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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<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>