Windows 8 Crosses 100,000 Apps Milestone
Microsoft has hit a pretty big milestone for Windows 8, with the Windows Store passing the 100,000 apps mark. It’s taken just over seven months for Microsoft to hit the big 100K after Windows 8 launched in late October last year, although the milestone didn’t quite happen quickly enough as it managed to miss Microsoft’s BUILD 2013 developer conference by roughly a week.
At the same time, Microsoft has also confirmed the development of some new exciting Metro apps, including a Facebook client that would allow users to access their profiles from the Modern UI. Flipboard and Rhapsody will also develop Windows 8 apps.
Even when compared against the iPad the feat is impressive. That device took 14 months to reach the mark, while the Mac app store still languishes on only 15,000 apps 30 months after its own launch.
Windows 8 has just passed the 5.1% share of the 1.3 billion PCs in use world-wide, according to NetApplications, which translates into more than 66 million PCs running Windows 8 at present, with at least 40% running a Metro app once per day. This is likely double the number of Windows Phones in use.
While Microsoft has hit the 100,000 app milestone, they still have a way to go to not only improve the quality of app offerings in the Windows Store, but also convince customers that Modern apps are worth downloading. Various analysts have been very critical of the app offerings in the Store, and consumers haven’t been convinced by Windows RT – which largely runs Windows Store apps – instead choosing to buy full Windows 8 tablets with desktop compatibility.
