14 DAY TRIAL // New statistics provided by Microsoft for the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store reveal that more users are running the latest versions of the operating systems on both desktops and smartphones, and the number of downloads on these devices has grown significantly lately.
At this point, Windows 8.1 is the primary operating system for the Windows Store, which is an indication that more users have jumped from Windows 8 to its successor. In November alone, Microsoft says, 92 percent of the downloads which took place in the Windows Store were made with a Windows 8.1 device.
As far as Windows Phone 8.1 is concerned, it now leads the Windows Phone downloads with a share of 65 percent, while the number of those looking for apps from a Windows Phone 7.x device dropped to 5 percent.
Nokia Lumia 520 still the most popular device
It's a well-known fact that Lumia 520 is currently the number one Windows Phone device on the market, at least in terms of sales, and Microsoft says that more than a quarter of the downloads which took place in the store are indeed made with this particular phone model.
Lumia 530, Lumia 625, and Lumia 630 are also very popular among those who want to download apps from the store.
“Low-memory devices account for the top five devices based on total downloads, and seven of the top ten. The chart below shows the top phone models by memory type, and the percentage of downloads from each,” Microsoft pointed out.
Games still the top category on both platforms
In case you're wondering what the most popular categories in the store are right now, the answer is pretty simple. Games continues to dominate the download charts on both Windows and Windows Phone, with more than 40 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
On Windows, Tools & Productivity comes next, followed by Music & Videos, Entertainment, Social, and Photos. As far as Windows Phone is concerned, Tools & Productivity is also the runner-up, while Music & Videos, Social, Photos, and Entertainment come really close.
“Since we’ve begun posting these trend updates, we’ve seen categories and rankings become fairly stable. The main exception has been the Game category for Windows, which continues to grow and now accounts for 42% of all downloads on Windows,” Redmond revealed.
At this point, there are more than 525,000 apps in the two stores available for Windows and Windows Phone devices, and figures are expected to grow in the coming months, as Microsoft is working on important updates for both platforms.
