mention the Lumia 950, 950 XL or 550 (not a flagship) anywhere.

Lumia 640 continues to creep up the usage chart. An incredible set of devices aside from the lackluster cameras, the Lumia 640 and 640 XL are collectively the the fourth most-often-used Windows phone with 9.6 percent of usage, behind Lumia 630/635 (16 percent), Lumia 520 (12.9 percent), and Lumia 535 (11.7 percent).

Microsoft/Nokia obviously still dominates. 96.97 percent of all Windows phones in use (in other words, 97 percent) are made by Microsoft/Nokia, indicating that last month’s tiny usage dip was indeed just a statistically anomaly. No other firm makes Windows phones, as far as actual users are concerned.

Windows 10 Mobile still hasn’t hit 10 percent. Usage growth in Windows 10 Mobile slowed this month, with the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile OS now on 9.5 percent of handsets, less than I’d expected. Windows Phone OS 8.1 of course still dominates with 77.7 percent of usage.

No new phones in testing. AdDuplex did not mention, and thus did not see, any new handsets in testing. That is obviously disappointing.

Here’s what I’d like to see. An examination of how well the new Lumias have penetrated the user base compared to previous flagships at the same point in time during their own release cycles. That is, is even the dedicated Windows phone user base ignoring the new devices? Or is this the way it always goes?