For Surface 'Andromeda' to succeed, it absolutely needs these mobile apps

Everyone has a set of apps they absolutely need on mobile devices. Windows 10 Mobile has taught many of us to expect very little from Microsoft's app ecosystem, which has remained stagnant at best under Windows 10 for PC.

How Microsoft's mythical Surface Andromeda will deliver apps is unconfirmed at this time, but it's easy to assume that Andromeda will suffer the same struggles Windows 10 Mobile did, if not more.

At the very least, we know Andromeda will be able to run UWP apps that have been built with small screen layouts in mind. Third-party apps like Readit and MyTube will bring some of the biggest services to the platform even if the big players continue to ignore Windows, while PWA apps for things like Twitter and Uber will bring even more. Microsoft's own suite of UWP mobile apps continue to receive updates too, for the most part. As for the rest, there's a huge question mark hanging over how Microsoft intends to fix some of the biggest gaps in Andromeda's app lineup.

Here are some of my own "red line" apps that will simply prevent me from even considering Microsoft's Surface Andromeda as a purchase option, and frankly they're relatively conservative asks.

The biggest, most glaring gap in Andromeda's repertoire for me, and many other users outside of the US, will be WhatsApp (opens in new tab). WhatsApp is the primary method of quick image and text messaging for hundreds of millions of people around the world.

The app authenticates using only a phone number, sending messages via end-to-end encryption between user and recipient. WhatsApp has supported Microsoft's platforms pretty well over the years, delivering one of the few "big name" apps for Windows Phone and 10 Mobile that received persistent updates that kept it largely in-line with its iOS and Android counterparts. The problem is, the app won't be compatible with Andromeda without a significant re-write.

Will WhatsApp take the time to bring out a UWP version of its app for Surface Andromeda? Personally, I think it's unlikely. But considering Facebook has continued to support Messenger, Instagram and its Facebook app, as clunky as they are, there's at least a decent chance Microsoft will try to convince the social media giant to pledge WhatsApp support to its next mobile effort. There's also a good bit of evidence that it could be on the way.

Spotify (or Groove Music)

To coincide with the untimely murder of Groove Music, Spotify (opens in new tab) unveiled its "support" of the Microsoft Store, with a messy desktop app that is inferior to Groove Music in almost every way (can you tell I'm bitter?). The biggest problem, of course, is that it isn't UWP and won't run on Surface Andromeda.

Spotify does have a web version of its music player, but who knows whether that will be a viable solution for Andromeda, including things like background playback and its impact on battery life. Additionally, you can forget offline playback too, if all we have to rely on is a dumb web version.

Andromeda would have a handful of decent music services, mainly restricted to the US, but for those who actually want a music service with a decent selection in Europe, Spotify is now the only real choice. Microsoft needs to work with Spotify either to bring their app to UWP, or revive those old Groove Music contracts. Without a decent music service, Andromeda is basically dead on arrival.

Slack

Slack (opens in new tab) is another app with a decent web version, but without native integration for things like notifications and so on, it's a band aid solution at best.

Slack is virtual office tool used by millions across the globe, including the writers here at Windows Central. We use Slack to organize content, alert each other to breaking news, and keep each other informed of what we're currently working on.

Slack supported Windows 10 Mobile relatively well with a native app, and while it always paled in comparison to its Android and iOS versions, it did the job. For Andromeda, a web version won't cut the mustard, and its absence is something that will keep me off the platform. Hopefully, the Windows 10 Mobile version will get a port.

Not as many as I expected

When I sat down to write this article, I was surprised just how few apps I really truly absolutely needed for Andromeda that wouldn't be available at least in some form. There are a bunch that I would miss if I moved from Android, such as Pokemon Go, Discord, and the most up to date versions of Instagram. For the most part, though, I simply don't use that many mobile apps, and I know I'm in the minority in that.

What apps do you absolutely need Andromeda to have before you'd consider buying one? Let us know in the comments.

Jez Corden a Managing Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by caffeine. Follow on Twitter @JezCorden and listen to his Xbox Two podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!

