Moorhead said he was "concerned" that Microsoft would not meet his minimal benchmark, noting that in nearly a year -- the company first unveiled Windows 8 and developer tools in September 2011 -- the store has accumulated only a couple hundred apps. "If we map where they're at against where Apple and Android were at at the same point, they were well ahead of where Microsoft is now," Moorhead said.

Cherry had the same concern about Windows 8, RTM notwithstanding.

"Tell me an app that you just have to have today," Cherry said. "We need to see the exciting Metro apps that do something, that expose all the features of the OS that Microsoft has just completed. It's great that the OS is ready, but if I was to start using it on Aug. 15, what am I going to do on the Metro side of the house? I really don't know."

He also pointed out that virtually no one has used a Windows RT-powered tablet long enough to evaluate either the hardware's or the operating system's performance. "We need to see hardware that [Windows 8 and Windows RT] absolutely expose all the value Microsoft has put into the OS," Cherry said.

Windows 8 is the second edition of Microsoft's dominant operating system that Sinofsky has guided through development. "He made sure this shipped on time," said Moorhead.