Microsoft’s quarterly financials reveal that its Lumia device revenue is down a staggering 81% from last year.
Hindsight is perfect, but Microsoft’s early foray into the mobile market under Nokia’s Lumia badge didn’t seem destined for inordinate success.
The fact that Microsoft couldn’t develop a surefire hit was a driving factor in what lead consumers over to the likes of Android and iOS; between a desolate app store, murky feature sets and a flagship duo which failed to impress, there was little surprise when Microsoft effectively gave up on the Lumia brand.
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While the company is reportedly striving towards a Surface Phone – which, according to leaked reports, could be a foldable device – the firm has done little to remedy the dying light that is the Lumia marque.
Nowhere is that more visible than the fact that Microsoft’s phone revenue has plummeted an enormous 81% since last year; meaning that the company has in fact sold less than a million units between October and December of 2016.
Is there a future for Microsoft’s hardware? Yes – the company’s Surface line (which includes the likes of the Surface Pro, Surface Book and Surface Studio) has been well received. Yet it remains likely we’ve seen the end of Lumia-branded smartphones forever.
While we patiently wait to see what future Microsoft has in the mobile sector – Surface or otherwise – the company has shifted its outlook to provide many of the best software features found on Windows 10 Mobile to Android and, secondarily, iOS.
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What are your thoughts? What was was the biggest contributing factor to the downfall of the Lumia brand under Microsoft? We want to know your opinion – talk to us in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
