Love it or hate it, Microsoft Windows has pretty much stood up to the test of time.
Recently Windows 11 has surpassed Windows 10 on Steam as the most used operating system. It’s still close though. On the Recall-front, Microsoft said that users won’t be able to uninstall the controversial AI-feature Recall after all.
With that being said, here are some of the best Windows apps of all time, considering their impact, utility, and popularity:
Microsoft Office Suite includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. It’s almost synonymous with productivity for both personal and professional use.
Google Chrome, while not exclusive to Windows, Chrome’s dominance in the browser market makes it an essential app for most Windows users due to its speed, simplicity, and vast extension library.
Adobe Photoshop is the go-to software for photo editing, graphic design, and digital art. Its capabilities have set the standard for image manipulation software.
VLC Media Player is a versatile media player that plays almost any media file format without the need for additional codecs. It’s free, open-source, and incredibly reliable.
7-Zip is an open-source file archiver with a high compression ratio. It’s essential for managing compressed files and archives.
Notepad++ is a powerful text editor for coding and general text editing, offering syntax highlighting for numerous programming languages, and it’s much lighter than full IDEs.
Spotify, while available on multiple platforms, its Windows app has revolutionized how we listen to music, offering vast libraries of music and podcasts.
Steam for gamers is indispensable. It’s the largest digital distribution platform for PC gaming, offering social networking, game streaming, and community features.
Dropbox (or any cloud storage like OneDrive, Google Drive) have changed file storage and sharing. It providing seamless cloud integration with Windows.
CCleaner is a utility to clean up unnecessary files, fix registry issues, and manage startup items, helping to keep Windows systems running smoothly.
AutoHotkey is for those who love customization and automation, AutoHotkey provides scripting language for Windows to automate the Windows GUI and general scripting.
VirtualBox or the VMware Workstation allows users to run multiple operating systems as virtual machines on Windows, which is crucial for developers, testers, or anyone needing to use different OS environments.
Rainmeter is handy for desktop customization, Rainmeter allows users to display customizable skins on their desktop, from hardware usage meters to fully functional audio visualizers.
Python (via its Windows installer) is not an “app” in the traditional sense. Python’s ease of installation and use on Windows has made it one of the most popular programming languages, essential for developers and data scientists.
WinRAR has been a staple for file compression and archiving for decades, known for its trial that famously never seems to end.
These applications have stood the test of time due to their functionality, innovation, or sheer necessity in various domains from productivity to entertainment.
Other apps found on the Microsoft Windows platform include some that are more recent:
Finebits AppPack for $4.99
Focus Reading – Reading Strips for $1.99
HEIC – Image Converter Pro for $1.99
HEVC – Video Converter Pro for $4.99
Mega Zoom for $3.34
Pengwin Enterprise 8 for $9.99
Make sure you check out the Microsoft Store for other app offers that might be available.
Do you have any favorite Microsoft Windows apps you would like to share?
Sound off in the comments section below.
Cheers.
