Windows phones will outsell iPhones by 2016, a report by the research firm IDC predicted on June 6. The report provides a major boost for Microsoft and its main smartphone partner Nokia, which until now have experienced severe difficulties in gaining any traction among consumers or businesses for Windows phones.
But despite the slow start of Windows phones, IDC predicted that Nokia's strong position in emerging markets will allow the struggling platform to catch up to the trendsetting iPhone within four years.
Android will retain its lead of the market, with its market share peaking this year at some 61 per cent, said the report. But Apple's growth will be more muted, and its market share will drop from its current 20 per cent to around 19 per cent by 2016, while Windows phones will grow from 5 per cent of the market to 20 per cent by that time.