117 Comments

Slack is sooooo 2015.... can't be bothered... 😉
Here we go again...
1. WhatsApp
2. PUBG
3. Spotify
All Major banking apps. end stop. Yeah you can transfer funds and check your account on the website, but you cannot deposit and send money device to device via websites, only apps!
That, and logging in via website is never as easy as it is in an app. Either needing a card reader or having to remember pass codes and memorable data. Nice to be able to just log in with my finger print.
Not sure logging in via a web site is going to be a problem. This whole thing is conjecture based on rumors, but lets say the thing runs Edge. Lastpass runs fine on Edge and logs me in. I imagine other such extensions would work. I do agree that the banking and specialized business apps are going to be needed, way more than the social app d'jour. People need their Supermarket points, coupons, Bank apps, royalty apps for local businesses. The more this kind of stuff can be handled by PWA, the better off any new platform is. I grabbed on old Windows Phone (950XL), enabled PWA in Edge, pinned the Starbucks site to the home screen and wound up with a better experience than I ever had with the Starbucks app. I think there is a lot of stuff that could be done with web sites and PWAs that just haven't been, not that couldn't be.
Note : logical thinking is forbidden! Use emotions and feelings, please!
Also remember to select your side: a Fanboy or a Hater (or a silent observer). /s
Ally Bank not only still has a W10M app, but was totally refreshed last month. Works great.
Where is this bank located? Not in Canada
In the UK, RBS and NatWest both have Windows 10 UWP apps that are regularly updated. But they're about the only ones left.
My bank (Sparkasse in Germany) mobile website can do this. But they also have a great Xamarin-based app, looking the same on Android and Windows.
Don't forget Deposit a check using a camera
I've accepted I'm stuck with my 950XL until it dies. At which point I climb in a hole and die [my winphone10 950XL predicted most of that text. I will not ask Cortana to predict its future ]
I'm in the same boat.
My 950 died last week. I had to get a refurb from eBay because, in my mind, there isn't a better replacement on the market.
I have switched to Android ... and your mind ist just right. Even when i have my Dads L550 in my hands, i want to keep that and give him my $400 Android.
I traded in my 950XL for a Sony Xperia XZ2. I feel like I went back in time and lost some nice features even though the hardware is nice. At least I can make my face look like a dopy deer. :P
I read somewhere in the last few days that Andromeda is not cancelled but being postponed until 2019 due to waiting for the faster chipset as well as improvements to the software experience. I do agree that there are certain "apps" that need to be there at a minimum day 1 and these include universal messaging and a strong music player. Basically, the important experiences that make sense to use on this device size with mobility in mind. I don't need to run Visual Studio or Photoshop on this thing. I'll use OneNote and messaging the most. I recently was forced to move to Android. It turns out all of those apps that I suddenly had access to were not so important after all. Two weeks into it I was back to using the same 5 apps I used on my Windows phone. I know we are the exception, but I can't wait to ditch my Android phone and just be happy with my Andromeda for mobile and my laptop and desktop for everything else.
Me too. Even with Whatsapp not availible on Andromda, i will have my old Phone running at my home and just use Whatsapp Web on my phone.
Slack's existing Store app already runs on both Windows 10 Mobile and Windows 10 (desktop). I use both of them every day and they're great (except sometimes the mobile one crashes while I'm entering text, but the full Windows version, which is what Andromeda would get, is flawless). So at least that one's already done for Andromeda.
You are going to run the full desktop interface on a 6" screen? Nope, that isn't how universal apps work. You can check it out on the Axon M, it does it today. It will give you the small mobile interface on a single screen or you can use the tablet interface across both screens. You might be able to run the bigger interface across both 6" screens on Andromeda, but that is still going to be quite small and have a gap. It will suck, just like on the Axon M.
You cant use the Desktop version of Slack on Andromeda because that isn't compiled to the Arm processor. It can't be compiled either way because that is a win32 app at its core. Unless you run it as a container but the performance could be horrible.
Container it is and with a binary compiler.
Hopefully the SDM1000 will provide enough power to make it a feasible tablet.
Keep your old phone since this is not a phone, not a "Lumia".
