Nine years ago today, we covered Microsoft’s attempt to reposition Universal Windows Platform apps by bringing them closer to traditional desktop software. At the time, Microsoft was trying to bridge two worlds by giving UWP developers more access to system‑level capabilities while still promoting the idea of a unified app model across devices. The piece captured a moment when Microsoft was still pushing hard to modernize Windows development and convince developers that UWP had a long‑term future.

Looking back, it serves as a snapshot of a strategy that never fully landed, but it also shows how Microsoft was already beginning to shift toward the more flexible, open approach that defines Windows app development today. — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief

The article below was originally published on May 1, 2017, by Daniel Rubino.

Microsoft's UWP is going to be a major focus at the forthcoming Build conference in two weeks. Expectations of new tools, improved Xamarin support, and cross-platform capabilities should be all at the forefront at the event.

Interestingly, Microsoft may change its messaging around UWP as well. With Windows 10 Mobile waning fast, here is why Microsoft could be looking to double down on the desktop.

Confusion about UWP

Microsoft's UWP has always created misunderstanding especially amongst consumers. Some have thought it meant that all apps built with the platform could just run anywhere – so the "universal" here is referring to the hardware endpoint.

That's not accurate, however.

Microsoft means "universal" to refer to the tools that let developers get their product to the Windows Store. That's why all apps listed in the Store are technically UWP yet not all of those apps can run on Mobile.

Universal also refers to non-consumer features like shared pricing structure, joint in-app purchases, the ability to install across multiple devices, and unified ad-units.

We can chalk this confusion up to Microsoft's bad naming and poor messaging. A familiar theme, no doubt.

It's not just consumers though that are having a tough time understanding UWP – at least conceptually.

Some developers also believe that that UWP is for creating simple phone apps that can run on your PC and not the other way around. I've written about this before as the "app model" is very phone-centric. Developers see UWP in the light of Microsoft's biggest failure to date. That's not good.

• If not phones, Microsoft needs another device category to ensure Windows success
• Really, what is an 'app' on Windows? Microsoft's Universal App Model answers that question

Microsoft sees UWP as someday displacing Win32 apps a.k.a. "classic" desktop programs. That time is still far off, as UWP is nowhere near as powerful as Win32, but for Microsoft, the goal is to edge towards that reality.

Each year that UWP grows, more features are added, and that goal is within reach. But developers are still reluctant to embrace UWP partially because of the stigma – yes, stigma – of Windows 10 Mobile.

Pivot away from phones

Microsoft's Q3 2017 earnings report solidified the company's intent to move away from phones – at least for now.

Part of that distancing in the consumer space may help Windows 10 and UWP. Here's how.

Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell us that developers were more receptive to UWP once mobile – and specifically phones – was dropped from the sell.

That result may seem surprising, but if UWP is meant to be a long-term replacement for Win32, having it appear analogous to tweaked phone apps is not the way to do it. And evidently that is the current perception: UWP creates phone apps for your PC.

Microsoft believes for UWP to be successful it needs to do a few things:

1. Win on the PC and desktop first.
2. Demonstrate how it will be better than Win32.
3. Convince developers that these are not just phone apps.

The first point about "winning" on the desktop refers to having successful apps and games appear in the Windows Store. Developers and consumers need to shift their perception of the Store from a collection of applets with semi-functionality of full desktop apps to true desktop alternatives.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 15, which uses the Project Centennial Bridge, is one example. Another is the recently released djay Pro, which was ported over from iOS using the Project Islandwood Bridge.

For gaming, high profile releases like Fallout Shelter, Minecraft, and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard represent what UWP is supposed to do.

UWP needs those types of releases for developers and consumers to see value in the platform and Store.

Those software achievements mentioned above demonstrate the power of UWP when done correctly.

The app djay Pro is a massively complicated release with support for location-aware Surface Dial functionality, complex UI elements, timed audio synchronicity and more. The company behind the Windows 10 version of djay Pro gushed about how amazing it was to be able to bring their app – no limitations – to Windows 10 without having to hire a whole new team.

These are the kind of stories Microsoft wants to highlight, and my gut tells me you'll see the company heavily promote such releases at BUILD and in advertising.

Succeed on the PC, then go to Mobile

If you think about it, the whole concept of UWP did come across as backward for developers. Windows phone was never a lucrative investment for developers despite Nokia doing their darndest to get it there.

It's the old "putting the cart before the horse" scenario, and it's biting Microsoft hard.

If, however, Microsoft can distance themselves for phones and make UWP successful on desktop things shift. Now, the model looks like you are taking powerful and robust desktop applications and magically getting them to run on mobile devices. Technically, that was always the truth, but it's an easier sell to everyone once you prove it.

This strategy is not speculation, either. Microsoft is going to position UWP first and foremost as an actual desktop development system for high-end games and apps going forward. This attempt is one reason why Phone is being deprecated for now.

If UWP can't be successful on the PC, Xbox, Mixed Reality, etc. it has no hope for mobile either.

This rationale differs from what I previously argued, which is UWP cannot succeed with phones. While Microsoft would be in a much better position had they not ineptly destroyed their phone business for the fourth time in a decade the situation is so bad that it was negatively affecting Windows 10 and UWP.

All of this, however, is just more unwelcome news for fans of Windows phones. Counterintuitively, instead of putting all their might behind the phone market, it is going to put all their effort into the desktop, tablets, Windows Mixed Reality, IoT, and other platforms. Bring on as many developers into the (currently) successful part of the business and then slowly bring back mobile once they have the hardware is ready and the apps are there for consumers.

As every analyst knows, even if Microsoft released a killer "Surface phone" tomorrow with mind-boggling innovation and design it still has the app-gap problem. It'll just fail. Microsoft needs to solve that, but they are not going to do it by releasing a dead-end phone. Instead, they will put all their effort into making UWP as powerful and as successful as they can and come back to a new device category once the all the pieces are in place.

Microsoft's new push into education is the right move — at the right time

None of this is really good news, but at this time I can't think of another approach either. Microsoft 100 percent needs UWP to succeed for the future of Windows.

Finally, creating more device categories and markets is important. Microsoft's announcement on May 2 will prove the company is serious about entering new segments like education with its full might. Doing so will also greatly benefit developers and the UWP model.

What you need to know

• The latest WhatsApp beta UWP release is getting archived chats.
• You can view archived chats as well as archive and unarchive them, though there is the risk of bugs (this is a beta, after all).
• The feature is rolling out now, so as long as you have WhatsApp beta for Windows 2.2213.3.0, keep your eyes peeled.

For those of you who've been following the WhatsApp beta UWP release's progress, get ready for another milestone: Archived chats and their associated functionalities are rolling out now, so long as you're on WhatsApp beta for Windows 2.2213.3.0.

The update was spotted by WABetaInfo, the site keeping tabs on all things WhatsApp beta-related.

It's not just possible to view archived chats with the new beta update. You can also manually archive existing chats and unarchive them, though WABetaInfo notes there's a chance you'll encounter bugs along the way, including unarchiving a chat not refreshing the chat list. But that's what betas are for: To test things, expose bugs, and eventually address them.

Between this, emoji shortcuts, dark mode, and all the other key features arriving within the WhatsApp beta release, the UWP version of the communications tool is coming together. With that said, if you don't want an incomplete (Whats)app, you can always sit on the sidelines until all the features have arrived and bugs are ironed out (there's no telling how long you'll be waiting in that case, though).

What you need to know

• The latest WhatsApp beta release is here, bringing the app to version 2.2206.1.0.
• The app now features emoji shortcuts so when you type certain words, you'll have speedier access to their corresponding emoji.
• Dark mode was also added in a recent update.

The WhatsApp beta UWP releases keep getting richer and richer with features. Now that dark mode has been added, the developers have turned their attention to emoji shortcuts.

As reported by WABetaInfo, version 2.2206.1.0 of the WhatsApp beta includes the emoji shortcut feature, which will enable you to more quickly access relevant emoji when you type certain keywords with a colon beforehand.

Though this feature's existed in WhatsApp before, it's new to the beta UWP release.

It's been a hectic time for emoji in the larger tech sphere thanks to the scandal surrounding Windows 11, so this news offers a change of pace. Unless you're of the mindset that anything involving Meta is equally distressing, in which case, thank you for reading this far.

If you want to catch up on other WhatsApp beta UWP news, don't forget about the recently added dark mode feature, or the fact that you can download the beta from the Microsoft Store right this very moment. That last point sparks a question: What are you still doing here? Go enjoy WhatsApp. Experience speedy emoji access thanks to the new shortcut feature. Continue to share important communications with friends and family under the watchful eyes of Meta.

What you need to know

• Twitter, home to many leaks and scoops, has bestowed upon Whatsapp and Windows fans a new treat.
• It's a fresh look at the Whatsapp Beta UWP app heading to a Windows operating system near you.
• The new app retains the look of what web Whatsapp users are already familiar with.

Aggiornamenti Lumia occasionally drops nuggets of cool, not-yet-seen info that may interest Windows users. Today is one of those days, as the site has provided us all with a sneak peek at the new Whatsapp Beta UWP app.

If you're sick and tired of web Whatsapp for whatever reason, this could be good news for you. An app such as this one has been wanted by many. And better yet, though it'll be its own entity, it carries a design that's quite similar to web Whatsapp so you won't have to learn any newfangled, complex interfaces.

The leaks also confirms support for inking, which is an excellent addition for those using touchscreen PCs, as well as traditional toast notifications (even when the app is closed).

Everyone loves a good UWP app, so this Whatsapp news may come as a pleasant surprise for many. After all, there are entire UWP communities built around the idea, keeping new apps coming via nothing but passion and some good old-fashioned coding.

However, not everyone is a fan of Whatsapp, so for many, this news may very well be a nonstarter. Plenty of people hate Facebook (Meta) to the core and aren't happy with what the company has done to the service, hence the rise of the best Whatsapp alternatives. Disregard this news altogether if you're not a fan of hearing about Meta's activities, be they related to Whatsapp or the burgeoning metaverse.

Microsoft has today published details around how app developers can migrate their existing UWP Windows applications to the new Windows App SDK (Project Reunion,) which itself is based on the classic Win32 app platform. This documentation has immediately re-heated the on-going debate regarding whether UWP is dead or alive, so let's see what the fuss is about.

The info and FAQ that Microsoft has published today details how an app developer can migrate their existing UWP app over to the Windows App SDK. It goes on to detail why an app developer would want to do this, citing that the Windows App SDK has access to features and APIs that UWP doesn't (and likely never will.)

