Windows Device Usage: Alcatel IDOL 4S Surges in the U.S.

This Month's Look at Windows Device Usage Focuses on the U.S.

With not much happening in Windows PC or phone usage, AdDuplex this month looks at how the U.S. markets for each is shaping up.

As always, this month’s look at Windows Device usage comes from AdDuplex, which bills itself as the largest cross-promotion network for Windows phone and Windows 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. And this month, the data includes PCs too.

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Before we dive in, let me address a faux controversy from last month, when AdDuplex’s data suggested that the HP Elite x3 had made no dent at all compared to the release of the Lumia 950 and 950 XL from the previous year. Well, that supposition is still correct: HP’s gorgeous but expensive Elite x3 still doesn’t make a dent in the Windows phone usage charts. But the less expensive and more recently released Alcatel IDOL XL has already surpassed the Elite x3.

“The new Alcatel is at number 16 and it’s already ahead of the Elite x3 (#19) after just a week on the market,” AdDuplex states.

Point being, what I wrote last month was correct, was supported by data, and accurately compared the relative usage of two devices (x3/Lumia 950) after a similar period of time. So while I understand that some Windows phone fans continue to have a hard time facing reality, let’s stop shooting the messenger and get on with life. At least the Alcatel IDOL 4S is doing OK. And remember, the Elite x3 is being marketed as a PC of sorts for businesses only. So none of this should be surprising.

Here’s what this month’s usage data reveals.

It was a quiet month. As AdDuplex noted, there was only one major new Windows phone release, the IDOL 4S, and that phone is U.S.-only. Which, when you think about it, is a bizarre decision. But it also makes this device’s relative popularity all the more interesting.

The Lumia 640 and 635 are still the top Windows phones in the U.S. But the rest of the top 10 has seen some shifts, though most of the phones in the top 10 have less than 4 percent usage share. Not a lot going on here, in other words.

The Lumia 640 and 950 are the top Windows 10 Mobile handsets in the U.S. And both with roughly 20 percent usage share too. The Lumia 650 isn’t far behind with 18.5 percent, and then the rest fall into single digits.

Microsoft/Nokia still controls almost 90 percent of the U.S. market for Windows 10 Mobile handsets. Which is a curious sub-market of a sub-market. Alcatel is number two, though, which is amazing, though I’ll point out that that is mostly because of an older handset and not the new IDOL 4S. HP does not appear on this list and is “just a bleep”, as AdDuplex puts it.

AT&T remains the top U.S. carrier for Windows 10 Mobile devices. Which is neat, as they don’t actually sell any, meaning that these are all upgraded phones.

No growth for Windows 10 Mobile as Windows Phone 8.1 still reigns supreme in the U.S. With exactly 80 percent usage, compared to 15 percent for Windows 10 Mobile. “This presents a major obstacle in UWP adoption for mobile-first Windows app,” AdDuplex points out, as Windows 10 Mobile usage as stopped growing for over two months now.

HP is the number one PC maker in the U.S. with 32 percent usage share, followed by Dell (25 percent), Lenovo (9 percent), Toshiba (6.8 percent), and ASUS (6.5 percent). Microsoft? They’re at number 7, ahead of such strong players as Gateway, MSI and “other.” That said, they do have 4.3 percent usage share in the U.S., which is better than the worldwide figure of 2.8 percent.

Windows 10 version 1607 is fully deployed. At least in my estimation: This newest version of Windows 10 is now on 83 percent of all Windows 10-based PCs in the U.S.

