Windows Phone sales to surpass Apple's iOS in 4 years

According the this report at Digital Life, Microsoft's Windows Phone platform will overtake Apple's iOS by 2016. This will make Windows Phone the number 2 most used mobile operating system by that time. Android, in 1st place currently, will still be the worlds most used OS.



 This analysis comes from the International Data Corp (IDC) where they say that although Windows Phone has had a slow start, will eventually pick up due to primarily Nokia's strength in emerging markets such as India and China where low cost and affordable mobile phones are popular. By 2016 the market share of Windows Phone will be at 19.2 percent, where as Apple's iOS will have a slightly lower market share of 19 percent.

"Growth will moderate over the five-year forecast, given the large installed base Apple has accumulated, which means more of its addressable market will be on replacement cycles," the report says. "Emerging market growth is of utmost importance if iOS is to gain share." While a shift for the No. 2 spot is expected, IDC predicts Android will hold on to the top spot in the smartphone market. But it does believe Android's market share will peak this year. The IDC report expects Android's hold on the market to fall from 61 per cent this year to 52.9 per cent in 2016. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/windows-phone-to-surpass-ios-by-2016-analyst-20120608-1zzpl.html#ixzz1xBqB02vU

This is expected as Apple only ships iOS installed on their devices only. Unlike Android and Windows Phone where their operating system is used with multiple smartphone manufacturers such as: Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony to name a few. However, the Apple iPhone is still expected to have a strong market share in terms of handsets sold.