BanditoTR, I concede your points on the current app. However, our expectation is that Andromeda will run Windows Store apps and work to get Win32 apps over to also run on Windows on ARM. MS has now released the compiler to make it trivial (just a checkbox selection) to compile to ARM instead of Intel. I don't anticipate any serious apps in the Store that are currently limited to Win32 not also being made available as ARM apps in the relatively near-term. And to the "concern" (Bleached is just a Google troll, so he'll criticize anything MS) that the current Windows version is a bad match for the smaller display, the only real difference I see between the mobile app and the desktop app is that the 3-column view on desktop, versus the the columns sliding off the display on mobile. Seems like a non-issue for the Slack team to make that update, once people want to use it on a small screen, or even if they don't, for users to get by just fine with the current iteration, if necessary. It already works fine with touch (it didn't when it first came out, but the Slack team was responsive to our criticisms and fixed it for touch).
I can sort lots of apps it should have to succeed:
- WhatsApp - redesign with fluent design and UWP
- Facebook and Messenger - less buggy and lighter / a fluent redesign would be better too
- Instagram - less buggy
- waze
- uber
- youtube
- banks
- netflix - the Windows app is good, so OK
Basically this :)
Good list. Unfortunately Waze is not going to happen, since Google (owner of Waze) is doing everything it can to stop Windows 'mobile' from being a success. The day that Google bought Waze is the day they dropped support for their WP version.
Google so cold 😕
MyTube is already Superior to vanilla YouTube.
Uber is already a PWA
- WhatsApp - would be nice. Otherwise run an old Crapdroid at home and use WA Web.
- Facebook and Messenger - Messenger Lite is quite good on Windows. For Facebook the website is just better.
- Instagram - can't say anything, as serious photoprapher I use FlickR.
- waze - You won't need that - you will have bing maps.
- uber - Website
- youtube - Website or Hyper for Youtube
- banks - Website, or a bank with an UWP.
- netflix - i still use the website
I think if you replace where you have Website with PWA, you have it made. PWA capable websites, saved as 'apps' on my Chromebook are virtually indistinguishable from an app. Even on my 950XL the Starbucks website pinned to start (with PWA support on) is way better than their app ever was, and pretty much on parity with the same site pinned on Chrome. The 950 still shows a bit of the browser interface, but were that chrome absent, it acts like an app. The cool part is that it is the same web site on Chrome and on Edge on the 950, so only had to be built once. If Safari supported PWA it would work the same there too. MS should put some effort behind promoting and supporting PWA.
Way before this device will ever see daylight, Samsung will cook up something. In the first half of 2019 a bendable phone will be announced by Samsung, so it's already too late to make an impact with hardware. So the software needs to impress, which it won't, because Nadella killed every developer interest. They should have fully supported mobile in the recent years, we would have seen nothing but slow steady growth and a way better app situation. Reset = fail. And by the way, this render is bullshit, you wouldn't have reception. I'm sure its not canceled but in slow development.
Even if Samsung makes a foldable device before Microsoft, it wont be an all-in-one device. No matter how much mobile share Google or Apple has, they can not do an all-in-one device now. I am sure many people will jump on their foldable phones, but it wont be transformative. Microsoft is the only company uniquely positioned to have such a device that can run mobile and enterprise applications with telephony. If they dont fulfill that with Andromeda, then the maybe another company will in another generation (20 years) if/when they take over enterpise applications because Microsoft's slow demise due to a missed opportunity.
That same logic can be used to say Microsoft cannot make an all in one device because they have no tablet or mobile ecosystem. It goes both ways.
They are the only ones who have a serious Tablet Eco-System (apple has a bit, Android has, well, badly scaling Phone Apps).
What do you call a serious Tablet Eco-system? I think Apple pretty much has that nailed. Microsoft has PCs built into tablet bodies. They really tried to make a tablet with an OS that was conducive to use as a tablet, but the world wouldn't let them. You can use Win 10 on a tablet, but you have to stay away from legacy apps. If MS put more effort behind their own apps in the store, with tablet usability in mind, they might be able to present a compelling story. About the only such app they seem to be behind is OneNote.
Cancelled... All these apps are available on Android...
And? Android is horrible. Hopefully someone can kill it one day.
Millions of people disagree with you.
