The end of UWP apps and Microsoft Store is near
2 min. read
Published on
Share this article
Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial team Read more
According to the latest news, Microsoft may soon retire its Universal Windows Platform. Could this mean the Microsoft Store will be facing the same fate following the failure of UWP apps?
Back in 2012, Windows 8 was the first OS that allowed you to download Windows Store apps. Microsoft wanted to offer dual platform apps that supported both PC and mobile devices.
Initially, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps allowed developers to design applications that worked on both Windows Phone and Windows PCs.
However, Microsoft unified all its digital stores along with Windows 10’s release. Apart from UWP apps, users can now buy e-books, games, digital music and videos.
Well, since Microsoft is no longer interested in smartphones, UWP apps are irrelevant now, as Thurrott points out.
Developers stopped working on UWP apps
As you can see, Microsoft Store failed to compete with Google Play or App Store. As far as the number of apps is concerned, both these Stores are way ahead of Microsoft Store.
Windows users don’t need to go to Microsoft Store to get PWA apps because they can also install them from the web.
PWA apps can be installed directly through a web browser, which means that visiting the Microsoft Store is no longer necessary.
Developers are now less interested in developing apps for the Microsoft Store. They don’t want to invest their time and energy into a dying platform.
However, gamers can still buy Xbox One and Windows games through the Store. As a matter of fact, the Microsoft Store is still also doing well in terms of audio and video sales.
The tech giant is slowly pulling its services out one by one. Microsoft recently announced it would shut down its Book Store and offered a refund to its users.
Microsoft should really work on the Store’s rebranding if it wants to keep it alive. Alternatively, it will fail to grab the attention of both developers and Windows 10 users.
RELATED ARTICLES YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT:
