Redmond claims that users upgrade their smartphones to WP8.1

Sep 30, 2014 12:42 GMT  ·  By

Statistics show that more devices are running Windows Phone 8.1 in September, and according to Microsoft itself, adoption of the new smartphone operating system is indeed growing at a really encouraging pace.

In a blog post detailing the recent store trends across categories and markets, Microsoft says that the number of downloads recorded from Windows Phone 7 devices is dropping, as many more customers are switching to Windows Phone 8.1.

“Windows Phone OS 8.1 adoption is growing and became the primary download OS version for Windows Phone apps in September. Downloads from Windows Phone devices running OS 7.x represent less than 5% of all downloads,” it explains.

Of course, the company goes on to emphasize that its new platform brings several key improvements as compared to older versions, including support for universal apps, which can be used on both tablets and smartphones.

Games still most popular on WP 8.1

At this point, the games category continues to be number one in terms of downloads by category, with nearly 30 percent of all downloads, followed by tools and productivity, music and video, social, entertainment, photo, travel, and lifestyle.

As far as markets are concerned, the United States still topped the charts in August 2014 with 12 percent, followed by China with 9 percent, and India with 8 percent.

“The market with highest number of downloads is United States, though the distribution of downloads shows that several other markets also generate significant downloads, including China, India, France, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and Russia. That doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t consider other markets. Your app may have characteristics that make it perform differently in different markets,” the company adds.

English apps obviously the most appealing

In terms of languages used for apps, English continues to be number one, stats show, followed by Spanish, Mandarin, Brazilian Portuguese, and Russian.

“Offering your app in English only will only cover about 25% of Windows Phone customers, though it covers a larger percentage of tablets and PCs users. Adding Spanish, French, Mandarin, Russian and German increases coverage to more than 75% of the base,” Microsoft says.

In-app purchases continue to be users’ preferred method to buy apps and unlock features of their phones, with stats also showing that this system is still growing on both Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1.

“Apps that use this source of revenue effectively are quickly becoming the highest-grossing apps in the store. As this trend continues, even some paid apps are moving to a ‘freemium’ model with a free base app and an in-app purchase feature,” the company points out.

In the end, Microsoft recommends developers to create more universal apps and thus try to capitalize on the growing popularity of solutions that are available on both Windows and Windows Phone.

Windows Phone 8.1 app stats (7 Images)

Windows Phone 8.1 app stats
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