A senior Nokia executive has said the lack of apps on the Windows Phone is stopping the platform from competing with iOS and Android, reports International Business Times.

Bryan Biniak, VP and general manager of app development at Nokia, said in an interview that although there are no “major gaps” in the apps catalogue, there are “select applications that need to be there,” if users are going to be persuaded to switch to Windows Phone.

Nokia sold a record 7.4 million Lumia handsets running Windows Phone during the second quarter of 2013, but a number of big name apps continue to be absent from the Microsoft platform. Nokia is believed to have asked Facebook to bring Instagram to WP8.

Windows Phone Store currently has a relatively meagre 165,000 apps, when compared to Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

Biniak said the frequent release of new Windows Phone devices means that if an app that people care about isn’t available on Windows Phone, “that’s a missed opportunity of a sale”. He added that people will not switch mobile operating system if it lacks an app that they use in their everyday life.

“It’s not just about the hardware, it’s about the tools that are on the hardware. You can’t sell a phone without the apps, you just can’t,” he said.