Three-year-old Lumia 520 is still the most popular Windows Phone

[Scorpus]

Over the past couple of years, things haven't been going particularly well for Microsoft's phone platform. Even in 2016, as pointed out by Windows Central, the three-year-old Nokia Lumia 520 remains the most widely used Windows Phone, well ahead of any flagship device.

According to statistics from AdDuplex, the Lumia 520 represents 12.9 percent of all Windows Phone devices currently in use, ahead of other entry-level phones like the Lumia 535 (11.7%) and Lumia 630 (8.6%). Only three phones released in 2015 were in the top ten most used devices - the Lumia 640, Lumia 640 XL and Lumia 435 - all of which are entry-level devices.

To make matters worse, the only high-end smartphone that registered a significant percentage of Windows Phone market share was the Nokia Lumia 920: a device released in 2012, apparently still used by three percent of Windows Phone users. OEMs have also failed to make a dent on the Microsoft/Nokia Windows Phone monopoly, collectively accounting for just 3% of all devices.

The report from AdDuplex continues to highlight many of Windows Phone's failures. The fact that the Lumia 520 is still the most popular device shows how Microsoft hasn't managed to repeat the successes of its older, highly-popular budget smartphones. In many ways the platform has been overtaken by Android in the entry-level market, and the lack of compelling new budget devices hasn't helped.

Microsoft has also failed to release a successful high-end handset since it purchased Nokia's smartphone division in 2013. In the past two years we have seen new products like the Lumia 930 and Lumia 950, but neither device took the market by storm.

And finally, while Windows Phone is available to other manufacturers, the devices they've released and the platform itself hasn't been attractive to consumers at all. There is hope that Windows 10 Mobile might bring more OEMs into the ecosystem, but even Microsoft is struggling to produce compelling devices that use their own OS.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/63626-three-year-old-lumia-520-most-popular-windows.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Microsoft has practically abandoned the WP market, barely releasing hardware, half-assed software that never seems to be finished, its a mess.

It does not bode well for win10 either.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I don't know why M$ even bothers with the mobile platform anymore. Sure, there are a few die hard fans of Windows phones but MS always seems to be flogging a dead horse when it comes to mobile.

 

[yRaz]

I have the 520 as a backup phone, it's pretty nice considering I got it new for $28. Windows phone really shows its colors on slower hardware. It runs much smoother than a compartively spec'ed android phone. People are too hard on windows phone, it's a very powerful operating system, it just doesn't have many apps. That doesn't matter to me because all I do on my phone is read, make calls and check my email.

 

[AvalonMD]

I don't know why M$ even bothers with the mobile platform anymore. Sure, there are a few die hard fans of Windows phones but MS always seems to be flogging a dead horse when it comes to mobile.

Maybe because the Lumia 950 / 950XL are genuinely good phones? I have the latter, and it is absolutely great to use, and is easily in the same league and if not better to the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6S. Yes, I will agree that the App's the platform has is somewhat lacking but remove that from the equation and pound for pound it compares favourably. You will no doubt say that I cant just do that because App's are what make the world go round, children in Africa cry when they cant get their App fix, and Angels lose their wings but even considering the missing apps there ARE alternatives, some in fact better than the originals on other platforms. People are lazy, that's why unless they can find the EXACT app they are looking, they cry that there aren't Apps when if you did just a quick search you would find an alternative. Then there those App's that have no alternative, like your banking app. Sure I cant talking my way round that one and say just keep looking, but unless I am very much mistaken most of these places have a mobile site that's usually pretty good, so what's to stop you from pinning its shortcut to the start screen? Don't tell me Apps are better than mobile sites because I'm not buying it.

As a phone and a mobile web browser they do their jobs just as well as the competition, App's are a different story. Don't claim Microsoft should stop making phones because they suck, no what you are complaining about is the fact they don't have [Insert preferred app] available, not because you cant make phone calls, not because you cant send messages, and certainly not because the build quality is bad. These are good phones, if you took the time to look with your eyes and stop following the hate train online because that's what all the cool kids do.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Maybe because the Lumia 950 / 950XL are genuinely good phones? I have the latter, and it is absolutely great to use, and is easily in the same league and if not better to the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6S. Yes, I will agree that the App's the platform has is somewhat lacking but remove that from the equation and pound for pound it compares favourably. You will no doubt say that I cant just do that because App's are what make the world go round, children in Africa cry when they cant get their App fix, and Angels lose their wings but even considering the missing apps there ARE alternatives, some in fact better than the originals on other platforms. People are lazy, that's why unless they can find the EXACT app they are looking, they cry that there aren't Apps when if you did just a quick search you would find an alternative. Then there those App's that have no alternative, like your banking app. Sure I cant talking my way round that one and say just keep looking, but unless I am very much mistaken most of these places have a mobile site that's usually pretty good, so what's to stop you from pinning its shortcut to the start screen? Don't tell me Apps are better than mobile sites because I'm not buying it.

As a phone and a mobile web browser they do their jobs just as well as the competition, App's are a different story. Don't claim Microsoft should stop making phones because they suck, no what you are complaining about is the fact they don't have [Insert preferred app] available, not because you cant make phone calls, not because you cant send messages, and certainly not because the build quality is bad. These are good phones, if you took the time to look with your eyes and stop following the hate train online because that's what all the cool kids do.

I never said their devices sucked. What I was alluding to is that they're just bit players in the greater scheme of things and will likely remain so unless they can pull a rabbit out of the hat.
MS are a monolith, they can't be happy about always playing second fiddle to Android and Apples os.

 

[Wing-01]

I believe WP is not managed properly, they are sitting on something very good for some time now.

They really need to get their act together by 2017 or exit the Mobile Phone Market and take a year out to regroup and concentrate properly on WP, however maybe this is what they already done, with the last two WP phones. However it still feels like the phone is not all there, with problems that old WP phones had they still plague the new phones & to ask for 400 GBP for it seems too much, especially if they really want to take that market share.

What I can't get my head around, every time they have a really good competitive application it disappears or they don't continue with it, for example "Photosynth" or something more silly like "photo beamer" but to be competitive you need that sort of thing.

Perhaps WP needs to be like the old blackberry's of old, they were great for work/office environment and if they can keep their handsets at a competitive price (which they show they can) & offices around the world still use Windows they can kill it, saying that it looked like that's what they were trying to do with the latest offerings, but after so many weeks it hasn't really shown up again after the hype in NYNY

MS inherited a great app from Nokia, the Here Maps/Drive. The only reason I got my first WP (Nokia 610) is because of this app and the reason I brought another Microsoft phone now is because of this app, but I wouldn't spend more than 100 GBP just because developers haven't got behind them yet.

But after all that I wrote I only use the phone for calling, e-mail & sometimes the calendar, therefore I don't need more than that, but it would be nice for apps from android and apple to work on WP, I think there is a rumor that's happening . All I am saying Windows OS is a very versatile OS and what I mean by that is in the past almost everything was compatible with windows, it seems their competition took note of that and they beat them to the punch . That's why I hope Windows get their act together because the only people who gain from it is us the consumer