Adding 415 apps daily, Windows 8 blows past the 35,000 app milestone
Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system now has a total of 35,0000 applications in its Store, according to tracking website MetroStore Scanner. — The total tally, 35,167, represents a growth of 14,557 in the last 35 days …
Context & Ripple Effects
A month earlier, the Windows 8 Store had only just cleared 20,000 apps after a rapid two-week addition of 7,000; the subsequent acceleration in the catalog makes the Store a more credible part of Microsoft’s Windows 8 pitch.
The milestone arrives while Windows 8 sales are described as disappointing in a weak PC market, and non-iPad tablet web traffic remains small relative to the iPad. App supply is improving, but Microsoft still needs device demand to turn that supply into a durable platform advantage.
First-order effects
- Microsoft can present Windows 8 buyers and its retail staff with a materially broader software catalog, reducing the visibility of early platform gaps.
- Developers entering the Windows 8 Store gain access to a catalog growing at roughly 415 additions a day, while facing a more crowded discovery environment.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft’s 2012 retail expansion gains a stronger in-store software story, but the Store’s growth does not directly address the weak PC demand cited in the coverage.
- As the catalog expands, Windows 8’s competitive test shifts from simply accumulating apps to whether its installed base and tablet usage can sustain developer attention.
Third-order effects
- If catalog growth persists, the limiting factor for Windows 8 becomes distribution and device adoption rather than the basic availability of apps—a constraint highlighted by weak PC sales and low non-iPad tablet traffic.
- Microsoft’s earlier Windows Phone marketplace growth shows the company can build app catalogs; translating catalog scale into a broader Windows platform remains the structural challenge.
The trend: Windows 8 is following the platform playbook of rapidly building app supply, with device demand—not app-count milestones—becoming the decisive ecosystem variable.