Microsoft Windows Apps For PC and Phone Surpass 525,000 Combined

By Sarah Price - 17 Nov '14 11:18AM

Microsoft has revealed the latest statistics of its app stores for PC and smartphones, which puts the total number of apps at more than half a million.

Microsoft, the largest software developer, continues its struggle to close in the gap between its app stores and its rivals. The software giant updated its By The Numbers page, where it gives a collection of visual statistics for various products and services, to reveal that the Windows and Windows Phone Store together host more than half a million apps.

"There are more than 525,000 apps in the Windows and Windows Phone Store combined. Hundreds more are added every day," Microsoft revealed.

A spokesperson for the Redmond based software company confirmed the new milestone to Venture Beat in a statement and updated the figure to more than 527,000 apps in both of its app stores as of September 30. This is a huge milestone for the company, which is struggling to gain a significant hold against its bigger rivals such as Google's Android and Apple's iOS platform.

Based on the breakdown provided by Microsoft, the company has added more than 40,000 apps in just one month. In August, the Windows Phone Store had more than 300,000 apps. The company had recorded a phenomenal growth in the Windows and Windows Phone app catalog, which grew 94 percent in the past year while the number of developers rose to 50 percent.

The company achieved its first milestone of 100,000 apps on Windows Phone platform in June of last year. Making its progress, the company reported 200,000 apps in December and added another 100,000 in the following six months.

While the growth appears consistent for Microsoft and its operating systems mobile, the company is lagging far behind its rivals. Comparatively, Google reported 1.3 million apps in August and Apple said it crossed the 1.3 million mark in September. This is up from 1 million apps reported by Apple in January and by Google in July last year.

In addition to the number of apps it hosts on both platforms, Microsoft also shared that it's Office 365 Home and Personal has 7.1 million subscribers with over 250 million people having an OneDrive account. The successful reach in various fields of tehnology enabled Microsoft to beat Exxon Mobil in taking the second spot in the Forbes' list of world's most valuable brands behind Apple.