Statista has compiled some information released by the IDC on the structure of the smartphone market in Q2 2014.
The data confirms that both Windows Phone and Android dominate in the low end of the market, with Windows Phone slightly more so, at 58.6% vs 61.4% of sales being less than $200 per handset.
24.9% of Windows Phone sales are in the mid-range ($200-$400), while only 13.7% are in the high end (above $400).
Under Nokia (now Microsoft Mobile) Windows Phone has of course been using pricing as a competitive advantage, delivering high quality handsets at affordable prices, but unfortunately this strategy has suffered from the entrance of Motorola, with a similar but higher spec approach.
Interestingly Statista notes that while nearly 85% of iOS sales are in the high end, this does not mean Apple dominates the category. Due to the massive shipment advantage of Android, 50.6 million high-end Android devices were shipped in Q2, as opposed to just 29.8 million top-tier iPhones.
With a wide range of new low-cost OEMs Windows Phone it is likely to shift even more to the low-end, which does of course make up the bulk of smartphone shipments.
At the low end Windows Phone offers some advantage over Android, such as a smooth, consistent user experience, reliable updates, an OS designed to work well at the low end, with data cost saving features, carrier billing on many more carriers than Android, and services in markets that are not served by Google, such as Cortana in China.
