Windows Phone's itch for domestic market share

Windows Phone (abbreviated as WP) is a mobile phone operating system released by Microsoft. Microsoft officially released the smartphone operating system Windows Phone at 9:30 p.m. on October 11, 2010. It has been almost five years since then, but its market share at home and abroad is not ideal. Kantar Research has just released a report on smartphone sales in major global markets from September 2013 to September 2014. According to the data, Windows Phone's market share in the United States fell by 0.3% in one year, to 4.3%. In the domestic market, Windows Phone's performance is even worse, falling from 3.2% in the previous year to a pitiful 0.4%. It seems that Windows Phone is really a niche in China. In addition, in Australia and most European countries including Spain, France, and the United Kingdom, Windows Phone's market share has also declined, with only two markets, Japan and Italy, experiencing a slight increase. Facing the situation of Windows Phone, I will make some simple explanations from the following aspects:

1. Interface design

• In terms of interface design, domestic users are already accustomed to interfaces like Windows 7 and Windows XP. However, the public is not very accepting of interfaces like Windows 8 and Windows Phone. The interfaces of Android and Apple systems are similar to Windows 7 and Windows XP and are more popular with the public.

2. Phone appearance

• Judging from the domestic situation, most mobile phones equipped with the Windows Phone system do not have detailed enough design details in terms of appearance.

3. Lack of branding

• Domestic Internet brands that have emerged, such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Meizu, do not have phones equipped with Windows Phone systems, which lack public recognition and brand effects.

4. Lack of developers

• Compared with Android and Apple, Windows Phone applications are still lacking. Developers are not enthusiastic about Windows Phone, and Microsoft needs to vigorously develop it.

5. Low configuration and high price

• I interviewed some people around me and they all thought that the configuration of Windows Phone could not compare with Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu in China. Moreover, in China where prices are very high, there is a lack of buyers.

6. Rejecting the open source concept

• Although open source is not in line with Microsoft's usual style, integrating into the open source community can indeed help Microsoft better develop the Windows Phone 7 operating system. After all, Android's success is due to open source technology. And it is rumored that Mozilla also plans to adopt the same strategy in its upcoming mobile operating system. Microsoft believes that closedness is the passport to the future. I think Apple may be an exception, and Microsoft's closed situation will make it worse.