Windows 10 Mobile hasn’t yet made it to the Windows Phone 8.X community, after being promised in December and then delayed ever since. The only Windows 10 Mobile users, therefore, are Windows Insiders and those who’ve purchased a Lumia 950, 950 XL, or 550 (and most recently, the new Lumia 650). Even so, AdDuplex has published their updated Windows phone statistics for February 2016, and Windows 10 Mobile is sitting at 5.3% of the Windows phone market.
AdDuplex made a correction to their data after erroneously including some Windows Phone 8.1 users in the Windows 10 Mobile group, and so the latter has been somewhat overstated in the past. They’ve adjusted their data, however, and this month’s numbers better reflect reality. In February, Windows 10 Mobile increased its share by a minuscule 0.8%, while Windows Phone 8.1 fell 1.0%. Overall, Windows 10 Mobile was previously estimated to be running on as many as 8.8% of Windows phones, making this month’s 5.3% significantly less.
Regarding which devices are most in use, the low-end retains its position as the dominant type of Windows phone. Worldwide, fully 65% of all Windows phones are lower-end devices from the Lumia 430 through the 640 XL. Higher-end devices like the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, and even the older Lumia 1520, fall into the “Other” category, which makes up 35% of the market.
In the US, the Lumia 635 and Lumia 640 make up almost half of the installed base, at 49.5%. The only relatively high-end device that shows up in the statistics is the ancient Lumia 1520 at 2.4%. The newest flagship devices fall into the “Other” category.
In Europe, the numbers are similar, with the Lumia 520, 535, 635, and 640 adding up to close to 50% of installed devices. The Lumia 930 holds its own at the high end with 4.9%
AdDuplex gathers its information from apps running on 5,219 Windows phones, and then extrapolated from there. And so as always, the information needs to be taken with the tiniest grain of salt. The bottom line, though, is that the Windows phone market is made up largely of low-priced devices that are still waiting for their Windows 10 Mobile updates. We’ll be looking forward to the statistics once Microsoft releases Windows 10 Mobile into the wild, as well as assessing user’s experiences with the new mobile OS on so many low-end devices.
