AT&T no longer sells Lumia phones through its website as Microsoft’s presence in the worldwide handset market continues to disappear.
Wave7 Research noted the absence of Lumia devices this week in a research note sent to subscribers, observing that no Microsoft hardware is listed among the 29 devices available through ATT.com. Further checks revealed that Lumia devices also aren’t being sold through the websites of T-Mobile or Sprint, and Verizon offers only one Lumia phone online: the Lumia 735, which was released in September 2014.
It isn’t clear whether AT&T still sells any Lumia phones through its physical stores, and a carrier representative was unable to comment on the situation immediately. Wave7 said AT&T’s Cricket brand continues to sell two Lumia phones through its site, but Microsoft phones weren’t available through the sites of Boost, MetroPCS or Straight Talk, according to the research firm.
Lumia’s waning presence is hardly shocking, of course, and it isn’t limited to U.S. carriers. Gartner said last month that Microsoft’s share of the worldwide mobile operating system market dwindled to a mere 0.3% in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 1.1% the previous year. Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS combined to account for a whopping 99.6% of the market during the quarter, essentially cementing themselves as the only relevant platforms for users and developers.
Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel continues to gain traction as the internet giant continued to address inventory shortages at Verizon, which maintains an exclusive grip on the phone. The Pixel accounted for 8.7% of handset sales at Verizon stores in Wave7’s latest survey, eating into Samsung sales at the high end of the Android market.
Google is said to be developing as many as three successors to its Pixel, but Wave7 said Verizon’s exclusive deal to remain intact even as the new handsets come to market. “There is a multi-year plan behind the Pixel,” Wave7 wrote, “and it is likely to be sustained.”