Windows Phone and Windows 8.1 have had a year of ups and downs with regards to sales and public perceptions; however there is one area in which significant success has been achieved, the app stores. This is particularly the case for Windows Phone, which experienced uninhibited growth throughout 2014, accruing over 300,000 apps and bringing a number of big names to the fold.
Now Microsoft has revealed the extent of its achievements thus far, combined the Windows Phone store and the Windows 8 store have over 560,000 apps. That may not be the 1,000,000+ of Android and iOS, but considering that the combined figure in November 2014 was 520,000, significant growth has been achieved. In November, the Windows Phone store had 340,000 apps, and the Windows Store had 187,000, meaning that both now have a healthy offering through which to tempt consumers, and to calm concerns from the press, which seem to dog both platforms.
If these rates of growth continue, both platforms will continue to mature into serious competitors. For Microsoft however, the main challenge has ceased to be quantity, but quality and culture. Expect to see moves to change this state of affairs as the year progresses, for the moment however, things are relatively rosy.
What is your favorite app across the Windows ecosystem? Let us know in the comments below.