If you're a developer with a UWP app, but want to utilize the latest advancements in WinUI 3.0 or .NET 5 and up, then you'll need to migrate your app to the Windows App SDK first. This is because UWP is not being updated to support these new platform features and APIs. UWP can continue to use WinUI 2.x and .NET Core 3.1 as it always has done.

It's important to note here that Microsoft is not saying that developers need to migrate from UWP because it's being killed off. In fact, the documentation says quite the opposite: "if you are happy with your current functionality in UWP, there is no need to migrate your project type." The documentation goes on to mention that Windows itself continues to use UWP where it makes sense.

With that said, Microsoft does want app developers to adopt the new Windows App SDK, and making it easier for UWP developers to do so is a no-brainer for everyone. The Windows App SDK is the future of app development on Windows desktop as it attempts to combine the best of UWP and Win32 so that developers have the freedom to build the apps they want.

UWP-only platforms still exist

UWP still is the only way to build apps on HoloLens and Xbox platforms, and until that changes, it'll always be an option for developers if they're looking to build Windows apps. It may not be the best option, and it certainly won't be the platform with the most APIs and features for developers to take advantage of, but when was UWP ever?

Ultimately, this will come down to a choice for developers. What kind of app are you building? Does it require the additional features available in the Windows App SDK that UWP does not offer? Does your app need to be cross-compatible with UWP-only versions of Windows such as Xbox or HoloLens?

All of these questions need to be answered before an app developer decides what platform they need to use. If you need access to the new APIs and features present in the Windows Apps SDK, then Microsoft has made it easy to migrate your UWP app. If you don't, then you're welcome to stay using UWP, which Microsoft says will continue to be updated with security, bug, and reliability fixes.

For us end-users, not much changes. Apps built with the Windows App SDK can utilize the best of UWP, including the modern and fluid UI framework that end-users have wanted every developer and app to adopt since 2015. If your favorite app does decide to migrate from UWP to Windows Apps SDK, if it's done well you shouldn't notice it even happened.

Windows App SDK is the future, bringing UWP and Win32 under one umbrella for developers to take advantage of the best of both worlds. Does that mean UWP itself is dead? It depends on what you consider to be "dead" in this regard. Is UWP still being available as an option for developers who want or need it considered dead? Even if UWP isn't being updated with new features?

I'll leave that up to you, but for me personally, UWP can only be considered "dead" when it's no longer supported in Windows or a choice for developers when creating a new project. For us to get to that point, Microsoft would need to allow third-party non-UWP apps to run on Xbox and HoloLens first.

via @WithinRafael

What you need to know

• There's a UWP Community Discord server filled with talented developers.
• They've come together to kick off Launch 2021, where they're showcasing new apps.
• You can see the apps firsthand at the event's webpage.

A number of Windows app developers have gathered their app efforts to produce Launch 2021, an event showcasing the best creations from those within the UWP Community Discord server. Launch 2021 has an app for everyone on display: Music recognition, interactive picture-making, and text editing are just a few examples of the features being brought to the table by the wide assortment of new apps.

Be sure to check out the Launch 2021 event page to see the full range of what's on display, especially if you're in the mood to try out new apps on your Windows-powered machine. One app being shown off will help you track crypto information and prices. Another lets you remotely manage your ARK: Survival Evolved server. Seriously, if you find yourself in need of a particular type of app, take a look at the carefully cultivated lineup provided by Launch 2021, as the tool of your dreams might just be there.

If you think this all sounds cool, know that this isn't even the first time Launch has happened. Launch 2021 is the third annual event in the series, with the first having been in 2019. What this means is that you may want to keep an eye on the UWP Community Discord server and UWP Community website so that you're ready for a potential Launch 2022.

Even if you're not keen on joining a community, be sure to check out the apps on display at the virtual event. Neat new additions to the Microsoft Store's massive library of apps are on display and are sure to make your Windows 11 (or 10, or other OS) life more interesting.

What you need to know

• Uno Platform ported the Windows Calculator to Linux.
• The ported calculator can now run on devices such as the Raspberry Pi and Tesla vehicles.
• Uno Platform allows developers to use the same code across every major platform.

Whenever Uno Platform gains support for a platform, such as Android, macOS, and WebAssembly, the team behind it ports the Windows Calculator over to the platform. Now, the Uno Platform team has ported over the Windows Calculator to another platform, Linux. The company announced support for Linux in August of 2020, and now it has a proof of concept to show off. Uno Platform shares more details in a recent blog post.

"The new addition [of Linux support] makes it the first and only C# UI toolkit to enable creation of single-source applications for most popular desktop, web and mobile platforms," said Uno Platform in a press release when Linux support was announced. Uno Platform allows developers to use C# and XAML code to create apps on all major platforms.

Microsoft made the Windows Calculator open-source and placed it on GitHub early in 2019. Rather than focusing on improving the calculator on Windows, the Uno Platform team takes every chance it can to get it running on different operating systems. The end result is Uno Calculator, which is now available on iOS, Android, macOS, WebAssembly, the web, and Linux.

The port by the Uno Platform Team is available through the Ubuntu Snap Store, which makes it easy to download. In addition to being available on Ubuntu, Uno Calculator can run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Linux Mint, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Manjaro, Kubuntu, KDE Neon, elementary OS, CentOS, and Arch Linux.

With support for all of those Linux platforms, you can run Uno Calculator on everything from a Raspberry Pi to a Tesla.

Uno Platform's support for Linux utilizes a combination of Skia, SkiaSharp, and GtkSharp, which as a result, also makes it a target for Windows 7, Windows 10, and macOS.

What you need to know

• Google's Flutter for Windows Alpha is now available.
• The cross-platform UI framework lets devs write apps for iOS, Android, and now Windows 10.
• Support for Win32 API and UWP is in the works for 'next-gen' Windows devices.
• The news follows the open-source Swift language coming to Windows 10.

Microsoft is not the only company working on cross-platform UI solutions. Google has been working on Flutter — its open-source, cross-platform UI framework for native mobile apps, web apps, and desktop apps — for a few years now. And today, it is taking a significant step with Windows.

The announcement from Google follows on Swift language also jumping to Windows. Swift is an increasingly popular language used on iOS by Apple developers.

Google had previously talked about Flutter coming to Windows, and it has been in preview since the summer. Today the company is announcing the official Windows Alpha, which his now available to developers.

Flutter is similar in theory to React Native and lets developers share a single code base for writing high-performance apps for Android and iOS. The concept is similar to Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) to streamline app development by letting devs reuse as much code as possible between projects.

Flutter (and its underlying language Dart) is also one of the fastest-growing systems on GitHub. There are currently more than "100,000 apps in the Google Play Store, web in beta, and macOS and Linux in alpha," according to Google.

With today's news, developers can begin writing apps using Flutter and target Windows devices, including desktop PCs and more mobile solutions like Surface Go. The challenge has been adding support for desktop mouse and cursor interaction paradigms instead of just touch for phones. From the press release:

Developers can download the Flutter Gallery app from the Microsoft Store to see an example demo of the Flutter framework as a UWP on Windows.

Google is also highlighting multiple plugins for Windows that will help developers get started on building new apps. Some of these plugins include a way to launch URLs in the browser from your app, keep user preferences serialized on disk, storage encrypted by biometrics, and playing audio from your desktop apps.

The group behind Flutter understands that there is a lot left to work on for Windows, including adding features for "accessibility, globalization and localization, enhanced keyboard and text handling, support for command-line arguments, and more."

Interestingly, while Flutter supports the classic Win32 API, Google is also experimenting with supporting UWP as well, so Flutter apps can run on "next-gen Windows devices," including Windows 10X and Xbox. You can read more about the progress of Flutter for UWP on GitHub here.

Microsoft and Google have been getting a lot cozier lately, with both companies working on the new Surface Duo, including dual-screen support for Flutter apps. Platforms matter less than the tools and services used to power them, a truth both companies are coming to realize. Maybe someday we'll even see Google apps in the Microsoft Store.

Much more info about Flutter for Windows Alpha can be found in the Google press release, which contains links to many examples, tips, and how to get started for developers interested in trying out the framework.

Windows 10's built-in File Explorer is like my grandparents' old car. It was reliable and lasted a long time, but it wasn't a looker. The File Explorer is a critical part of many people's workflows and is used for everything from file management to just browsing through things on your PC. While functional, the Windows 10 File Explorer is in dire need of a modern refresh. In comes Files UWP - Preview, a UWP-based file explorer that merges file management with modern design.

Files UWP - Preview rolled out to the public during Launch 2020. I've been in touch with its developer, Yair Aichenbaum, for ages and have seen the app come a long way. While Files UWP - Preview isn't finished, it's progressed enough to warrant a closer look.

Files UWP - Preview is free from the Microsoft Store. It's in preview at the moment, so some bugs and issues are expected. For this piece, I mainly focus on design and functionality and skip over a few bugs since I'm in a beta build of a preview app.

A universal file explorer

Files UWP - Preview

Free

Bottom line: Files UWP - Preview is a gorgeous file explorer that should make Microsoft jealous. It's in its early stages now but is off to an excellent start.

Pros:

• Gorgeous design
• Supports tabs
• Continues to add features
• Fits right in on Windows 10

Cons:

• Lacks features from Windows 10's built-in File Explorer
• Can be slow at times
• Currently has some bugs while in preview

• See at Microsoft

A gorgeous way to manage files

My first impression of Files UWP - Preview was how much it looked like it belongs on Windows 10. It utilizes Fluent Design, has light and dark modes, and has icons that match the rest of Windows 10. It looks like what I'd expect a file explorer to look like on Windows 10, rather than a dated app that looks like it's from over a decade ago.

But Files UWP - Preview isn't just pretty, it adds features and functionality that many have requested from Windows 10's built-in File Explorer. The biggest addition is tab support. You can open up new tabs to keep multiple folders and file locations open at the same time. Unfortunately, you can't drag and drop between these tabs at the moment, though I've been told by its developer that this is being worked on.

It's also much more touch-friendly than Windows 10's File Explorer. It has large touch targets that don't require a mouse and keyboard. That being said, the targets aren't so large that it's awkward to use with a mouse and keyboard. I've used it on my touchscreen laptop for quite some time and found both forms of input to work well.

Big shoes to fill

Files UWP - Preview has some massive shoes to fill. Windows 10's built-in File Explorer is a critical part of people's workflow, whether they're professional creators or casual users. Unlike some apps that are trying to create a unique experience, Files UWP - Preview is trying to replicate Windows 10's File Explorer while adding functionality and looking better. That's a tall order that Files UWP - Preview meets in many ways. It looks great, works pretty well, and has a lot of the functionality that you'd ask for in a file explorer, but it's not quite there yet as an everyday tool for me.

