Can the mobile version of Win 10 break through?

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Microsoft is like an old man in the IT industry. Every time it announces a new product, people will look at it sideways. Although Microsoft has not yet confirmed the specific release date of Windows 10, the company announced all 7 versions of the operating system today.

Let's take a quick look at the positioning of these seven versions: Windows 10 Home Edition is for consumers using PCs, tablets and 2-in-1 devices. This includes the main features of Windows 10: Cortana voice assistant (selected markets), Edge browser, Continuum tablet mode for touch-screen devices, Windows Hello (face recognition, iris, fingerprint login), the ability to stream Xbox One games, and universal Windows applications developed by Microsoft (Photos, Maps, Mail, Calendar, Music and Video). Like previous Windows versions, there are several sub-versions for different customers, such as Professional Edition, Enterprise Edition, Education Edition, Mobile Enterprise Edition, and IoT Core Edition. The above are the 6 major versions, and there is another version, which is the Windows 10 Mobile mobile version.

Our focus this time is on the Mobile version. In an era when mobile Internet is prevalent and related devices are emerging in an endless stream, it is extremely critical whether Windows 10 Mobile can carve out a path for itself.

Windows 10 Mobile is targeted at smaller mobile devices with touch screens, such as smartphones and small tablets, and integrates the same universal Windows applications and Office optimized for touch operation as Windows 10 Home. Some new devices can use the Continuum function, so when connected to an external large-size display, users can use their smartphones as PCs. For Microsoft, this Windows 10 is a huge one-stop platform that can be used across devices.

If the design concept of Windows 10 could be realized earlier, Microsoft's mobile device market share would not be squeezed so low. But Microsoft is now catching up at full speed. The most important killer is that PCs and Windows Phones can be upgraded to Windows 10 for free. Now the share of Windows Phone has also shown signs of recovery. A strong evidence is the French market. From January to March 2015, the market share of Windows Phone has climbed from 8.3% to 14.1%.

Another good news is that in China, Windows Phone has seen a small increase to 1.2% of the market share, Australia is 7.3%, and the Japanese market is only 0.4%. Microsoft sold a total of 8.6 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2015.

Of course, this growth data indicates some new changes that may occur in Windows 10 Mobile in the future. But the biggest problem is that Microsoft's space has been pushed to the edge by Apple iOS and Google Android, and now it is struggling to survive.

In addition, there is another huge challenge for Microsoft: many manufacturers still show no signs of returning to Windows 10 Mobile. In China, Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung, and Vivo, which have the largest shipments, still have no plans to launch decent flagship Windows models this month, and they are still struggling in the Android market.

Under the current situation, the market size of mobile devices is getting bigger and bigger. You must gain a large enough market share in the mobile market to build a good ecological chain. For example, when your mobile device users reach a certain scale, third-party application developers will invest their energy in creating better apps for adaptation, which is also the key to Apple's success this year. Fortunately, Microsoft has made Windows 10 one-stop and can run across devices, which is another opportunity. Of course, in addition to Microsoft's own Windows smartphones, it must also attract other manufacturers to join in, so as to provide better devices to attract users.

Therefore, in the next stage, whether Windows 10 Mobile Smart Edition can regain its growth momentum in the market is another key battle for Microsoft's success. And this time, Microsoft has little time left. It must succeed to regain its former prestige, otherwise it will lose more market voice.