IHS: Windows Phone will overtake iOS by 2015

by Steven Mostyn - Jan 20 2012, 10:41

Here’s a news snippet that caused much of The Tech Herald editorial staff to perform a cartoon double-take: Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is expected to surpass Apple’s iOS by 2015.

That’s according to industry analytics specialist IHS, which suggests major vendor partnerships—such as the one struck with Nokia—and increasing customer awareness will help push Microsoft’s smartphone software center stage.

“Windows Phone will account for 16.7 per cent of the smartphones shipped [by 2015], up from less than 2 per cent in 2011,” posited Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS, in an eWeek report. 

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, itself struggling for traction in the smartphone sector, is expected to fuel Microsoft’s rise to prominence behind only Google Android, and will likely account for 62 percent of all Windows Phone devices by 2013.

Lam believes that the aggressive adoption of Windows Phone by other handset makers will result in Nokia’s momentum falling back somewhat during 2014.

It is thought Nokia will help Windows Phone secure a degree of its projected market share through the enterprise sector, which is no longer as potent as it once was.

However, it remains to be seen exactly how Microsoft and its partnering device carriers will outflank the seemingly unshakeable consumer appeal attached to Apple’s iconic iPhone.

Around the Web

comments powered by Disqus