The app can take a bit to load file locations and folders at times. I can't say if that's because on a beta version of the software or not, but it can feel like it's hanging while it searches for files. These pauses have generally become slower and less frequent over time, and I hope that trend continues.

It shouldn't be too surprising that Files UWP - Preview isn't a full File Explorer replacement yet. The Windows 10 File Explorer is so complex and needs to be so good that Microsoft hasn't come out with a new one or a major revamp in years. We'll get one in Windows 10X, but at one point Windows 10X had three separate File Explorers, so it seems like a complicated app to replace.

It's an ambitious task to replace a built-in part of Windows 10, and I think Aichenbaum and Luke Blevins, who are both project leads of Files UWP Preview, do a good job. I'm also impressed with how the app's development has trended. I started using Files UWP - Preview months before it came out as part of Launch 2020, and it's grown a lot since then. Development also seems to have sped up since it became publicly available.

Should you try Files UWP - Preview?

Files UWP - Preview looks much better than the built-in Files Explorer of Windows 10. It's touch-friendly and mouse-friendly, meaning it works well on desktops, laptops, or tablets. The app also adds in some nifty functionality, such as tab support. It's fun to play around with and I think in some situations could be part of a workflow. I plan to keep on using it, and think I'd use it much more if I had a tablet rather than a touchscreen laptop.

Does that mean you can fully replace the built-in Files Explorer with Files UWP - Preview? No, at least not right now. Some features aren't there yet, and others need improving. The app is still in preview, so we'll have to see how it develops over time. If it keeps trending in the same direction, I could see it being some people's main file explorer in the future.

What you need to know

• A community of UWP developers just launched twelve new apps and two refreshed apps.
• The releases are part of the second annual Launch 2020 event.
• The apps include a UWP file explorer, a client for Instagram messages, a Discord client, and an app for managing GitHub tasks.

The second annual Launch event is this week, and Launch 2020 brings a dozen new apps and a couple of app refreshes to the Microsoft Store. Apps that are part of Launch are made by developers from the UWP Community Discord. The developers in the Discord server discuss app development, the UWP platform, and often help each other improve their apps. They also frequently weigh in for our developer reaction stories.

Arlo Godfrey, the man behind the UWP Community Discord server shared an extensive breakdown of all the apps from Launch 2020. You can check out his blog post and see all of the highlighted apps from Launch 2020 below.

Chaptifier

Chaptifier is an app that allows you to add podcast metadata to MP3 files. It's designed to make it easier for podcasters to share their content by adding useful data. You can add chapters, images, titles, comments, and other content to enrich your podcasts. When you create chapters in Chaptifier, they support titles, URLs, start time, end time, and images.

Files UWP - Preview

This modern file explorer supports tabs and is made with Fluent Design. It works with a mouse and keyboard or touch, thanks to its larger icons and elements. The project is still in its early days, but it's open source and has grown quite a bit since it started. I've been in the beta for this app for a long time and it will be one of the first apps I review from Launch 2020.

Indirect

This is a messaging app for Instagram. It allows you to send and receive direct messages and view and reply to stories. It features Fluent Design language and works well with touch or a mouse and keyboard.

Aurora

This app allows you to manage the non-code tasks from GitHub. With it, you can access repositories, issues, and labels, and assign colors to repos and different logins. It supports multiple accounts, so you can open GitHub accounts on different tabs simultaneously.

Quarrel

Quarrel is a Discord client for Windows 10 and now Xbox One. Quarrel was rebuilt from the ground up for Launch 2020. The rewrite focuses on stability and usability. In addition to the stability improvements, the app adds Xbox support, text channel, voice channels, direct messages, group DMs, and more. I've spoken with the developer and Xbox voice support should be improved later this week, as updates are still rolling out.

Brainf*ck# (Preview)

This client for Brainf*ck programming is an interactive console and memory viewer. It has an IDE with syntax highlight auto completion, and custom themes. It's a powerful debugger for developers.

Yugen Mosaic

This app allows you to turn any image into a mosaic. These types of images are popular ways to make images appear iconic and stylized.

XSpot

You can use this app to get Spotlight images from Microsoft. You can find more about the images on Bing and export images in JPG, PNG, or BMP. It also allows you to set images as your wallpaper

Visual Asset Generator

This tool allows you to create a wide range of assets for a UWP manifest with a single image. It supports transparency and works with bicubic, average, or nearest neighbor resizing.

8 byte

This client for Byte lets you watch videos you follow, see your daily byte mix, and comment and like videos. You can also use it to follow users and topics.

Swift Browser

Swift Browser supports syncing between Windows 10 devices and has Adblocker, Dark Mode, and KeePass built in. You can save websites for offline viewing and use the browser's reading mode to look through text easier.

UWP Community Client

This app is the easiest way to keep up to date with UWP Community projects. You can check out projects in progress and register your projects to get showcased on the app.

Some honorable mentions

Some developers weren't ready to release their apps in time for Launch 2020 but shared about their upcoming apps.

Dynamic Shell

This app will allow people to customize the look and feel of Windows 10. It will support v2 of an AudioFlyout and have the ability to prevent touch swipe gestures from the edges of the screen.

Strix Music

Formerly Spotimo, this Spotify client is getting several improvements. It now uses 30 percent less memory than before and the developer is working on several new features, including a "Zune-esque Now Playing view."

Project Input/Project Screen

Project Input allows you to send your mouse, pen, and gamepad input from one device to another. The developer, Christopher Black, also known as Ryken, will prioritize this after he's wrapped up myTube 4.0.

DirectXStudio

This app is a UWP IDE for developing .NET applications and games. It's a rich code editor and has a 3D scene view.

Reviews on the way

I plan to review quite a few of these apps over the coming weeks and months. I've been in the beta for some of these apps for a while and have had a fun time testing out their features. Please let me know which apps you'd like to see reviewed in the comments below.

Microsoft today shared some of the first vital details about how Windows 10X works, including releasing the emulator so developers can get started optimizing apps for the dual-screen experience.

The big takeaway, though, is Windows 10X runs all its apps in containers. Here is what that means, why it's good, and what types of apps you will be able to run on Windows 10X and devices like the Surface Neo.

They just run

1. Three containers, but one experience

Think of containers as siloed boxes that are abstracted from the operating system, allowing finer control over their behavior.

For Windows 10X all applications run in containers, but there is no configuration, or any high-level changes needed by developers to utilize these; they are just part of the OS architecture.

Specifically, there are three types of containers, one of which is new (Win32)

1. Win32 Container: Runs "classic" x86 32 and 64-bit Win32 apps, WinForms, WPF, Electron, etc. and is a similar environment to Desktop OS. There is just a single container for all Win32 applications and is "highly compatible" with all existing software.
2. Full-trust MSIX Container: High compatibility with existing apps. These run in isolation from other Win32 apps and also run as a container within a Win32 Container on Windows 10X.
3. All UWP apps: Lowest system overhead, best performance, and battery life, and best security and privacy controls of all the systems.

For consumers, there is nothing to know about this experience. Most Win32 apps and all UWP apps should just run as-is on Windows 10X. You click the app, it opens, and it runs. It also doesn't matter where you install it from, whether it is the Microsoft Store, the web, or a USB drive.

Whether developers choose to continue with Win32 "classic" desktop apps, Progressive Web Apps (PWA), or UWP is up to them. For obvious reasons, UWP is the most optimized for Windows 10X, but Microsoft has gone to great lengths to ensure those classic desktop apps run just fine too.

Built for mobility

2. Containers optimize battery life and performance

UWP apps are still the best-optimized app platform for Windows 10X. This shouldn't be a revelation, as they were initially designed with Windows Phone (Windows Mobile) in mind and built for mobility. UWP apps maximize security, battery, performance, and respect OS-level suspend and resume events.

Win32 applications were built primarily for a desktop experience. They lack the mobile optimization of UWP. As a result, while they tend to be more potent than UWP, they tend to be worse for battery life and speed. But Win32 "classic" apps are still very valuable even in 2020 to the modern mobile computing experience.

Microsoft "fixes" this issue with Win32 (and MSIX) apps through the Win32 Container. Here's how:

1. Win32 + MSIX Containers reduce resources when no windows are visible.
2. Apps are suspended entirely when no windows are open.

Win32 and MSIX apps, when minimized (and when closed), are entirely cut-off from running in the background. As a result, this saves system resources and battery. Conversely, when the Win32 app is being actively used, it gets devoted more resources to it to ensure performance.

There are two consequences to this behavior change, though. For one, "classic" Win32 apps likely won't be able to run background tasks – at least not for very long – before the container is suspended. The other is Win32 apps can't auto-start with Windows 10X. That latter is mostly due to the fact there is no System Tray in Windows 10X, so "classic" apps can't continuously run in the background.

Interestingly, Microsoft may let users control this behavior so that the Win32 Container (and Win32 apps) can run in the background. This has not yet been decided as of yet.

Finally, due to the design of the Win32 and MSIX containers, anti-malware and anti-virus systems are also either not needed or will have a dramatically reduced overhead, which, again, results in improved system performance and battery life.

Drivers, peripherals and more

3. Everything should work

Interestingly, just because Win32 apps are containerized on Windows 10X doesn't make them any less powerful. Microsoft states these apps still get full access to things like:

• Mouse, keyboard, pen, touch.
• DirectX graphics, audio, media.
• Networking.
• Printing.

That means the old "Plug and Play" model is still in effect here, and a PC like the Surface Neo should be able to run anything you plug into it, including external monitors and peripherals.

Security is also enhanced, too, as the user can deny access to all Win32 classic apps for things like the PC's camera, microphone, and even location. UWP apps already do this on an individual app-level permission system, but in Windows 10X, users can shut it all down for all Win32 apps at the container-level if they choose.

Since there is no System Tray in Windows 10X, those "classic" apps can't use it. But even if those apps make calls to things in Windows 10X that don't exist doesn't mean app instability. Microsoft says these apps can operate "as is" (meaning no registry changes), but due to the container, those calls will never touch the OS. Translation: there should be no app crashing due to limits imposed by the Win32 container.

Why you need both

4. Two File Explorers (kind of)

Reflecting the dual nature of the Windows 10X experience, where UWP and Win32 apps live side by side, is the use of two File Explorers, including the File Save As experience.

This fact sounds confusing, but it's not. Win32 applications can still utilize the "classic" File Explorer and dialog for choosing files system-wide, including accessing system folders. This feature is vital as Win32 apps expect that dialog to exist to pick and save files needed for the program.

Using the file dialog in a UWP app or Windows 10X (the "host operating system"), however, brings up the "modern" File Explorer, which is limited to necessary libraries like Videos, Music, Favorites, Documents, Pictures, and more.

