Microsoft will turn OneDrive into a Progressive Web App
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Key notes
- Progressive Web Apps could be a huge leap towards the future for Windows 10’s app store.
- Microsoft is slowly starting to update some of its web services with must-have PWA features.
- As the first app in line, Microsoft's OneDrive will finally become a genuine Progressive Web App.
- The tech company is planning to start rolling out the OneDrive PWA update in early July 2021.
Looking towards the future means always having a fresh perspective, being keen on innovation and design, and constantly striving to improve services that are already successful.
This being said, it seems that Progressive Web Apps could represent a huge leap towards the future for Windows 10’s app store.
OneDrive, the first step towards more Windows PWAs
Seeing this opportunity, Microsoft is starting to update its web services with some PWA features, like offline mode support, and push notifications.
At the moment though, a lot of the websites and Microsoft services that we constantly use, are not really PWA material, to say the least.
So now it seems that OneDrive will finally become a genuine Progressive Web App. Basically, as a proper web app, users will be able to install OneDrive on Windows 10, as well as on other devices.
This means that by installing OneDrive PWA on your Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook, you can treat the online storage website more like a native app.
After you install the web version of OneDrive as a Progressive Web App, you can launch it from your desktop, and it will work the same way as it does in your web browser
Know that the OneDrive PWA will no longer have the traditional address bar at the top of the page, and also there won’t be any tabs, meaning that everything will look more like a native app.
Judging by the updated roadmap, OneDrive PWA will be supported by all of the popular browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Chrome and Firefox.
When will OneDrive become a PWA?
Microsoft is planning to start rolling out the OneDrive PWA update in early July, and also complete the rollout process by the end of the same month.
The OneDrive PWA can also be installed on mobile devices, although Microsoft stated that the web app has only been optimized for Windows 10 and macOS so far.
This means that the experience won’t be by far as good as the standard OneDrive mobile app.
At the moment in which OneDrive is updated with its new PWA features, a new icon will be shown directly in the Omnibox, or address bar of the browser, prompting users to install the app.
This comes shortly after the company announced that they are redesigning the PWA menu for the Edge browser.
What is your take on this new Microsoft initiative? Let us know in the comments section below.