 

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Conversation 19 comments

  • 5027

    22 November, 2016 - 9:32 am

    <p>One question I have is, how does AdDuplex get this statistics? Considering it is an "Ad network" at heart, one could assume that it can only measure statistics for apps that show their ad’s or at least have used the Windows public store. &nbsp;Would a business phone do that?&nbsp;</p>
    <p>One would think that a company would lock down corporate phones so they can only use the company store, or at least only limited parts of the full store. &nbsp;And if the phones mostly use internal network, and a locked down business phone.. would AdDuplex actually get any data about these devices at all?&nbsp;</p>
    <p>I’m not saying the general statistics of Windows Phone/mobile use is not correct, but there could be a reason for the low stats for HP Elite X3 specifically . And other models that have been sold in bulk to airlines, other corporations, and even the Police. The statistics AdDuplex can gather from those devices would be limited at best I would think&nbsp;</p>

  • 3183

    22 November, 2016 - 9:46 am

    <p>I know this is dumb, but the two reasons why I can’t but this phone. 1 – Gold trim 2 – People mistaking it for an Android phone.</p>

    • 5027

      22 November, 2016 - 10:49 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26715">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/thespecificocean">thespecificocean</a><a href="#26715">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <blockquote><em>2 reasons I can’t buy this phone</em></blockquote>
      <blockquote><em>1. I don’t live in the US</em></blockquote>
      <blockquote><em>2. I don’t use T-mobile </em></blockquote>
      <p>&nbsp;</p>

  • 1995

    Premium Member
    22 November, 2016 - 11:40 am

    <p>I would have considered it if only it comes with Qi wireless charging. To me, this feature is important and a deal breaker. Will make do with my Lumia 950 which runs Win10 Mobile&nbsp;decently (until I download the next build).</p>

  • 5802

    22 November, 2016 - 12:36 pm

    <p>"Windows 10 Mobile usage has stopped growing for over two months now"</p>
    <p>This is probably because Microsoft has all but killed Windows 10 Mobile by not releasing any new phones. I like WP but I’m not going to spend $500+ for a phone that has no support.</p>

    • 5842

      22 November, 2016 - 1:44 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26793">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/spivonious">spivonious</a><a href="#26793">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Technically you are wrong. Windows Mobile is supported much better than some (or should I say most) Android phones. MS releases updates regularly when in Android land OEMs just release new phones without any intention to update them.</p>

      • 8622

        22 November, 2016 - 2:20 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#26813">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/illuminated">illuminated</a><a href="#26813">:</a></em></blockquote>
        <p>How does the sheer lack of users affect the support? I tend to buy popular motherboards because, in my experience, they’re more likely to receive BIOS updates for bugs because more users will be complaining about them. It seems to be that less users = less feedback = less support/bug fixing.</p>

      • 907

        22 November, 2016 - 3:30 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#26813">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/illuminated">illuminated</a><a href="#26813">:</a></em></blockquote>
        <p>I read this elsewhere in relation to W10M, it raises some solid points…</p>
        <p>" As AdDuplex points out, "growth of Windows 10 Mobile share has stalled worldwide in the last couple of months and [the] US is no exception." Eight months after its release, just 15% of all active Windows phones in the US are running Windows 10 Mobile, with a staggering 80% of devices on Windows Phone 8.1.</p>
        <p>While many of its Windows Phone 8.1 handsets are eligible to upgrade to the newer OS, Microsoft has made almost no effort to encourage users to do so. Instead of actively notifying them that they can upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft instead requires users to download an ‘Upgrade Advisor’app from the Store – but in order to do so, users have to be aware that the app exists in the first place, and with no notifications from Microsoft, most people have no idea that the option to upgrade is available to them.</p>
        <p>It’s still unclear why the company has shown so little interest in getting users to install Windows 10 Mobile. As AdDuplex notes, "this presents a major obstacle in UWP [Universal Windows Platform] adoption for mobile-first Windows apps". "</p>

  • 5554

    22 November, 2016 - 1:08 pm

    <p>Windows Mobile marketshare discussions are about as relevant now as Blackberry marketshare discussions.</p>