For the user, this means they get basic-level access to the main libraries, but not the OS-level file structure like in the desktop OS (Windows 10). But those Win32 apps still run as they should without any code change.

The big picture

5. Apps run maximized (for now)

In a conversation with Kevin Gallo, CVP of the Microsoft Developer Platform, we were told that, currently, apps on Windows 10X run full screen (i.e. maximized). This experience is like how apps ran on Windows 8 and in the current Windows 10 Tablet Mode experience.

The reason for that choice is screen size: the smaller the display, the more information-dense the experience. Running five small-windowed apps on a single 9-inch display (spanning 13.1 across both displays) is unlikely to be a popular scenario.

This maximized-vs-windowed topic is very debatable, and Microsoft is not inflexible on the issue. Should developers prefer the option to allow smaller windowed apps on Windows 10X, the company may allow that.

UWP is still key

Wrap Up: Windows 10X is complicated yet simple

Microsoft architected Windows 10X so that it is app neutral. Electron, UWP, Win32, WinForms, WPF — it doesn't matter. All those apps run on Windows 10X, mostly without any significant changes to the code.

I think the easiest way to think of it is about design and priority:

• Windows 10 Home/Pro: Made on and for running Win32 apps, but can also run UWP
• Windows 10X: Made on and for running UWP but can also run Win32.

Microsoft would probably not classify it quite that way, but Windows 10X is built to be fast, fluid, mobile, and secure. Indeed, OS updates should take no more than 90 seconds. That's because, like HoloLens, it's built around the siloed and restricted nature of UWP.

The good news for consumers, or anyone buying a dual-screen PC like the Surface Neo, is that none of this matters. You can install any app you want, and the expected behavior is respected. Developers also should not have any significant changes to their apps — even older Win32 ones — to get them to run on Windows 10X.

Moreover, Gallo reminds us that these dual-screen optimized apps should also deliver a better experience on Windows 10 desktop systems too. This feature is a clear example of Windows 10X trickling back up to Windows 10.

Of course, how it all works remains to be seen, but Microsoft says the performance delta between Win32 and UWP apps on Windows 10X should not be perceptible to the users. That's an exciting prospect as we move into a new era of mobile PC computing where users won't have to make compromises.

Much of this information was gleaned from the Microsoft 365 Developer Day video How Windows 10X runs UWP and Win32 apps.

What you need to know

• UWP developers expressed frustration with Microsoft regarding its communication about the Ad Monetization program.
• Microsoft announced that the program will shut down on June 1, 2020.
• The announcement came in a brief forum post rather than a full-length blog post.

Earlier today, Microsoft announced that the Microsoft Ad Monetization program for UWP apps will shut down on June 1, 2020. Now, developers and UWP users around the web are discussing the status of the Universal Windows Platform and what the changes mean for developers.

While Microsoft directed people to start migrating to other ad platforms, it did not highlight any specific alternatives. Furthermore, the announcement came in a short forum post that led many developers to criticize Microsoft for poor communication.

We reached out to developers and took a look at some of the prevalent opinions appearing online. Here are some of the immediate reactions to the news from the UWP development community.

Sergio Pedri, the developer behind Legere states,

Arlo, the developer behind Spotimo and a well-known UWP Community leader states,

Fons Sonnemans, a Microsoft MVP and UWP developer shared a strong opinion on the change from Microsoft.

Yair, the developer behind QuickPad states,

Matthew, one of Quarrel's developers states,

Lance McCarthy, a Microsoft MVP, shared his thoughts on Twitter, including this reaction to the initial news.

Niels Laute, the developer behind Huetro states,

A developing story about developers

The news of Microsoft's change regarding ad monetization is still fresh. We'll have to see if Microsoft responds to the internet backlash and what it says before we can weigh in fully. For now, developers are in many forums and on Twitter discussing how to move forward with app development and if the upcoming change affects them.

What you need to know

• Microsoft will shut down the Microsoft Ad Monetization platform for UWP apps on June 1, 2020.
• Microsoft suggests developers begin the transition to other ad platforms.
• Microsoft states that the program is "no longer viable."

Microsoft will shut down one of the ways that UWP developers monetize their apps later this year. The Microsoft Ad Monetization platform for UWP apps will shut down on June 1, 2020, according to a brief post by Microsoft. Microsoft states that the platform is "no longer viable for us to continue operating the product at the current levels." The company suggests developers begin the transition to other ad platforms.

The announcement sent developer communities into discussions on the web about the future of UWP app development and the viability of developing UWP apps. Some developers discussed stopping development of new UWP apps as a result of this change, though the vast majority that I've contacted are sticking with their current plans. Others expressed frustration regarding the decision, including the fact that rather than a full blog post, the change was announced in a brief forum update.

Ads are considered a necessary "evil" by many. Some pointed out within the UWP Community Discord Discord that ads can also be useful because they drive people towards purchasing the ad-free version of apps.

There are several options for monetizing UWP applications, including donation models, freemium models that lead to people paying to remove ads, and, for now, the Microsoft Ad Monetization platform. Developers have to weigh the value of each monetization method and determine which is best for their applications.

Microsoft's suggestion to developers to switch to another ad platform could prove difficult. MSPowerUser points out that many ad platforms lack SDKs for UWP apps. As a result, monetizing apps through ads following the cutoff in June could be difficult or impossible.

At this time, Microsoft has not issued a statement regarding which ad platforms it recommends or which will deliver similar functionality to the current program.

What you need to know

• New claims that UWP is dead mischaracterized what is really happening.
• Microsoft did shift UWP app strategy over two years ago to focus on desktop.
• Developers now have more ways to bring apps to Windows 10.
• UWP is still the primary dev platform for future Windows experiences.

Updated November 11, 2019: We're re-upping this post in response to Microsoft emphasizing its plans for the evolution of UWP apps at Ignite 2019. The original story, initially published on June 7, 2019, follows.

It was just over two years ago when I wrote that Microsoft was pivoting away from Universal Windows Apps (UWA) based on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), and instead focusing more on desktop-style applications for the Microsoft Store. The reasoning at the time was obvious: Windows Phone was on its last gasps, and without it, developers had one less target for UWA.

Fast forward to 2019, and Thurrott and The Verge are both running headlines that seemingly spin things. Both articles have truth to them, but there's also a more considerable misconception out there – mostly from non-developers – about UWP, Microsoft's announcements at Build this year, and what the future may hold.

Today, I want to straighten the record slightly, but first, let's define what we mean by UWP.

Nuance is important

Microsoft UWP or UWA?

The Universal Windows Platform goes back to Windows 8, and it was meant to usher in a new age of Microsoft and computing. Back then, the mantra was "three screens and a cloud" referring to Xbox, PCs, and phone.

Of course, what people mean when talking about apps like Microsoft News, Weather, Mail, and apps from third-party developers is Universal Windows Apps – apps that run across all three devices with few changes.

Conversely, the "universal platform" part in UWP refers to the shared APIs and resources that developers have access to when writing an app, not the app's hardware destination. This distinction is crucial as we'll see below.

Microsoft has conflated these terms frequently, using UWP for shorthand. This mixing of terminology was especially true during the Windows 8 days when even desktop PCs featured UWAs as the primary app experience.

Tom Warren, from The Verge, said, "This [UWP] dream really started to fall apart after Windows Phone failed, but it's well and truly over now." I'd argue differently. The original fiasco goes back to Windows 8 and its failed tablet strategy where UWAs were supposed to shine. Once Microsoft rolled back the new Start Menu experience in Windows 8.1 – and ditching it entirely in Windows 10 – UWAs lost momentum in PC.

The decline and eventual loss of Windows Phone only made matters worse.

Undoing the damage

Microsoft's developer mistake(s)

The failure of Microsoft's Windows tablet and phone experiences is undoubtedly a significant contributor to the de-emphasis of UWP.

But one other reason — which Microsoft has been trying to rectify these last few years — was the insistence that developers convert all their "classic" Windows apps to UWA using UWP. This approach was all-or-nothing and driven heavily at Microsoft's Build developer events between 2013 and 2016.

To be fair had Windows 8, PC tablets, and Windows Phone taken off UWP and UWA would be heralded as ahead of its time. Instead, it failed and with it the broad ambition of UWA. (Apple and Google are ironically running with the idea now.)

Developers bristled at the move. Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet got as much from Kevin Gallo, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Developer Platform, who said "we shouldn't have gone that way" noting the eventual Win32 and UWP divide that it caused.

Case in point, UWP could not match the power of 20+ years of Win32 development — it was too green. With missing APIs and features even if developers wanted to port a mapping app over, if the mapping API was incomplete, or lacked features they needed, there was little motivation to do so.

It's true that Microsoft did not make it easy for developers to port to UWP and create UWAs. But that started to change, and it was especially prevalent at Microsoft Build this year, where the company took a more conciliatory approach: we'll meet developers wherever they are.

Open up to devs

Just call 'em Windows Apps

This point brings us to where Microsoft is going with all these changes today. For Microsoft, the future isn't only about UWA, but about WPF, Win32, and WinRT too. Toss in support for XAML Islands, React Native, Electron, or being able to use Chrome's JavaScript engine for Progressive Web Apps (PWA) for good measure.

Under Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the company has been moving to an inclusive approach to the company's structure, services, and yes, app development. The company is not shying away from UWA or even UWP, but they are backing down from the "all or nothing" mantra. Instead, the company wants developers to use whatever tools they have to bring apps and games to Windows 10 and the Microsoft Store.

Sharing his opinion on the matter, Matt Velloso, Technical Advisor to the CEO at Microsoft, had this to say:

The point by Velloso is crucial. Windows never really had a primary dev platform (Win32 was close) because of the open nature of the system. Developers have been porting apps, bringing new languages, emulating, sandboxing, scripting for years. It's what makes Windows great.

With Microsoft bringing XAML Islands to Win32, or Fluent Design Language to iOS, Android, and the web, it's clear Microsoft wants to be the one-stop developer house for all developers. The days of app developers being platform-centric are fading away. The future is PWA, Electron, React, or JavaScript — things that UWP are already compatible with.

As announced at Build, these new tools let developers take existing code from legacy apps and by piecemeal, versus a complete rewrite, improve them using UWP. It gives developers the flexibility to adopt UWP at their own pace. As to why developers would want to do this, there are legitimate performance improvements in switching to partial-UWP as well as enhancements from XAML Islands (UI elements from UWP that can now work in Win32 applications).

Why UWP is not dead

Universal Windows Apps are still important

But are true Universal Windows Apps dead? No. In fact, they play a critical part in Microsoft's future computing experiences.

