A recent report by Developer Economics details a mixed picture for Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Windows 8 platforms. Microsoft reports its earnings today after the bell, making the results of the survey more interesting. How will Microsoft frame its progress in attracting developer attention, and will its notes agree with the established figures?
The key chart from the report tracks the percent of developers that are using each platform, a metric that it refers to as “mobile platform mindshare.” Windows Phone has shown consistent growth, while Windows 8 has seen its popularity among the set of polled developers decline.
Windows Phone’s “Mindshare”:
- Q3 2013: 21%
- Q1 2014: 26%
- Q3 2014: 28%
Windows 8’s “Mindshare”:
- Q3 2013: 20%
- Q1 2014: 21%
- Q3 2014: 18%
For Windows Phone, slower, but still real growth. For Windows 8, backward.
Microsoft is working to better unify its platforms and developer experiences to encourage app creators to build across its Windows-based platforms, but those efforts remain in development. In a way, we could see down the road, Windows Phone developer momentum driving app development for Windows proper. Stranger things have happened.
Microsoft reports earnings after the bell today. Apple as well. Expect fireworks.