Millions of people PER DAY! What Windows phones would sell in the months! It is easy to see which one really sucked.
Million of people don't have a choice when it's either hundred of phones using the same OS, one phone with iOS and like 5 phones with Windows that are pretty much used extinct. Microsoft failed when the process of going from WP 7 to 7.5 to 8 to 8.1 to 10 changed the API enough that the old apps that worked before didn't in the new phones. And now with Andromeda they tossing Silver light away and are begging a huge app that used it in Whatsapp to go all UWP.
Millions of people don't have the money for Apple products! Or don't want the walled garden to hold them hostage. At least the EC is starting to force Google to change at least some what. Now if the FTC could actually work for consumers!
You are right. That's why all those people moved to windows phone... Oh wait!
Amen to that!
So there is no need for this, it's dead in the water and Microsoft know it... Why would developers make apps for a new OS which has no market share? Everyone has moved on including Microsoft...
What new OS? I gathered that whatever this thing is it would run a variant of Windows 10.
Not only apps .Games also important
Not on an enterprise tablet device like this. That would be more a thing for consumer mobile phones.
The problem is, people don't want two devices. They want one device that can do everything. Business, casual games etc. BYOD is a thing, consumer market dictates what will be used in the enterprise. I don't care about mobile games, most of them are pure garbage. I have a gaming PC, so to me, playing mobile games is a waste of time. But still, many people like them and want them, so Microsoft has to find a solution. I want a "Windows phone", a device running full W10, a device that is fast, secure and allows me to do my job as quickly as possible (so I can go back to playing games on my PC lol), I want messaging apps, banking apps, affinity/adobe apps etc.
I strongly agree with you.
There is something I do not understand, maybe about what andromeda, well, actually is.
I have been thinking that it is an ARM based device, with SIM reader, which can emulate also win32 apps and can change screen configurations and dimensions. Well, the current WhatsApp can run on ARM chips, I believe it is a winRT app perfectly runnable on w10m. On the other hand Spotify, the one of the 2 versions which is acceptable, is basically a win32 app.
So, in Microsoft they can perfectly deal with them already. I mean, the pure compatibility is a matter of few modifications to the OS. With respect to spotify "desktop", they might allow it to show just the player commands when andromeda is "closed", and require full view otherwise. Instead, current "only mobile" apps should run just fine in closed mode or side by side to other apps in opened mode.
If your point is app optimization well I think it will eventually come only after, should andromeda ever succeed. That's because the fundamental compatibility problem should be easily solved by windows 10 on ARM, it's what it was born for, wasn't it?
I think that, also in windows central, we should stimulate good strategies from Microsoft, rather than from app developers who can only come after a concrete interest, not a mere speculation.
Andromeda doesn't have legacy support. See the newer article WC just released.
You mean Bowden's one? I didn't find clear information about that. He says their app gap strategy seems to be PWA related. Since they are not reportedly doing a new windows mobile reboot, to me that thing must have an app support as wide as their long long development allows to! Otherwise, it would be madness since you can force developers to new APIs only when they have no alternatives.
"...just how few apps I really truly absolutely needed for Andromeda..." "I" is the keyword here
Exactly. People in the real-world have quite a few other apps they would be expecting. Google says an average of 50 apps are installed on an Android device. Windows is going to have very few of them, and the ones they do have will be inferior.
I'd say 50 is about right. Multiple banking apps, music app, social media, time sheet app, office apps, sport apps, youtube apps etc.
Well, on Android you need already 10 Apps to fix the problems of usabilty (Squarehome, APKPure, Lockscreen, VPN, a Firewall to block Google, WaveUp ...). Another then for Office, which come most likely from Microsoft. And 20 more that are just wrapping webpages (e.g. news apps, twitter ...)
Apps I really use are Facebook, Messenger and Twitter, all of which have a W10M versions, though I would really like for Facebook and Messenger to catch up with their Android counterparts. Messenger doesn't support video calls, barely works with voice call, if it does so it is basically a text messenger on W10M. Slightly better on desktop Windows but not perfect still. Twitter is now UWP app so W10M has limited functionality but would be great on Andromeda which will have full UWP capacity like desktop Windows. I don't really use that many app. What I'd really like from Andromeda is the x86 emulation in Continuum so it feels like a real PC and can do real PC work.
