14 DAY TRIAL // The lack of apps on Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile is causing controversy not only in the Windows community (where many users claim they need more apps, while some say they don't), but also within Microsoft where the shareholders are now questioning the company's increased focus on universal apps.
Earlier this week, former CEO Steve Ballmer criticized Microsoft's new direction in mobile, saying that Android apps are needed to help save Windows Phone.
But in a meeting with shareholders, when asked about the lack of apps on Windows phones, the current CEO Satya Nadella explained that the universal app approach is a bigger opportunity for the platform, and asked for more time before this strategy can finally start paying off.
Code for all Windows devices
Specifically, Nadella explained that universal apps make it possible for developers to create just a single app that can be used on all Windows 10 devices, and not just on phones. When everyone has understood the huge potential of this new approach, apps will undoubtedly come in the store, Nadella suggested.
“This is new. We’ve had different efforts in the past but we now have one store and one app platform. Give us time to keep focused on it,” he told shareholders, according to GeekWire.
“We are seeing, for example, for the first time on the core of Windows desktop, with 100-plus million users, active engagement, the fact that they can find these Windows applications in the store, some of the developers like Netflix are seeing more engagement for the Netflix app vs. the web. So that’s an early indicator of data that I think will entice more of these developers to build more of these applications.”
In the end, Nadella said he didn't believe that signing individual deals with big companies to bring their apps on one platform could work, explaining that focusing on universal apps that could target more devices at the same time should help “organically build momentum.”
It remains to be seen if this strategy can indeed be successful, but for the moment, there's no doubt that the lack of apps on Windows phones remains a big drawback.