Blue-screen of death for Microsoft's mobile push as Windows Phone market share falls to 0.6 per cent

Only comfort for Microsoft as Windows Phone slides into irrelevance is that it's still bigger than BlackBerry

Windows Phone is following BlackBerry into the abyss of irrelevance in mobile operating systems, with the latest market share figures suggesting that just 1.9 million Windows Phone devices were sold in the second quarter.

BlackBerry, meanwhile, sold just 400,000 smartphones running its BlackBerry 10 operating system, although the company is attempting a shift towards security-improved Android devices in a bid to remain relevant.

That is according to the latest figures from analyst firm Gartner. They showed that Windows Phone market share had slumped from 2.5 per cent of the market in the second quarter of 2015 to just 0.6 per cent in 2016.

BlackBerry's sales of just 400,000 handsets gave it a market share of just 0.1 per cent in a market in which it was a major player just five years ago.

While BlackBerry is shifting its focus to Android, Microsoft appears to have all but given up on the market, with job cuts aplenty the unpleasant outcome of this decision.

Meanwhile, at the top it was also a lacklustre period for Apple. Its share of the smartphone market fell from 14.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2015 to 12.9 per cent, as sales declined from 44.395 million iPhones to 48.085 million.

This came despite global smartphone sales rising from 330 million to 344 million. Apple will no doubt hope that the iPhone 7, expected in September, will help the firm to rebound in the market.

Leading the field is Samsung after selling 76 million smartphones, an increase on 72 million in the same period last year. This gave the company a 22.3 per cent share of the market, a slight increase from 21.8 per cent in the same period last year.

Anshul Gupta, a research director at Gartner, explained that the decline for Apple was down to buyers holding off on new devices as new models are just around the corner.

"Demand for premium smartphones slowed in the second quarter of 2016 as consumers wait for new hardware launches in the second half of the year," he said.

The biggest increase was for little-known firm Oppo, which sold 18 million phones and saw its market share more than double from 2.4 to 5.4 per cent.

"Features such as an anti-shake camera optimised for selfies, and rapid charge technology, helped Oppo carve a niche market for itself and boost sales in a highly competitive and commoditised smartphone market," added Gupta.

The boost for Samsung helped Android to increase its dominance of the market to 86.2 per cent, up from 82.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2015.

Roberta Cozza, a research director at Gartner, said that Google's ongoing development of Android is helping its ecosystem partners to push boundaries with their phones.

"Google is evolving the Android platform fast, which allows Android players to remain at the cutting edge of smartphone technology," she said.

"Facing a highly commoditised smartphone market, Google's focus is to further expand and diversify the Android platform with additional functionalities, like virtual reality, enabling more intelligent experiences and a reach into wearables, connected home devices, in-car entertainment and TV."