The UWP apps are not coming. The PWAs are not coming. Bots are not coming. Cortana is dead. Echo integration is a mess. MSFT should just accept the reality, invent a time machine and travel back in time and not mess up mobile. This is a more realistic solution to their problem in mobile sphere.
This. They royally screwed up everything with Mobile and the lack there of because of Nadella. In the short term, things look good for them. But a few years from now their absence from the mobile space will really catch up to them and they will be irrelevant. The grave has been dug. It's patiently waiting for MS to fall in. As far as apps need.
Waze
A good podcast app
A music app that allows be to just play my music stored on an SD card.
A good news or feed aggregator
A reddit app. 1st or 3rd party
Pocket Casts is a pretty good podcast app and is cross-platform.
You seem to have very strong negative thoughts about this. Perhaps you should spend more time on subjects you enjoy?
You seem to have unnecessarily strong feelings about my feelings about this. I enjoyed that. Does that count?
Agreed. We were burned on Zune, Microsoft Band, (yes, I'll say it) Hololens, Windows Media Center, and Ultimately Windows Phone. We don't need Andromeda or a Surface Phone. It won't work...as much as I want it to work, it will not work. Windows Phone's failure proved that the mobile world is too big for 3 operating systems. Pains me to say...
There is no I in We, you're not speaking for everyone garak0410. I for one will be buying the andromeda device when it comes out.
If something didn't work out doesn't mean we can't try again, the same goes for MSFT as a corporation. Windows fans are a resilient community.
And getting smaller by the day as ms keeps letting us down.
Confused with this. Aren't WoA devices supposed to support traditional programs via an emulation layer? That would cover Spotify, but it is total rubbish. No other services outside the US though? Are you forgetting Deezer? Way better than Spotify. Also, WhatsApp is already available on Windows Mobile. No reason I can see why this wouldn't work on Andromeda. I might be understanding things wrongly, but there seems to be even less of a problem than the author of the article thinks?
Who said this is WoA? It is the new Windows Core OS with no legacy Windows components.
Legacy support could happen later on but as far as UWP goes, Andromeda OS should support it as apps are already on PC and Mobile. WhatsApp is not an UWP app right now, it dates back to Windows phone and If you mean the Web WhatsApp on store then you're mistaken.
The WP WhatsApp it's siverlight which used to work on Windows Desktop once upon a time. It could work on an ARM device easily. Heck if it worked on WP 8.1 it could work on Win10 on ARM
I'm stuck with the 950xl for the moment and plan to move to Android pretty soon as andromeda doesn't seem to come this year.
There are apps needed for banks, i'm lucky that in Romania ING support windows phones, but there are other banks as well that doesn't support at all this OS.
Otherwise as a developer i'm pretty much all day near the laptop and i don't miss so much apps.
Uber recently showed me the web app, but i don't use it at all recently.
Facebook and messenger are uninstalled by default, web does seems to work for me.
Groove on phone still works, spotify on desk.
As i have been on windows for my entire life, i rarely go to store to install any apps.
As a web developeri don't see PWA getting a grip right now, yeah there are big companies like Twitter and Uber, but don't count on many(like 2k companies) to add PWA capabilities. Angular from Google has added from last year service workers for PWA built in their cli, but i am not seeing a lot of fuzz about it. It's gonna take a while.
What i think it's gonna help Windows store are new rival companies for success ones right now. If there will be no hunger ones to support all OS'es, i don't think current ones will do anything related to Windows.
For mobile, windows will not touch the consumers in the next 5-10 years in my opinion. Even if andromeda comes out, i really don't think that it's users will need a lot of apps to use it.
Make the battery last like 7 days and i think we will have a winner(i know it's not gonna happen soon).
Nope don't need any of those apps, and doesn't matter Andromeda will be to late... again....