  • 5510

    22 November, 2016 - 1:53 pm

    <p>LOL…seriously Paul? Ahead of strong players, Gateway, MSI, and "other?" Was that a joke, because I can’t really tell. If it was a joke, then…LOL…that was funny. It’s funny because I didn’t even know that Gateway and MSI still exist? LOL…they don’t even advertise. I used to remember all the Gateway commercials on tv, with the talking cow.</p>
    <p>As for upgrade and adoption of Windows 10 Mobile from Windows 8.1 Mobile, Microsoft should give these people a call and tell them that an upgrade is available. After all, how many of those people are there in the world? Twenty (20)?</p>

    • 1959

      Premium Member
      22 November, 2016 - 2:30 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26816">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/Bats">Bats</a><a href="#26816">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>MSI sells a moderately popular line of gaming laptops. Although I’d say a portion of their marketshare (as far as usage stats are concerned) probably come from the motherboards they manufacture. They sell a lot, especially in the budget market. And a Windows 10 PC built on an MSI motherboard will identify itself as an MSI product.</p>

    • 907

      22 November, 2016 - 3:32 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26816">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/Bats">Bats</a><a href="#26816">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Sarcasm Bats, definitely&nbsp;sarcasm :)</p>

  • 1294

    22 November, 2016 - 1:57 pm

    <p>you can only go up when you’ve hit rock bottom, but no matter, I’ll be helping the number up on Black Friday</p>

  • 5539

    22 November, 2016 - 2:08 pm

    <p>"AT&amp;T remains the top U.S. carrier for Windows 10 Mobile devices. Which is neat, as they don&rsquo;t actually sell any…"</p>
    <p>Their web page shows 3.&nbsp;Microsoft Lumia 640 XL ($99.99),&nbsp;Microsoft Lumia 950 ($298.99),&nbsp;HTC One (M8) for Windows ($689.99) Those are full prices. They must be kidding on the HTC.</p>

  • 5539

    22 November, 2016 - 2:26 pm

    <p>Anyone know anything about that little dock in the header picture? Guess it is a stock photo as Paul wouldn’t have taken one so blurry you can’t read the brand.&nbsp;</p>

    • 250

      Premium Member
      25 November, 2016 - 12:55 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26831">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/SvenJ">SvenJ</a><a href="#26831">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>It’s a unit marketed by INCIPIO that they call the Type-C Dock. HDMI/Ethernet/USB-A. Designed for use with a MacBook, but maybe it can be pressed into service in other environments too.</p>

  • 5842

    22 November, 2016 - 2:54 pm

    <p>At this point Windows Mobile is platform for hobbyists. There must be some other bigger goals why this platform is still not killed but I am having hard time coming up with reasons. Maybe Microsoft is generous enough and can afford to maintain this platform just for me?</p>
    <p>&nbsp;</p>

    • 6958

      22 November, 2016 - 4:21 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26843">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/illuminated">illuminated</a><a href="#26843">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>They have been very clear about why it is still alive. many see ARM as the future of computing and Microsoft dose not want to start all over once that time has come, they keep Windows 10 Mobile (ARM) around for that reason. </p>

  • 206

    22 November, 2016 - 2:58 pm

    <p>I own the Idol 4S. &nbsp;I have tried going back to Android (Galaxy S6). &nbsp;It just doesn’t suit me. &nbsp;In the end, the Idol 4S costs just over 1/2 what a new iPhone 128GB. &nbsp;So, I stuck with WM10 for this go around. &nbsp;The device is excellent. &nbsp;Excellent build quality, screen is very good, great battery life, real stereo speakers, camera is vastly improved with either a 3rd Party camera app, or the upcoming MS Camera app that’s in the Fast Ring. &nbsp;Honestly, its a great phone. &nbsp;VR is interesting, but not why you buy the phone.</p>
    <p>If you’re sticking with WM10, and on t- mobile, this phone is great. &nbsp;I do not regret buying it. &nbsp;If I get tired of WM10, I’ll just go iPhone, not a big deal.</p>

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