A recent article published on the network edition of PCWorld, authored by Gregg Keizer, claimed that Windows 8 still fails to support most of the most popular applications to date. In the short term, it will struggle to compete with iOS and Android on tablets.
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An analyst said that Microsoft's Windows 8 application ecosystem needs significant improvement in order to compete with iOS and Android on tablets.
However, all this seems unlikely to happen in the short term.
"Windows 8 still cannot support most of the most popular applications to date," Patrick Moorhead, chief analyst at market research firm Moor Insights & Strategy, said, "This is a major issue facing Windows 8. And, as everyone knows, Windows 8 does not have enough applications."
Even after developers create some essential applications for Windows 8, this reputation will persist for a long time. "Even after Microsoft enriches its application library, consumers will remain stuck in the impression of a lack of Windows 8 applications for a long period," Moorhead said.
Only half of the top applications are supported by Windows
As early as October last year, before the official release of Windows 8, Moorhead had been criticizing Microsoft's application strategy. An analysis last week on the current state of the Windows Store (the store selling Windows 8 and Windows RT applications) caught Moorhead's attention.
Nick Landry, product manager at Infragistics, a company developing user interface development tools and one of Microsoft's Most Valuable Experts, created a list of "essential applications" based on the top 100 most popular iOS applications. He then examined Google Play, Windows Store, and Windows Phone Store separately to determine how many applications were available for Android, Windows 8, or Windows Phone versions.
In the list of 100 essential applications compiled by Landry (ranging from ABC News to Citibank to HBO GO and Zillow), the Windows Store only had 54, slightly more than half.
For Landry, who leads the mobile development tool team at Infragistics, the 54% figure was indeed impressive. "I don't know what you think, but I believe that for a new platform established in less than a year, having 100,000 applications (including 54 of the most popular applications) is a good result," Landry said.
Moorhead disagreed.
"Firstly, I commend Landry for conducting this analysis. The analysis is very insightful and basically correct," Moorhead said, "But I cannot agree with his statement that the Windows 8 platform has been around for less than a year. In fact, it has been around for two years."
He pointed out that Windows 8 was first released in September 2011, when Microsoft unveiled a preview version of the operating system at its BUILD Developer Conference. At the conference, Microsoft also heavily promoted Windows 8's radical user interface and the application model that could challenge Android and iOS on tablets.
"Many statistics only highlight the difficulties Windows 8 faces in terms of applications," Moorhead said, "Windows 8 still does not support the top social application Facebook, the top paid content application HBO GO, the top sports application Watch ESPN, and many other popular applications. I have been complaining about this for over a year, but they still do not support Windows 8."
Microsoft's Commitments and Goals
Although Facebook has yet to appear on Windows 8 and Windows RT, Microsoft announced in June this year that the social network would develop a Windows application. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated at this year's BUILD Conference that the company would launch Facebook and Flipboard applications in the future, although he did not specify the exact timing.
Landry pointed out that many other applications are also absent from the Windows Phone Store. He concluded that the lack of these applications in the Windows Store is due to the same reasons: "Because some developers intentionally slow down their development for Microsoft, or they just feel that this platform is not important enough," Moorhead said.
Moorhead believes that Microsoft no longer has any excuses. Now, if it wants to compete with the big players Android and iOS, it must have these most popular applications; having only half of them is not enough.
"If consumers have a reliable alternative platform to Windows, they will try to minimize risks," Moorhead talked about the phenomenon of potential users rejecting Windows 8 and RT due to application issues, "This is not just a numbers game. What would you do if HBO is your favorite channel? What would you do if your bank account is not supported by Windows?"
Unless Microsoft can overcome the problem of application shortages, it will be impossible to change people's impression: that it is merely a secondary ecosystem; and it will also be impossible to change the reality: that it cannot provide the most popular applications that people want.
"Just look at Android's development process," Moorhead said, "Despite its application coverage improving over two years, it still retains a reputation for insufficient applications."
In Landry's list of the top 100 applications, 95 of them are Android versions.
Continue to roll out updates
So, what should Microsoft do? Of course, persevere — that's the company's commitment.
"When dealing with consumers, you only get one chance unless you're prepared to make a comeback," Moorhead said, "But you need a reason to make a comeback. Windows 8.1 may be Microsoft's ace in the hole for another attempt."
Currently, he cannot confirm whether Windows 8.1 will leave a deep impression and convince consumers that this is the new era for Microsoft and tablets. He also cannot confirm whether many of the currently missing applications will appear in the Windows Store this year.
To date, Microsoft's tablet strategy has not yielded significant returns. However, it has recovered some lost ground. Market research firm IDC estimates that in the second quarter ending June 30, Microsoft and its OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners sold approximately 2 million Windows tablets, an increase of 11% from the previous quarter. Windows' market share also grew, rising from 3.7% in the first quarter to 4.5% in the second quarter.
Therefore, Microsoft is moving in the right direction.
However, unless Microsoft narrows the gap in applications compared to its competitors, it will be difficult to escape the single-digit growth trap. "They will go through a very tough period, a period where the stereotype of insufficient applications lingers. They should strive to let consumers know when they will start increasing applications," Moorhead said.