Shocking Google integration hasn’t been talked about yet. Android holds the largest market share, and people are accustomed to Google’s core apps and services. If Microsoft can work out a deal with Google, they might stand a chance. The other key thing I’d like to see as an Enterprise customer is extremely deep Office 365 integration. Revamp the people hub and messages to be fully integrated with Skype for Business, Teams, OneNote, and OneDrive. Do not pass off the poor excuse of an app that is Skype onto Enterprise customers, they’ll revolt. (Seriously its beyond awful). Heavy integration here would be truly awesome. A bit more on messages, come up with your own version of iMessage available on your device and PC, again do not use the current Skype app! As mentioned above, integration with Enterprise apps would make messages a very powerful tool. Like iMessage, a notification would hit your phone and Skype for Business. The windows 10 mobile version of outlook was great, the newer version on iOS and Android not so much. Hopefully they’ll keep true the W10m version.
Need Banking apps,Microsoft Pay, and Home Automation apps (Smartthings)and Cortana to work in the car..correctly
Uhhh. Didn't i hear Microsoft and Dan say this is not aimed at the phone market, is everyone hoping this will move from the foldable tablet/ journal device to the foldable mobile phone device?
If we are looking at this in a phone perspective then App are all you have ... then we are back at a windows phone juncture, i think they want us to see a more mobile tablet or pc, .. When i look at the surface tablet or a laptop i dont ask what phone apps will it run? If we can't get past this not being a mobile phone device, it may as well be another windows phone. I expect it to run the software I have on my tablet.
It is on a shelf next to phones no matter what you call it.
They are not even looking at it as a tablet but a Mobile PC or a small computer. It will be able to make but that is just icing on the cake
Instagram
Snapchat And also a myriad of other small apps i use to control smart devices like my cctv, solar panels. Smart locks, etc etc
Well, I swapped a SIM in my Alcatel IDOL 4S (W10M) the other day and was reminded of the "app gap" -- my old carrier had app for Windows Phone, my new one does not. Yes, I can use web version, but, unlike app, web version wants to send me OTP every time I log in. The same approach is used by a lot of the banking apps -- I can convince them to unlock with the fingerprint or static password, but the moment I am using browser, I need to punch in OTP, sent to me via SMS. To be fair, this *is not* a common practice in US, and this would be the target market for Microsoft, making browser use acceptable... maybe. And last, but not the least -- the delay *is not* going to improve the app situation unless there are units to be shipped to the developers, which *does not* seem to be the case.
You should be able to download the app from my library, or you can trick the store and get the hidden listing by searching the app on your old phone in the store and sharing the store link.
Google maps
Uber
Careem
Facebook
Whatsapp
Instagram
Mytube
Flickr
Aliexpress
Local olx
eBay
Amazon
Paypal
These are must-have for most
Slack? Why slack? Microsoft Teams is better and free now.
Anyway I'm keeping my android for pokemon Go as well. Also I think you're in the majority here. The average person doesn't actively use more than 10 apps. My gf uses Skype, Instagram and Snapchat, YouTube occasionally and that's it. I myself use Twitter, WindowsCentral, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat mostly. But even so I wouldn't say I need all of those. The only one I would absolutely need is WhatsApp. Even then I would still buy it and use whatsapp web as a workaround.
1.Integrated Development Envirionments (x86) 2. RSA Token Generator (on Windows 10 Mobile) 3. ISY-994i app (Snap Switch a plus on Windows 10 Mobile)
I would need SalesForce, Concur, Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes and it would need to have some kind of car integration like CarPlay.
Completely agree on CarPlay/Android Auto....I’m surprised more people haven’t mentioned this. Without a Microsoft Auto or equivalent feature I couldn’t go back to a Microsoft phone.
And a decent WC app. The current one sucks.
Funny thing is, I still have my HP elite x3 - but also have an Android tablet. Lately, pretty much every app I have on both runs better on my HP Elite x3. For example, Ring has actually started fully working again and is FAR superior on WM10.
Don't forget whatsapp for business.
For the purpose I see for my use of Andromeda, good reading, writing and inking apps and I think MS app environment already has that.
What is the business impact of lobbying by petition the 15,000 Andromeda supporters to get a specific bank to develop UWP app that works on W10M and Andromeda??
How about a web page? I use my banking in Finland solely through the web.
Works on any platform, but not with all browsers.
Unfortunately my bank detects a rooted phone thus my old Galaxy S4 is still Active.
I think Slack will see some serious drop in priority with the new push from Teams
True social media integration, like Windows Phone 7 had.
Wunderlist - Evernote
What about the TMobile and Dunkin Donuts app??
Folks I hate to break your hearts but the Andromeda device's phone wont be a smart phone