Moving away from desktop PCs to HoloLens 2, Surface Hub 2, Windows on ARM, IoT, and Windows Lite these systems are much more dependent on UWA. While Microsoft will let such devices run "classic" Win32 apps — emulated or virtualized — Win32 is by no means the primary dev platform for such systems (I'd argue Win32 is more is closer to maintenance mode than UWP).

That's where all this "UWP is dead" talk gets strange as Microsoft is betting huge on holographic computing and things like dual-screen PCs and lighter laptops as part of its future — that's UWP. The idea of people firing up Win32 Adobe PhotoShop in HoloLens or Surface Hub seems quite improbable. That's because Win32 apps are meant for desktop PCs with powerful x86 processors, not ARM, light computing, or holographic experiences.

The very basis of Windows Core OS and Windows Lite is built on UWP as the main app layer. Without UWP, Microsoft could only make legacy experiences, not new ones. There is no alternative to it.

TL;DR

Microsoft UWP and what it all means

Since the failure of the Windows 8 tablet strategy followed by the demise of Windows Phone, Microsoft's vision of Universal Windows Apps (UWA) lost a lot of impetus. Combined with developer distaste to being forced to rewrite apps as UWA and non-matured developer tools Microsoft had begun shifting away from this approach starting back in early 2017.

As desktop and laptop PCs became the focus of attention again, Microsoft opened the Universal Windows Platform to cross-platform tools like Electron, PWA, JavaScript and older systems like Win32. With the announcements at Build 2019, Microsoft is now allowing developers to mix and match differing developer technologies with UWP to meet developers where they are now.

So-called "pure" UWAs still have a vital role for Microsoft and developers. These apps serve as the primary app platform for Windows Core OS, Xbox, HoloLens 2, Surface Hub, and IoT. While these areas of computing still pale in scope to "classic" x86 PCs, Microsoft believes these newer systems will grow in importance, especially with the shift to cloud and ambient computing in the coming years.

PC manufacturers are also now using UWP to deliver customized app experiences, configuration tools, and drivers through the Microsoft Store, part of Microsoft's Universal Windows drivers program.

Nothing has changed in the last year regarding UWP or UWA. Microsoft's failed strategy for tablet and phone is years old, but the company is adapting to the times. Looking forward towards next-gen computing experiences — versus legacy desktop PCs — UWP still plays a critical part serving as the primary (but not only) app platform for those systems.

UPW is not dead, it's merely one of many tools developers have to bring great apps and games to Windows devices.

Related Reading

• What exactly IS a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app?
• Microsoft will focus on desktops with UWP — here's why you should care
• Understanding Windows Core OS and Microsoft's 'Polaris' for modern PCs
• Microsoft's 'Windows Lite' OS, and who will it be for

What you need to know

• Registration for Launch 2020 is now open.
• Launch is an annual event for developers to release and share their UWP-related projects.
• Launch 2019 featured a major update to myTube and the release of Spotimo.

Registrations for Launch 2020 are now open to developers. Launch is an annual event that allows developers to showcase and release UWP apps as well as UWP-related projects. Launch 2020 is set to happen during the first week of June 2020. Developers can register their projects on the new UWP Community website. People can also discuss the event and UWP projects on the UWP Community Discord.

Launch 2019 featured the release of Spotimo, Legere, and Kanban Ink. It also saw a major overhaul of myTube to myTube 4.0.

Developers who participate in Launch 2020 gain access to a secret channel in which developers keep each other updated with the progress of their project's development.

In addition to UWP apps, UWP-related project can be part of Launch 2020. As pointed out in the announcement post in the UWP Community Discord, "PWAs/React Native apps are universal, scalable, and have full access to the WinRT APIs. They are eligible for participation if it makes use of Windows 10 features and is published in the Store."

The focus of Launch 2020 is for developers to create original ideas and projects. The announcement post stated "This year, Launch will have a focus on original apps. We encourage every developer to be creative, rather than making an alternative to an existing solution, leverage the capabilities of the platform to create something new."

Registered projects can be public or private, allowing developers to choose when their projects are shared. At this point in time, the only app that's publicly registered is UWP File Explorer. I've tested this app for months and will do a full review once the app is complete and stable enough to be reviewed. Arlo Godfrey, one of the people behind Launch, expects many more projects to be registered before Launch 2020 and stated that several projects have been registered privately.

No matter what you love, there's a subreddit for it. From news to memes, Reddit feels like the pulse of the internet. Legere is a third-party Reddit client that allows you to enjoy more content without jumping around. It has built-in support for YouTube videos, Imgur albums, and webpages that are all common types of content on Reddit. It also supports a long list of Windows 10-specific features such as Live Tiles, Timeline support, and actionable notifications.

Legere has a free version as well as pricing tiers that range up to $10. The app is in beta so you might run into some bugs, though I had no issues during my testing.

All-in-one Reddit

Legere

Free

Bottom line: Legere is an impressive Reddit client that supports external media. As a result, you don't have to leave the app to enjoy the web.

Pros:

• Supports external web content directly within the app.
• Has many Windows 10-specific features.
• Supports multiple accounts.

Cons:

• Has a crowded design.
• Has a complex pricing system.

• See at Microsoft

What you'll love about Legere

Legere is one of the apps that came out as part of the Launch event a few weeks ago. These apps have a theme of fitting popular services into well-built Windows 10 applications. Legere certainly fits into that trend with its native-UWP design, support for Windows 10-specific features, and its support of many Reddit features. It's a comprehensive client with a unique look.

Legere supports multiple Reddit accounts, the new sidebar for subreddits, and has support for multireddits. Browser through content is easy with touch or a mouse thanks to the columned design of Legere. It also supports customizable touch gestures so you can upvote a thread with a swipe.

One of the best things about Legere is how well it supports external media. YouTube videos, Imgur albums, and webpages can all be rendered directly in the app. These are three of the most popular forms of sharing content on Reddit and not having to jump into a browser or a separate app to view them is great.

On the Windows 10 side of things, Legere supports a long list of features. You can reply to comments with actionable notifications, view videos in a smaller window using Compact Overlay mode, jump back into a specific thread with Windows Timeline support, and view content at a glance with Live Tiles. The developers of Legere did a great job infusing Windows 10-specific features into Reddit.

What you'll dislike about Legere

Legere does a lot of things well, but the interface feels crowded. The app presents a lot of content at once and has quite a few navigation shortcuts, but I feel like there's often too much on the screen. This can be alleviated a bit by hiding the sidebar and minimizing menus, but it's still a lot to see at once. Threads also have quite a bit of color accents that I think make the app look too busy. These are all subjective, and other users might have a different take. I like the options that Legere presents when it comes to navigating the app but would prefer some additional options to make it feel more minimal.

Should you try Legere?

There's no shortage of Reddit clients on Windows 10, but I think Legere does enough to warrant a look. Its seamless support of external media makes it a great way to browse Reddit. Its support of Windows 10 features is refreshing as well as many developers don't support Windows 10 as thoroughly as Legere.

If you browse Reddit a lot, I'd definitely give Legere a try. It has a free version that illustrates what the app is about well and then you can purchase the additional features that you'd like.

YouTube client myTube provides an excellent viewing experience for streaming videos. It supports background audio, Compact Overlay Mode, and has a significantly friendlier interface than using YouTube in a browser. The app is currently in beta at version 4.0. The new version is not as dramatic of an update as version 2.0 and 3.0, which involved complete rewrites from the ground up, but it's still a welcomed evolution.

This update largely focuses on improving media playback and navigation. As the app is only in beta, I'll skip giving it one of our usual star ratings for now.

Streamlined streaming

myTube

Free

Bottom line: myTube is an excellent YouTube client that only got better in this update. It provides an attractive viewing experience that's tablet- and desktop-friendly.

Pros:

• Updated media controls are easy to use.
• App is more unified across platforms.
• Supports Compact Overlay mode.
• Touch- and mouse-friendly.

Cons:

• As a third-party YouTube client, it's subject to more issues.

• See at Microsoft

What you'll love about myTube 4.0

Previous updates to myTube were complete overhauls of the app. Versions 2.0 and 3.0 were rebuilt from the ground up because they coincided with new OSes being released. Version 4.0 isn't rebuilt from the ground up but still features a layout redesign and some new features. The new design looks more natural on Windows 10 and wastes less space. I like what the developers of myTube do with the Title Bar of this app. All of the normal icons are there, but it also includes other UI elements of the app. As a result, you don't end up with a title bar taking up a portion of the screen which has another bar for UI elements right below it.

The new myTube's layout has a navigation bar on the left that remains present on desktop and can be swiped to on mobile devices. This makes navigation smoother. myTube 4.0 features larger play buttons and media controls that are easier to use with touch.

It feels like a refresh of an already attractive app, but the main reason to love myTube is its versatility. The creator, Ryken Studios, crams so many features into myTube. You can watch videos in Compact Overlay mode, listen to background audio on the Xbox One, swipe to control media playback, and use many other features that make the app feel natural. Once I browsed and controlled YouTube through myTube, I struggled to go back to using my browser because I find myself wanting to use myTube-specific features.

At this stage in the beta, there are very few new features, but the developer states more will be added now that the beta is available. This version also has more of a unified interface across platforms like Xbox One and Windows 10.

What you'll dislike about myTube 4.0

myTube is a third-party YouTube client. Because YouTube doesn't always play nicely with third-party developers or Windows 10, myTube can run into issues from time to time. myTube 4.0 is in beta so of course there are some bugs that I'll excuse, but previous public releases of myTube felt herky-jerky at times and ran into issues. I don't blame the developer for this, but it is something you'll have to deal with if you use myTube.

Each version of myTube improves upon the last one, and I suspect myTube 4.0 will be the best version ever once it's publicly released. But every once in a while Google will change an API or something about how YouTube works, and the developers of myTube have to fix it. Ryken Studios always does a great job of getting fixes out quickly, but some people don't want a YouTube app that has any issues.

Should you try myTube?

I love myTube, and myTube 4.0 is an attractive upgrade. It makes controlling media easier thanks to its new controls and makes navigating the app easier thanks to its navigation panel. At this stage in the beta, there aren't many new features. More features are set to be added, but even if the public release was just a stable version of the current beta app, it'd still be the best way to watch YouTube videos on Windows 10.

What you need to know

• Universal Windows Platform developers have teamed up to kick off an annual event for launching new apps and shipping major updates for established apps on the Microsoft Store.
• Simply called "Launch," the event is marking its first year with a major new update for myTube, along with the release of three new apps.
• The three new third-party apps bring a new Spotify client to the Microsoft Store, along with a modern Reddit experience and a whiteboard app for organizing your tasks.

