Microsoft told investors during last night’s conference call it sold 8.4 million Lumia smartphones – a more than 10% increase from the same period last year. Microsoft also sells non-smartphones – to the tune of 19.4 million. No matter if you take all Microsoft phone sales – 27.8 million – or just the smartphones at 8.4 million – both numbers are greater than the estimates of Apple Watch sales.
Apple likely sold just 4 million watches during the period, says a new report by market research firm Strategy Analytics. The fact shows how the gulf between hype and reality can be quite large. Shares of Apple are down $5.82, or 4.5%, to $124.95 – and some investors are wondering how much lower the stock can go. Microsoft is down $1.80, or 3.8%, to $45.47. Microsoft’s phone unit sales rose – but revenue from the sales fell – since the company has been attempting to drive the prices of phones down. Apple, on the other hand, has been looking to push the prices up. CEO Satya Nadella has stated the company will refocus on fewer Lumia handsets – targeted precisely for three markets: Value, business and enthusiasts. Microsoft is also moving to have a third party actually manufacture the phones.
Meanwhile, in a few months, Windows 10 will be adapted to run on smartphones. So-called “universal apps” will run on both the smartphones and on Windows 10 PCs. Unlike Apple users and developers, which have one operating system on the desktop and another one on their phones, Windows will have a single ecosystem…….
See full story on usatoday.com
Image: Getty