A recent report by UK analyst company Canalys complained that “Top iOS and Android apps largely absent on Windows Phone”.

They note that Windows Phone only had 22 of the top 50 fee applications on the Google Play store.

This number struck me as somewhat odd, and a closer investigation shows that it is rather far from the truth.

Ignoring games, which many over the age of 25 probably do, the top 50 actual applications in the UK Google Play Store are rather well represented in the Windows Phone Store.

Of the top 50 applications, 27 had Windows Phone versions created directly by the developers, and 5 had functional equivalents (e.g Itsdagram and Instagram).  3 of the top 50 apps were pure junk e.g. the Lie Detector Polygraph app, and only about 15 out of the 50 apps were not present at all, and would in some way be missed by Windows Phone users, a far cry from the 28 claimed Canalys.

Those apps were:

I think the absence of streaming TV apps by BBC, Sky, ITV and 4OD will be most acutely felt, and is obviously a category problem Microsoft needs to work on, and are the majority of the list.  Other apps like Snapchat are obviously high profile holes in the Windows Phone line-up. Otherwise I don’t think there is much else of note.

One thing I think which is important to realize is that removing the volatility of the ever changing list of popular games means that the list of actual utility apps which are absent on Windows Phone will become increasingly shorter very quickly. Once the streaming TV services capitulate to the increasing market share of Windows Phone in the UK for example that issue will be solved permanently, and the list of ever popular missing apps will be much shorter.

See the list of original, equivalent and junk apps after the break.

Looking at the lists, do our readers think the app gap issue is overblown? Let us know below.