The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) community is rallying the wagons, kicking off a new, annual event for developers to showcase major updates to popular apps and introduce new, polished experiences on the Microsoft Store. Called "Launch," the event is the result of the work of several high-profile developers teaming up through the UWP Community Discord server over several months with thousands of hours poured into the first round of apps for Launch 2019.

From developer Arlo Godfrey's blog post announcing Launch 2019:

After all of that work, here's a look at what the community came up with for Launch 2019.

myTube 4.0

The first major drop for Launch 2019 is the reveal of myTube 4.0, one of the most popular third-party YouTube apps on the Microsoft Store. Available today in beta, the update brings a whole new UI, along with the "first major design change" for the player controls since the app was launched.

Upon installing myTube 4.0, you'll find a newly polished UI for the navigation controls. The developer, Christopher Blackman of Ryken Studio, is also promising greater unity between the PC, mobile, and Xbox versions of the app, along with lots of new features coming down the pike.

If you're curious, you can grab the myTube 4.0 beta from the Microsoft Store today.

Legere

Legere is a slick Reddit client that has been built exclusively as a UWP app for Windows 10. All of the basic features you'd expect are here, and then some.

The app supports multiple accounts, playing different media types within the app, and background notifications. There's also support for the new subreddit sidebar, multireddits, and a full markdown editor is built into the app. There's also quite a bit of Windows 10 flavor here, including Live Tiles, support for Timeline and Jump Lists, and the option to open videos in a compact overlay window.

Legere will be available from the Microsoft Store starting today.

Spotimo

We've already seen how third-party developers can improve upon the Spotify experience with Xpotify, and Spotimo is another example of that.

The app aims to "combine the best of Spotify and Groove Music" now that Groove has been largely retired. For anyone who used Groove Music to get their streaming kick, you'll find a lot to like here. The UI looks super polished and certainly resembles Groove, with some added touches.

Today, the app is launching into open beta, so it's still very much a work in progress. Spotify Premium subscribers can use the app to stream tracks from Spotify, while free users will be able to stream through an "experimental myTube Embed Player."

Spotimo is available today in beta from the Microsoft Store.

Kanban Ink

Kanban Ink is a new app intended to make it easier to pull your ideas from a whiteboard into a list of tasks. From the developer:

Kanban Ink is available now from the Microsoft Store for free.

UWP Companion Beta

Rounding things out is the launch of the UWP Companion Beta, an extension for Chrome browsers (Firefox is coming later) that bridges websites and UWP apps. The app is actually an evolution of myTube Companion, which would open YouTube links in myTube.

UWP Companion expands myTube Companion to encompass several other services and third-party UWP apps, allowing you to open things like Spotify and Reddit links in your app of choice. At launch, UWP Companion supports Spotimo, Xpotify, Legere, Reddplanet, Mixplay for Mixer, Quarrel, and MyTube. However, all developers are invited to add their apps to the list.

If you want to try the extension, you can grab it for Chrome now. If you're a UWP developer interested in supporting the extension with your app, you can view the project on GitHub.

What's next?

The apps listed here today should go live at 5AM ET (9AM UTC) or sometime thereafter.

The developers involved plan on making Launch a yearly thing, and have invited all Windows developers to join in for Launch 2020. From the blog post:

We're back with another exciting episode of the Windows Central Podcast, and this week, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden discuss Microsoft's non-announcement announcement about their next generation 'modern OS'. Whatever it may up end being called, this is the OS we've been reporting on for quite some time.

They also tear down all of the misleading and incorrect hot takes about the death of UWP, and Daniel reports on all the other interesting devices and announcements from Computex 2019 in Taipei. Finally, the Windows 10 May 2019 Update is available to the general public.

This episode of the Windows Central Podcast was streamed live on May 31 2019.

Links:

• What is Microsoft's new 'modern OS' all about?
• 7 biggest Computex 2019 announcements
• Windows 10 May 2019 Update review: Simple changes make Microsoft's OS run smoother

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Microsoft's universal File Explorer has been updated with new features and changes for the first time in Windows 10 version 1809, adding new behaviors such as drag-and-drop, better right-click support and more. The universal File Explorer first debuted with Windows 10 Mobile back in 2015 and eventually made its way to Xbox and HoloLens too. Microsoft even started bundling it with Windows 10 desktop starting with version 1703, albeit in a hidden state.

The universal File Explorer has never been (and still isn't) intended for desktop use as it was only ever built for versions of Windows 10 where the legacy File Explorer didn't exist, on devices where the user wasn't expected to do much file management anyway. Starting with version 1809, however, it appears Microsoft has started work on the universal File Explorer again, as we've noted the following changes to the app in the latest Redstone 5 builds:

• Drag and drop support.
• Better right-click menu support.
• Improved copy/paste system similar to legacy File Explorer.
• New cut option.
• Can set images as wallpaper directly from the app.
• UI buttons at the top instead of bottom of the app.

These changes are very interesting, if only because Microsoft has never updated this app before. The app is still hidden on the desktop in 1809, so why has Microsoft decided to update it now? Well, according to my sources, Microsoft is planning to use this universal File Explorer on Windows Core OS (WCOS) devices including Surface Hub 2, HoloLens 2, Andromeda, and even PCs with Polaris. Work on this universal File Explorer has only really just started, so expect to see even more improvements over the next several Windows 10 feature updates.

Early groundwork

What we see in version 1809 is the early groundwork for the universal File Explorer that will be used on WCOS. Today, the app is still very basic, but it should be fine on devices like the Surface Hub 2 and HoloLens 2, both of which are expected to launch with WCOS within the next year. WCOS for traditional PC form-factors is still years out, so Microsoft has more time to build out the universal app with a better UI and more features before then.

My sources say that there are no current plans to outright replace the classic File Explorer on legacy Windows 10, which isn't all that surprising as the classic File Explorer is a behemoth that can't simply be ripped out of legacy Windows. The universal File Explorer will be used on WCOS devices at first (unless you manually enable it on legacy Windows 10), which makes sense as that's the new, modern version of Windows 10 that guts legacy components and features in favor of UWP-first experiences.

Regardless, it's evident that Microsoft really wants to push towards a truly modern Windows 10 experience, and bringing more and more of old Windows over to UWP is slowly starting to take shape. We've seen this happening with Control Panel, Paint, Snipping Tool, and more. Microsoft is only just getting started in its modernization of Windows; the next few years are going to be very interesting for Windows fans.

How to enable

If you're interested in trying out the universal File Explorer on desktop for yourself, check out our dedicated how-to guide detailing everything you need to do. It's pretty easy!

We're back with another exciting episode of the Windows Central Podcast! This week, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden talk about the week's news in the Windows universe, including the latest build of Redstone 5, and trying to parse the actual meaning of 'Always Connected PC'. They also speculate on the age old privacy question — Who is 'they'? And, apropos of nothing, Dan seems to know an awful lot about how super-criminals use computers. Finally, Dan and Zac discuss the future for UWP apps on Windows 10 and the Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Graphics Dock. Join us!

Help us make this show the best Microsoft podcast in the world. Tell your friends, share it on social media using the hashtag #wcpodcast, and give us a five-star rating wherever you download your podcasts! Thank you so much for listening!

Links:

• Windows 10 Redstone 5 changelog: All the changes so far
• What the heck is an 'Always Connected PC' anyway?
• Is there a future for true Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps on Windows 10?
• Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Graphics Dock review: Glorious external NVIDIA GTX 1050 graphics

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Today, Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is about much more than truly modern universal applications. It's a platform that allows developers to take advantage of all the new Windows 10 features introduced over the last couple of years, regardless of whether your app is universal, a legacy Win32 program, or even a progressive web app. UWP in its current form welcomes many app types, and while that's great news today, it is a bit of a compromise when it comes to Microsoft's future ambitions for Windows.

The original plan for the Universal Windows Platform was this idea of truly modern universal apps that let developers build once and scale across many different device types and versions of Windows 10. These universal apps target common core UWP APIs, and as such can run on modern versions of Windows 10 such as Mobile, HoloLens, and Xbox. This was quickly pushed aside when it became apparent that developers were not adopting Microsoft's new universal platform, which led to Win32 programs being allowed into the Store.

Allowing Win32 programs to tap into the universal platform today is not a bad idea at all. In fact, it makes sense, because the most popular version of Windows 10 on the market right now is the one that supports these legacy programs. Because of this, it's fair to assume that the concept of true UWP apps is dead. Movement on the universal app front has been slow, with most developers opting to shove their old legacy programs into the Store instead now that this is an option.

Is there a future for true universal apps?

So does this mean that Microsoft's vision of truly modern universal apps is dead? I don't think so. It's true that right now, not many developers are building native UWP apps on Windows 10, but that doesn't mean it's going to go away. It will always remain an option for developers, because the future of Windows depends on it. The version of Windows 10 available today is an OS built on decades of legacy code, which makes competing with more modern platforms like iOS and Chrome OS incredibly tricky for Microsoft.

The Windows Core OS (WCOS) effort is attempting to build a new version of Windows 10 that scales across different device types and guts the OS of legacy components and features in favor of native UWP apps and experiences. It's a truly modern version of Windows that's primary app platform is universal Windows apps. Of course, it will still run Centennial Win32 programs in some form, but Win32 apps will no longer be the primary, native app platform on Windows Core OS. This doesn't mean full Windows 10 today is going to go away, but it does mean that Microsoft wants true UWP apps to be the main way developers build Windows apps in the future.

I think that over time, Win32 programs will slowly take a back seat when it comes to building and using apps on Windows 10, only existing for legacy applications or programs that require APIs or functionality that simply won't be coming to UWP. Windows Core OS can run Centennial Win32 programs, but this functionality is only really there to fill any gaps that true UWP can't or hasn't yet filled.

Now, this isn't going to happen overnight, but this is Microsoft's long-term goal for Windows. As such, I firmly believe that true UWP apps are here for the long haul. I imagine that over the next few years, Microsoft is going to continue building out the Universal Windows Platform with more features and capabilities for developers to take advantage of. The end goal is to make UWP a viable replacement for legacy Win32 programs, but that's going to take time. It will be a long while before we start to see developers building desktop-class applications (like Photoshop) as true UWP apps, but that is the future Microsoft is building towards.

A long-term goal

Just like Win32 programs, developers are welcome to build native UWP apps in a number of ways, using languages such as C#, JavaScript, XAML, HTML, React Native, and more. A true universal app is one that targets only core UWP APIs, allowing it to function on versions of Windows 10 that do not include legacy APIs like full Windows 10 does today. In this context, PWAs are native universal apps. Unsurprisingly, legacy Win32 programs aren't natively universal, as they use other APIs that are not part of the core UWP API framework, and as such can't run on "modern" versions of Windows like with WCOS.

