Do not expect to see any Huawei-branded Windows Phone handsets in the near future, as the Chinese networking giant has put a hold on any new releases using Microsoft's mobile operating system.
Richard Yu, Huawei's consumer business group chief, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Windows Phone has proven to be unprofitable for the company, with development of new Windows Phone products "on hold".
"We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone," Yu told WSJ.
Microsoft's mobile platform was not alone in receiving dismissal from the Huawei chief, who said that Tizen does not factor into Huawei's plans, despite receiving pressure from telcos to use the Samsung- and Intel-developed Linux variant.
"We feel Tizen has no chance to be successful. Even for Windows Phone, it's difficult to be successful," Yu said. "We have no plans to build our own OS. It's easy to design a new OS, but the problem is building the ecosystem around it."
Whereas Huawei is avoiding Windows Phone, HTC has re-entered the Windows Phone market with the HTC One M8 for Windows, which is currently exclusive to American carrier Verizon.
Figures from IDC earlier this month outlined the size of the challenge facing any mobile operating system that wishes to take on the Android and iOS duopoly. Between them, Google and Apple's mobile operating systems account for 96.4 percent of worldwide smartphone market share, with Windows Phone accounting for only 2.5 percent of handsets, down from 3.4 percent a year prior.
On the plus side for Windows Phone, it is able to hold market share, with Tizen looking to be permanently shelved by Samsung following a stalled launch of its Samsung Z handset in July.