Microsoft has promoted Windows 8 as their next major step in the evolution of the PC industry. Part of that next step involves its Modern user interface, which has been designed for use by touchscreen displays, although it can also be accessed by the standard keyboard and mouse controllers. Microsoft has been pushing for developers to create Modern-based apps that can be distributed via the Windows Store section of Windows 8.
Today, a new report claims that the percentage of current Windows 8 owners that use Modern apps extensively is quite low. The report comes from Soluto, which sent a copy of its findings to Neowin ahead of their official launch today. The Israel-based software company collects data from a PC app that helps with finding performance problems. Soluto says that for their report they looked at 10,848 Windows 8 PCs and analyzed 313,142 Modern app launches across 9,634 unique Metro apps.
The report, which refers to Modern apps by their older designation Metro, claims that 60.78 percent of Windows 8 desktop owners launch an app less than once a day, 59.88 percent of laptop users launch Modern apps less than once per day, with that number going down slightly for touchscreen laptop owners to 58.10 percent. The percentage of tablet Windows 8 owners who use a Modern app less than once a day is much lower, at 44.38 percent.
Soluto says that, according to their data, Windows 8 tablet owners, on average, will launch a Modern app 2.71 times a day, while touchscreen laptop owners open apps 2.22 times a day. Non-touchscreen Windows 8 laptop users launch Modern apps 1.51 times a day and desktop users only open those app 1.41 times a day.
In terms of specific Modern Windows 8 apps, Soluto's data shows Microsoft's Communication Apps, which are a collection of the Mail, People, Messaging and Calendar apps, are used the most; 85.84 percent of Windows 8 owners launch those apps at least once a day and they are opened an average of 4.40 times a week. Soluto does add, "Note that launching ANY of the 4 apps (Mail, People, Messaging and Calendar) counts as a use. Therefore, the 4.4 uses per week (on average) of these Apps reflects the aggregated use of all 4 apps."
The report shows that nine of the the top 10 Modern apps that are opened once per day on Windows 8 were all developed by Microsoft, with Netflix being the sole exception in the number seven spot.
Soluto says that no definite conclusions can be generated based on these reports, but it does seem clear that non-touchscreen Windows 8 owners use Modern apps rarely during the day and even a significant portion of touchscreen PC owners don't use Modern apps that much.
The study also has a list of what Soluto claims are the most "engaging" Modern apps released so far for Windows 8. The report states, "By engaging, we mean - among the people who used a certain app, how often they do so on average (we only included apps with a significant user base)." The report claims that Yahoo's Mail app for Windows 8 is the most engaging, with its user base launching the app 26.91 times a week.
Soluto also examined the Yahoo Mail app user base in more detail and found that desktop owners open the app the most, at 25.59 launches a week, with laptop users launching it 24.52 times a week. Oddly, the touchscreen-based PC users of Yahoo Mail opened the app fewer times a week than their regular Windows 8 counterparts. Soluto stated, "Yahoo! Mail is an extremely engaging app showing that Yahoo! Mail users 1) love Yahoo! Mail and 2) get along with the Metro interface."
Source: Soluto | Images via Soluto
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