Windows 10 was supposed to breathe new life into Microsoft’s smartphone sales, but we haven’t seen any evidence of that happening, and some analysts believe we never will. According to the IDC’s recent forecast of the smartphone industry, Windows Phone shipments will decline by 10.2% this year, and will experience little in the way of growth in the years to come. That forecast is a lot different than the one Microsoft gave after it acquired Nokia’s handset business, and this may be because Microsoft hasn’t been able to secure many OEM partnerships.
Microsoft’s share of the smartphone market has fallen to 2.2 percent and will make little ground over the coming four years, according to analyst firm IDC. The gloomy outlook for Microsoft’s mobile platform comes in IDC’s 2015 worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker, where the analyst forecasts that Windows Phone shipments will have declined by 10.2 percent over the year to 31.3 million units, leaving Microsoft with 2.2 percent share of 1.4 billion units shipped. IDC predicts Windows Phone will remain on the margins for the next four years, despite growth accelerating in 2019 when Windows Phone is expected to have a 2.3 percent share. Windows Phone’s decline over the past year will come despite Microsoft’s devices having a lower average selling price (ASP) than their Android equivalents. The lower ASP helped keep sales afloat last year but has done little for the company in 2015. IDC estimates that the Windows Phone ASP of $148 was $71 lower than the $219 ASP for Android devices. So, what’s to blame for Windows Phone low market share?