It's also important to stress that Microsoft wants UWP to be more than just mobile and lightweight apps. It wants developers to choose UWP for desktop-class apps as well. One of the big reasons we're not really seeing that yet is because the platform isn't mature enough right now, and there's no real incentive to rewrite Win32 apps as native UWP. It takes time for an app platform to mature, but UWP is slowly getting there. Interestingly, Adobe is just coming around to the idea of a full Photoshop app on iPad. It's been eight years since the iPad launched, and Adobe is only now starting to think about building a desktop-class application for it. Developers should eventually begin to do the same on Windows with the Universal App Platform.

Understanding Windows Core OS

I mean, it's pretty laughable to assume that in 10 years time, Win32 will still be the primary platform for Windows apps. Once Windows 7 is long out of support, there's little incentive to build new Win32 programs as it would be more beneficial to build a native UWP app at that point. I imagine the only apps that will still be Win32 are ones that already exist today, assuming by then they haven't been rewritten as native UWP apps. Of course, there will always be people who need legacy Windows and legacy Win32 programs, and full Windows 10 will always exist for those people. But for the rest of the world, most people would be okay with a true UWP experience, assuming the universal apps are there.

So, yes, I think there is a future for true UWP apps on Windows 10. Microsoft's end goal is to make it the primary app platform for Windows, regardless of whether it's on Windows Core OS or versions of Windows 10 that natively support legacy programs. In fact, I think Microsoft's WCOS effort is proof that the company is committed to true UWP apps alone, it's just a really long-term goal that's going to take a lot of time to achieve. I'll be talking a bit more about the Windows Core OS project and the future of Windows, but in the meantime, what are your thoughts on the future of UWP apps? Let us know in the comments!

Last week, Microsoft announced "Microsoft News" and launched updated apps for iOS and Android that introduced a new design and rebrand. Oddly, there was no mention of an updated app in the works for Windows 10, which had many questioning whether a new News UWP app would ever come.

Today, Microsoft has rolled out a new version of the News app for Insiders in the Fast ring that brings with it a new design featuring elements of Fluent Design, and the same "Microsoft News" rebrand now found on other platforms. The new app looks great, and even has a link to download the News app on your phone too.

The Windows 10 News app was in dire need of an update, as it was starting to look dated when compared side-by-side with other in-box apps that have already been updated with Microsoft's new Fluent Design language. An update to the News UWP app should also help reconfirm Microsoft's commitment to in-box UWP apps.

The update is currently only available to testers in the Fast ring, but we can expect to see this update rollout publicly soon. What are your thoughts on the updated app? Let us know in the comments!

Download at the Microsoft Store

WhatsApp for Windows Phone is one of the few apps on Windows 10 Mobile today that continues to receive frequent updates from its developer. Unfortunately, the app itself is one based on Silverlight, which is what apps built for Windows Phone 8.1 used back in 2014. This means the app isn't a Universal Windows Platform app (UWP,) and as such doesn't run across all the different Windows 10 platforms and devices available today.

That means that if Microsoft's rumored Andromeda device ever does happen, the WhatsApp app available right now won't run on it, because the version of Windows 10 that runs on Andromeda doesn't support old apps based on Silverlight. On a device like Andromeda, an app like WhatsApp is a must-have. Luckily, it appears that Microsoft may be working closely with WhatsApp in bringing its Silverlight app to UWP, along with updating its UI with a refreshed interface that features Fluent Design.

Concept art of this work recently popped up on Behance by a designer hired by Microsoft who appears to be working on the project. Unfortunately, the Behance listing was pulled after we approached the designer for comment. While the project on Behance didn't tell us much outside of what the app may look like, it does give us our first hint towards an apparent partnership between Microsoft and WhatsApp. The only context surrounding this work is a paragraph on what the project is about:

Working together?

Based on the project description, it sounds like Microsoft and WhatsApp are working closely together in updating WhatsApp for the Universal Windows Platform, which will enable it to run across different Windows 10 devices universally. Of course, while these concept images don't give us definitive proof that a UWP app of WhatsApp is in the works, it does serve as confirmation that WhatsApp and Microsoft are at least brainstorming such an idea.

Judging by the concept images, a WhatsApp UWP app would combine the functionality of both the Windows Phone app and the Windows 10 desktop app available today. On desktops, the UWP app would simply act as a "relay" application allowing users who use WhatsApp on their iOS or Android device and send and receive WhatsApp content directly on their PC via WhatsApp Web syncing.

The app would also act as a native client for Windows 10 devices that have telephony capabilities, which is why this app is crucial for something like Andromeda and is probably a big part of why Microsoft is talking with WhatsApp Inc. about building a true UWP app of WhatsApp in the first place. We asked Microsoft for comment, and they responded with the following statement: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors and speculation." So, take that as you will.

It would be super awesome if later this year, Microsoft announces a brand new, beautiful WhatsApp app for Windows 10 that works across a wide variety of Windows 10 devices, including Andromeda. Of course, since these are only concepts, even though they were designed under Microsoft it doesn't mean such an app will ever see light of day. But, at least they appear to be talking about it.

Microsoft is getting ready to ship another major update to the UWP Community Toolkit later in May, but what is likely the biggest change has nothing to do with new features. Rather, the whole package is getting a new name: Windows Community Toolkit.

In a new blog post detailing the move, Microsoft explains that the new name is meant to represent the desire to see more developers take advantage of the toolkit's components when building experiences for Windows. From Microsoft:

Microsoft initially introduced UWP Community Toolkit in 2016 as an open-source resource for Windows app developers. Initially shipping with 26 features, the toolit has been updated several times since with new controls, helpers, extensions, and more. As it stands today, the (soon to be) Windows Community Toolkit packs more than 100 features, Microsoft says.

There's no word on what new features are in the pipeline, but Microsoft says it expects to ship another update in late May. In the meantime, you can check out the Windows Community Toolkit on GitHub.

Microsoft is rolling out another big update to its UWP Community Toolkit. The latest update ticks the toolkit up to version 2.2 and packs a number of new features, including parsers for markdown and RSS, XAML brushes, along with new controls, helpers, and more.

Here's a quick look at the highlights in version 2.2, from Microsoft:

• Microsoft.Toolkit.Parsers and MarkdownTextBlock: V2.0 of the UWP Community Toolkit introduced several new .NET Standard packages, with a commitment to support more cross platform APIs. Building on top of that commitment, V2.2 introduces a new .NET Standard package: Microsoft.Toolkit.Parsers. This package includes parsers for markdown and RSS that can be used across UWP and other platforms that support .NET Standard 1.4 or above.
• Staggered panel: A new panel has been added to enable staggered layout where items are added to columns with the least amount of space.
• XAML Brushes: V2.2 introduces a new namespace (Microsoft.Toolkit.Uwp.UI.Media) and adds 7 composition based brushes, including a RadialGradientBrush. The backdrop brushes apply the effect to whatever is behind the element in the app.
• MSAL support and cross-platform Microsoft Graph and OneDrive service: A .NET Standard version of both the Graph and OneDrive services has been introduced and the old OneDrive service has been marked obsolete. The .NET Standard versions of each service now support Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) and consumption outside of purely UWP apps. The new service can be found in the Microsoft.Toolkit.Services package.
• Notifications package support for My People shoulder taps: With the latest update, the notifications package now includes new toast features for My People shoulder taps, so developers can easily enable this feature in their apps.

Microsoft first introduced the UWP Community Toolkit in 2016 as a handy open-source resource for developing UWP apps. Developer with help from a community of UWP developers, the toolkit has made steady progress, adding support for new features every couple of months or so with major releases. Last August, the toolkit added support for Fluent Design and the necessary tools for developers to take advantage of new Fall Creators Update APIs with version 2.0. The toolkit's 2.1 update followed with additional changes targeting the Fall Creators Update.

If you're interested in checking out all of what's new, you can find the UWP Community Toolkit on Github alongside the detailed release notes for version 2.2.

Apple is reportedly going to find out in late 2018 as they attempt to merge some of the app platforms from iOS to macOS. The reason is evident to anyone who tries to download apps for their MacBook, which is a store where new apps are few and far between - think Windows Phone, but in reverse.

I wrote about this topic last week and now have added a video on the topic as well. So far, many people are giving Apple the benefit of the doubt, which reveals more about Microsoft's lack of consumer confidence than Apple's prowess at succeeding where Redmond had failed.

The problem I see it is rarely addressed: Why would running phone-based apps on your decked out MacBook Pro solve the lack of robust desktop applications for Apple?

Microsoft tried this strategy and between the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) being nascent, the lack of consumer interest, and the reliance on using the web for many tasks it did not work out (nor did it help Windows phone).

Earlier this year, I wrote how Microsoft would shift from "phone apps on PC" to more powerful desktop applications for the Microsoft Store, and that is what has happened. Affinity, Adobe Photoshop Elements, dj PRO, Autodesk Sketchbook, and legacy apps like Paint.net are now the focus in the store. Even "classic" PC games are making the appearance, shifting away from lite mobile games to ones that require beefier hardware.

Apple wants to unify iPad, iPhone, and Mac apps – but will it work?

Additionally, Apple has a more extensive problem: MacBooks don't support touch. Will users want to experience their favorite phone apps as non-touch experiences? Again, history tells us no.

In the end, Apple's venture won't make things worse for macOS or its pricey laptops and desktop computers, but so far, there is little reason to believe this will fix its real problem: waning interest from creative professionals in the Apple PC line. Apple does have a dedicated base of developers who seem to create some exciting applications, but it's not clear it's enough to affect sales.

But will you give up on a touch-enabled two-in-one PC experience like Surface for a MacBook Pro because of this? Let me know in comments!

Microsoft was both lauded and derided for its Universal Windows Platform (UWP). UWP is meant to give developers a way to share code and resources easily between app projects, making it easier to target different hardware like phone, PC, tablets, and Xbox.

UWP is not a "write once, deploy everywhere" model, though in some ways it can be used as such. Nor is it only about phones, which apparently are on the sideline now for Microsoft. UWP is about building a next-generation app platform that can quickly adapt to new hardware paradigms, whether it is Windows Mixed Reality, traditional PCs, tablets, mobile devices, or your living room.

In a new report from Bloomberg, Mark Gurman, a writer who is well known for his accurate Apple leaks, details how the company is attempting to combine "iPhone, iPad and Mac apps to create one user experience."

Let's talk about what that means.

Rumored for late 2018

It is important to note that Gurman's report explicitly states that such a project is still in development:

If it goes forward, the project likely won't be announced until summer 2018 with a rollout in a preview that fall, according to Gurman. Apple declined to confirm the report.

