The number of people using Windows-based smartphones in the UK is expected to overtake the number of BlackBerry users this year, according to a new report from digital marketing specialist eMarketer.
It anticipates the number of BlackBerry users dropping by 35.2% this year to 2.4 million, with an even steeper drop in 2015 to just 1.4 million users.
Meanwhile Windows Mobile usage is forecast to rise to 3.5 million users - 9% of the market - by the end of 2015.
Android-based handsets account for the majority of UK smartphone usage, followed by iOS with almost a third of smartphones.
Bill Fisher, UK Analyst at eMarketer, said “The demise of BlackBerry has long been documented but these numbers highlight just how far it has fallen from grace. Android and iOS are clearly dominant, but while Microsoft is making significant effort to grow its presence - buying Nokia’s mobile phone unit and recently partnering with HTC to offer a Windows-based version of the flagship HTC One M8 - BlackBerry appears to have been treading water.”
Regular monthly smartphone usage in the UK during 2014 is expected to hit 36.4 million people, up nearly 10% from last year. By 2018, nearly 70% of the UK population is expected to have a smartphone.