According to the latest handset usage data from AdDuplex, the Lumia 520 continues its reign atop the Windows Phone market, achieving new highs in usage for Windows Phone 8 and for Windows Phone overall. This mighty mite has also triggered further usage share gains for Nokia, which was already dominant in this market.
As you may remember, AdDuplex bills itself as the largest cross-promotion network for Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps, empowering developers and publishers to promote their apps for free by helping each other. And each month it provides a tantalizing glimpse at which Windows Phone (and Windows) devices people are actually using.
Some trends from this month's report include:
Lumia 520 is number one. After surging up the charts in recent months, the Lumia 520 has extended its lead in October. It now accounts for 23.2 percent of all Windows Phone usage, where all other phones have single digit usage share of 9.2 percent or less. And when you look at Windows Phone 8 specifically, the lead is even bigger: The Lumia 520 accounts for fully 33 percent of all Windows Phone 8 usage.
Nokia dominance continues. 9 of the top 10 Windows Phone handsets are made by Nokia and the 10th, the HTC 8x, comes in 10th place overall. Looking at Windows Phone 8 handsets, the situation is basically the same—9 of 10 are Nokia devices—though the HTC comes in 9th place. Nokia phones represent 89.2 percent—basically 90 percent—of all Windows Phones currently in use. There's Nokia and then almost nothing else.
Lumia 1020 growth has stalled. While the Lumia 1020 has shown some gains in the past month, it's going nowhere fast: It is in 21st place, overall, from a usage perspective, and 14th among just Windows Phone 8 handsets. I think it's safe to say that the high-end positioning of the 1020, while understandable, has been eclipsed by the success of low-end devices, not just the Lumia 520, but also the 521, 620 and 625. With 1020 availability growing, I guess this could change. But I don't see the 1020—my favorite smart phone by far—taking off with the mass market.
Windows Phone 8. One year after launching, Windows Phone 8 is now on 70 percent of all Windows Phones in use. It's 83 percent in the USA.
Interesting stuff as always. I'm curious to see whether the phablet/1080p support coming in Update 3—see my Windows Phone 8 Update 3 Preview post for the details—will help Microsoft and its partners get a better mix of high- and low-end devices in the hands of users, or whether the gap between the low-end/unsubsidized phones and the high-end/subsidized handsets continues to grow. It sort of makes sense that Windows Phone would see more success at the low-end/volume part of the market. But we need some high-end success to push new features and functionality as well.