'it will have Apps to help you send and receive a voice call and have a few apps to help
you do this but first and foremost the Andromeda devices are 2 screen Mini PC's
running a special version of Windows 10 so all it's app will come from the Windows 10
Microsoft store. it wont use a mobile phones version of Netflix it will use the Desktop
PC version of Netflix or any other app you can think of. may be Microsoft can enable
the Andromeda devices built in Cell phone to use Windows 10 Mobile's Apps
but I doubt it.
folks since Microsoft got out of smart phones I hoped Microsoft would make a true
Windows 10 Mini Tablet wilt a built in cell phone that just sent and received voice calls
and had the a few Apps to help do these things and a phone book. The Apps the
Andromeda device would use would be the same as the Surface Pro and Desktop PC's
use and that is OK With Me. the Windows Desktop win32/x86 programs which are well
over a Million strong and the Windows 10 Microsoft store apps and the new PWA apps
are enough to make Andromeda device highly useful.
Not enough as your main phone, yes.
Aaaaand Microfost has denied the existance of a Surface PHONE.
It's a tablet.
What if it's a three-fold tablet-PC with a pen (and foldable keyboears do exist).
Would you accept a PC with some phone functionality as you professional device?
I guess I don't get this article. There are already PC UWP apps for all three of these apps listed in the article. I'm assuming PC UWP apps will work on Andromeda. UWP apps can adapt to different screen resolutions and can pull from an array of layouts done by the designer. So if a mobile layout does not exist in these PC UWP apps, adding a layout for a high resolution small screen is not a big deal. My assumption is that there will be a new UWP target specifically for Andromeda that is optimized for dual screen. I hope to God that Andromeda can run PC AND Andromeda UWP apps. And that PCs can run Andromeda UWP apps.
No, it needs dedicated business and banking apps. It needs to be an option when McDonalds has their latest promotion going that is app only that people can actually use this device for it, or whatever equivalent. It needs rewards apps for supermarkets, and specialty stores. It needs travel and taxation apps. It needs the simple apps that might only get used once in a while but still get used often enough that not having access becomes noticeable. And it definitely needs ride share apps.
WhatsApp and I'd be fine. I don't stream music, and everything else I use is UWP already. A better facebook app might be on the cards though, and hopefully banks switch to PWA. However if I was Microsoft, seeing as this is a niche, expensive device, I'd not be aiming for just consumer apps. I'd be aiming for a few professional apps - like making things like adobe illustrator, accounting, office apps, one note, run well on two screens. They need some productivity entries that really sell to notetakers, media, creatives and the sort of people to whom this will most appeal. It wouldn't hurt if this could run some commandlines and terminal programs for network administrators either. I'd definately want to include the windows on arm code, so that it's easier to bridge higher end professional software over to the platform. And I'd be doing some in house code, or partnerships to get it done.
Oh, now they're not UWP but a few articles back I remember someone saying they are because Store etc. 😂 just saying 😁 Andromeda may suffer from the beginning, but so did Surface and look at it now! They just have to keep the hard work and make it shine :)
Is you are talking about the original Surface and not the Pro, it basically got shelved in favor of a standard Windows experience after two revisions.
For Andromeda to succeed, it must run Android. And that would make it awesome!
Google isn't going to using Android, so why should MS?
Google Chrome, YouTube, Google Maps... See the patern here?
I'm not even bothering listing the rest. Andromeda would never succeed. That's why Microsoft killed it.
Add Robinhood to da list.
Well seeing as I'm still using Lumia 950 in 2018, let me list apps that I have on me. In no particular order or use case.
1) Twitter.
2) Windows central. (Both the UWP and the old WinRT one)
3) Whatsapp.
4) Mytube.
5) One Note.
6) One football.
7) Espn Cricinfo.
8) Facebook.
9) Instagram.
10) Torrex Pro.
11) 8Zip.
12) Office lens.
13) One drive.
14) Uber.
15) Groove music.
16) Movies and tv.
17) Network speed test.
18) VLC.
19) Realarm.
20) Accuweather.
21) Audiocloud.
22) Saavn.
23) Outlook mail and calendar.
