In China and Russia, Windows Phone is more popular than iOS

According to figures published by Microsoft, its mobile platform has not only caught up in popularity, but also left behind Apple’s operating system in the People’s Republic of China. MTS claims that the share of WP in Russia is greater than that of iOS.

At the moment, according to Michael van der Bel, Microsoft’s China operations director, Windows Phone 7 is installed on 7% of smartphones in China. The iPhone, according to Bel, has only 6%. 

If these data are confirmed, such an unexpected turnaround can be safely called a great achievement of Microsoft, especially given the increasing importance of the Chinese smartphone market. However, at the moment China, apart from Russia, is the only territory where the share of Windows Phone smartphones is greater than that of the iPhone. In all other regions, Windows Phone lags far behind its “Apple” competitor.

Russia

According to MTS, the share of Windows Phone is 8.2%, and iOS lags behind with its 7.3% of the market. Here, however, it is necessary to take into account a couple of important points. 

Firstly, MTS data does not take into account gray imports. It accounts for the majority of Apple equipment sales in Russia. So the figures concerning the iPhone are greatly underestimated. The share of Apple smartphones in Russia is most likely higher than sales of devices based on Bada, which accounts for 11.3% of the market. 

Secondly, until recently, the products of Nokia, one of Microsoft’s main partners in promoting Windows Phone, enjoyed a cult status in Russia. Relatively high sales of its WP-based smartphones provided the platform with good performance. But, what is important, this is not the merit of WP, but of the Nokia brand.

By the way, the situation with Nokia in Russia has changed radically over the past year. If in the first quarter of 2011 Nokia was able to sell 58.7% of all smartphones sold in Russia, then in the first quarter of 2012 – only 34.5%. 

Returning to China 

Both Microsoft and Apple remain relatively small players in the Chinese smartphone market compared to Android, which occupies almost 70% of the market. However, Microsoft, together with Nokia, plan to “eat off” part of its share at the expense of new budget models.

 Yes, to meet and communicate with representatives of the company Microsoft will be available at the White Nights Mobile Games Conference, which will be held on June 14 and 15 in St. Petersburg.