24) Bookviser reader. Obviously some of the apps are more used than others. But most of them are more or less UWP targeting every device type. Some of them have been replaced by PWA's and in case of UBER for the better in my country. Some that ain't at feature parity with other platforms can always be used in Microsoft edge browser with mobile web getting better and better and edge engine is good enough even at this point in windows 10 mobile before discontinuation in development. The only problem I see is with app first model, where some of the services in my country are app only with no proper web or mobile web alternative. Though I've a feeling this is something only prevalent in my country Pakistan and it may come around to being mobile web first with PWA adoption. Fingers crossed. In conclusion, I don't see why these same apps couldn't be targeted for Andromeda device. Just give the (previously) windows 10 mobile SKU compatibility (whatever Microsoft decides to call this new category) to closed (phone) form factor in Andromeda continuum and everything should be good to go.
I wouldn't absolutely need Andromeda to exists, before I'd consider buying one. I'm still on a Lumia 950, and have been patiently waiting for a replacement.
Only WhatsApp is essential. Spotify would be nice. But Slack a lot of people can live without.
ONLY APP I need to go back to WP/new Andromeda is Pokemon Go beside that WP had everything else I needed well back then anyways
So list is:
Pokemon Go
Stash
Credit Karma
Mobile Banking
Mobile Insurance
Basically it dono what app store has now and for all my financial apps i could just use my android I have now not like i check the stuff every 5mins but pokemon and music n chat basically all i use throughout the day
NEEDED apps to succeed:
WhatsApp
Instagram
Fitbit
Twitter
Facebook (incl Messenger) Obvious apps:
Outlook
Weather
Calendar
News
Sport/ESPN
Storage
Data usage
Video/Photo Editing
Microsoft Office incl Onedrive
Maps Optional goodies:
Disqus
Trakter
Flixster or create an IMDB PWA (Movie ratings/Reviews/Watchlist)
To Do
Podcasts
Banking apps are important for a lot of people. With PWA and Windows on ARM, I think a lot of the remaining gaps will be filled. For example, Sonos has a Windows app. I've yet to experiment with it so I'm not sure how well it would function on a small screen, but there is an app. Spotify might be in a similar boat. But these technologies could bridge the gap quite a bit, especially in Andromeda is delayed.
My must have apps for Andromeda: -Whatsapp (preferably integrated with skype as an add-on)
-OneNote
-Mail
-Calendar with Chronos+
-Windows (offline) maps and navigation
-People Hub
-Photos
-Onedrive
-Grover Pro
-To Do (prefereably integrated with OneNote and calendar)
-Office Lens
-TuneIn
-Nextgen Reader
-Edge
-Explorer
-Universal Windows Search
-Phone app -Office mobile If possible:
-TomTom Navigation -Garmin maps for offroad navigation -Google goggles
With all 3 of the apps mentioned in the article already supported in Windows mobile and desktop (although WhatsApp desktop is actually a win32 application, different from the mobile app), I don't see a potential issue with them. The most important thing is that Andromeda MUST include the telephony stack and dialler app (for making/receiving phone calls) and SMS messaging (i.e. it must be able to function as a mobile phone). Also critical to the long term success of Andromeda will be the the ability to run win32 applications (legacy desktop applications that are the backbone of business), whether thru emulation (slower, but achievable now) or directly (faster, but would require serious effort to work on ARM (written for x86 architecture).
I switched from Windows 10 Mobile to Android within the past year. I hate Android with a vengeance: Ugly, resource hungry, clunky, inconsistent. So I did a comparison of apps I use on W10M and Android. Most of what I don't get on W10M consists of banking apps that I barely use coz I prefer to do that on my laptop at home. But W10M has WhatsApp and Fitbit and has some decent alternatives to apps like PushBullet and Pocket. As long as they don't start disappearing! So if Andromeda makes it to release, it needs to be able to capitalise on the W10M Store apps. It will be an expensive device, probably more than I can afford, but I don't think the app gap is necessarily as bad as people make out, and if Andromeda does not appear, it amounts to Microsoft capitulating.
Sort of as an aside to the broader topic, I don't see how anyone can tout "WhatsApp" as a make-it-or-break-it tool. It's a user specific messaging app that absolutely depends on another user having it. So, if you have five contacts in your life, maybe three of them have it. You're spending your time pecking between regular text messaging (or, maybe even another proprietary app system) and WhatsApp in an incongruent experience to address all five. I can see people with a wide circle of contacts all using the same app "tunnel visioning" its importance accordingly, but most people aren't swearing by any application that has a patchy user base. It is more important to look at its native text messaging capabilities IMHO.

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WhatsApp

Spotify (or Groove Music)

Slack

Not as many as I expected

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