While the shift to a more unified app platform is a great move, the idea that Apple will have solved it all out the gate is probably misguided. Of course, without any details about this system, it is too early to speculate on how powerful or flawed it may be.

Instead, I'd like to shift to where Microsoft is right now and going compared to Apple.

Microsoft's unified Core, OS, apps, and shell

Microsoft's UWP will be hitting the three-year mark in late 2018, right around when Apple's first attempt at app unification may debut.

While Microsoft continues to build out APIs and bridges – and more importantly bring legacy Win32 apps to the Microsoft Store – it is also very deep into unifying its user shell experience a.k.a. Composable Shell or CShell.

What exactly IS a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app?

This difference is massive. While Apple embarks down the same path as Microsoft (and Google too, for that matter), Microsoft is many steps ahead. Here are some examples of how:

• Windows OneCore – Microsoft successfully unified its kernel and OS core system across devices in 2015.
• Windows UWP - Microsoft unified its app platform, which runs on Win32 systems (x86, x64), ARM, and Xbox.
• Windows 10 on ARM - Announced in late 2016, Microsoft this month revealed the first devices running Windows 10 on ARM, so-called Always Connected PCs – a full port of the OS that can run on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. These support Windows 10 S, Windows 10 Home, and Windows 10 Pro the OS can emulate Win32 applications too.
• Windows Core OS - As exclusively reported by our Senior Writer Zac Bowden, Microsoft is making Windows 10 modular. Once finished, Windows 10 will look the same, but components like Win32 and telephony support for cellular calls can be added or removed by OEMs. Windows Core OS will also pave the way for a true UWP-version of Windows 10 without any native Win32 support that will eventually supplant Windows 10 S.
• Windows CShell - With the same kernel, a flexible core, and unified app platform, the last piece is the shell – or user interface (UI) – that itself adapts to the screen. Taking the idea of Continuum to the OS level, CShell lets devices adjust their UIs for different tasks and experiences. A device running full Windows 10 for the desktop would be able to take on a Windows 10 Mobile UI to run in phone-mode. Or, a Windows 10 PC could take on the Xbox UI when in gaming mode. The possibilities are endless.

These tools combined make Windows 10 an OS that can live anywhere, on any device, with any screen size, running any processor. With UWP, the apps can run on all those devices with only minor changes.

It also means there is no Windows 10 Mobile anymore, because what made that OS unique has now been integrated into Windows 10 proper.

Apple has some of this with shared components between iOS and macOS, but its app story is very far behind. Apple has not – to our knowledge – taken any steps to unify its UI across macOS and iOS. There have long been rumors that Apple plans to turn iOS into macOS, including building MacBooks with ARM processors, but those plans have not been confirmed.

Google is also busy combining Android and Chrome OS, but it too faces the same problems and challenges as Microsoft did and now Apple too. All three companies are embarking down the same path, but Microsoft is many steps ahead there, even though it's lagging in the fastest growth area for computing: smartphones.

Apple's advantage is phones

There's no doubt that Apple has a lot going with the iPhone. Not only does the iPhone still get premium apps faster than Android, but the app quality, in general, is higher due to the controlled and limited hardware choices.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions about Apple's approach to app unification. Will developers merely port the apps from iOS to macOS? How robust will the tools be? How far along are the APIs?

Microsoft developers have quickly learned that building out a unified platform that seeks to emulate Win32 abilities takes years.

There are also concerns about UX and UI. Specifically, Apple developers who make apps for the iPhone – but not the iPad – will have a hard time scaling up to a 27-inch iMac display. There are a lot of considerations for screen size, type and modality (touch or non-touch) that need to be considered. For instance, adding mouse support – since Macs currently do not support touch screens – is critical and not trivial.

Looking at what Google has attempted with Android apps on Chrome OS, it is evident that "write once, run everywhere" is an idealized, but non-practical dream. Sure, it can work, but it is far from perfect.

Microsoft has already learned a lot of these hard lessons going back to Windows 8. Putting phone apps on a PC is merely not enough. I wrote earlier this year about the Microsoft Store refocusing on premium desktop apps and games and that is what happened.

Microsoft may focus on desktops with UWP — here's why you should care

Merely letting users run an iOS version of Instagram on a full Mac PC may seem like a simple solution, but long-term the novelty wears off. It's also not clear that iOS apps – the majority of which are phone-focused – have a purpose on a desktop or laptop PC. For instance, it's not evident that many people on desktops utilize the Uber app for Windows 10 – why would that be different for Apple?

The same problem that existed for Microsoft – who wants to run phone apps on a PC? – applies to Apple. Microsoft fixed that by doubling down on desktop apps and by bringing classic Win32 programs to the Microsoft Store. But is Apple trying to fix its desktop problem by running phone apps?

Unifying is hard

I see a lot of people giving Apple a lot of room here, saying "Oh, they will get it right." But none of this is easy. Microsoft has had a learning curve, as has Google. All three companies are struggling with a shifting computing world where device usage and experiences are changing.

Microsoft has its Win32 legacy to contend with for business and enterprise. It's the company's Achilles heel – it is what makes Windows 10 PCs secure, but also what holds it back. Apple is in the same situation with iOS. It is arguably the company's most forward-looking and modern OS, but Apple will have a problem with macOS completely stagnating for features and apps.

Can running iOS apps on a MacBook Pro fix the problem of users who are unhappy with its recent redesign and lack of "pro" features? It won't hurt it, but it's not apparent that it will solve Apple's seemingly reliance on just selling phones (60 percent of Apple's revenue is from the iPhone alone).

Microsoft's problem is palpable. Without a phone, its mobile game is weak. While PC sales are rebounding, and the Surface line is kickstarting a revival, there still needs to be a phone-ish device on the market. We're expecting sometime in 2018 a new generation of foldable hardware from Microsoft, meant to leapfrog current smartphones, but there are just as many questions there as there are for Apple's app strategy for macOS.

What the future of Windows 10 will look like. #AskDanWindows Episode 35

The takeaway here is not that Apple may do this better than Microsoft, but that both companies face the same problem. Does there need to be a winner? Not really. Both companies have thrived for the last 15 years, and there is no reason to think that will change.

It's more interesting that Microsoft, Google, and Apple see OS convergence as a solution, not something to be avoided.

The Guardian is a daily newspaper based in the UK, covering global politics, world news, and various other topics. It's also one of a dwindling number of news outlets willing to support the Windows 10 app store ecosystem, with its very own UWP-based app. Or at least, it was.

This morning, The Guardian posted a statement on its website, announcing that the Windows 10 app was dead.

From conversations I've had with other app developers on Windows 10, it seems that despite Windows 10's install base in the hundreds of millions, few people actually engage with apps from the store compared to Windows 10 Mobile. Windows 10 desktop competes with the web for attention, and it makes little sense for app developers to support that form factor in its current state.

The Guardian's website continues to function well on both Windows 10 Mobile and desktop PCs, though, so the only loser here is Microsoft, whose miss-steps in the mobile space continue to haunt its chances of ever building a viable app store ecosystem. Oh well.

Thanks to Justin for the tip.

Did you hear? The Xbox One X shows up next week (read our review) so you may want to know which TV you should get for it. I'll answer that as well as questions about UWP and Cortana in this episode. Tune in now!

Audience questions for Episode 29

• Is Cortana dead without windows mobile? given that on other platforms their native assistants are better integrated? - @HubertBASHIZI
• Regardless of W10M's fate, it doesn't seem like apps are coming to the Windows Store. Is that a wrong perception? How much of an issue is it? - @Dan12R
• What are the (specific) features we are looking for in a 4k TV to get the most out of the Xbox One X? - @James_Pauls

For my May article about UWP and desktop apps you can read that here.

Guide to the best 4K TVs for the Xbox One X

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PS I have to get back into the forums this week as I've been super busy!

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Microsoft's set of Office Mobile apps are great. I prefer them over the full Office suite. I realize that a lot of people find the Office Mobile apps to be subpar. But there are people out there for whom the Office Mobile apps are more than fine. Wo why isn't Microsoft doing anything with them?

You might not even know that Microsoft built Universal Windows Platform (UWP) versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. That's because Microsoft doesn't even list them in the Microsoft Store. They're invisible unless you know what you're searching for. Why? Because Microsoft is still pushing the full, Win32 Office suite that's much more powerful and capable (and expensive). So what's the point of the Office Mobile apps? They're for mobile devices ... or they were.

They were built for Windows 10 Mobile handsets, but as we all know Windows 10 Mobile isn't a thing anymore. Not really. So does that mean Office Mobile is dead too? I certainly hope not. Although the Office Mobile apps aren't as powerful as the full Office suite, these are still incredibly capable and useful apps for casual Office users like myself. So, it's time Microsoft started repositioning these apps, re-add them to the Store, and start pushing them.

Office Mobile works everywhere

Office Mobile apps are the only versions of Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Excel that work on Microsoft's new Windows Mixed Reality platform. They also work on all Windows 10 devices. So already, these apps are vital in environments that aren't strictly mobile. I don't think rebranding the Office Mobile apps as "Office Mixed Reality" is a good idea, as that narrows the scope of these apps a little too much. But I think Microsoft should reposition these apps as free Office Online alternatives.

Office Online is already technically a free version of Office, and the Office Mobile apps aren't that much more advanced when it comes to functionality. I find it bewildering how Microsoft expects people to pay for an Office 365 subscription to use the Office Mobile apps anyway, especially considering an Office subscription only advertises the full version of Office. It should make Office Mobile free and rebrand this set of apps as "Office Lite" or even "Office Online."

If making them free is too much of a loss for Microsoft, it could still take a slightly different approach. Rebrand these apps as Office Lite or Office Online, but bundle them with every install of Windows 10. This way, they're front and center on all devices, and if the user wants the full version of Office, they can upgrade through any of the UWP Office apps. This would also give Windows 10 inbox support for office file formats.

If you don't have an Office subscription, these apps act merely as Office file viewers; the subscription enables the editing capabilities. Calling these apps Office Mobile is confusing, and more importantly, unfair. I use the Office "Mobile" apps on my desktop and laptop far more than I did on my Windows phone. Rebranding them as something more generic, yet still maintaining that "less than full" aspect is something Microsoft needs to do.

I understand that these apps are not as powerful or as capable as the full version of Office. I'm arguing that Microsoft should take advantage of a lite, simpler version of Office. This is something that it has built, and I know for a fact there are people out there where these apps are more than fine for their workload. I have friends and family members who would prefer these apps over the full, clunky versions of Office.

They eat fewer resources, too, which is especially helpful on low-end, cheap laptops and tablets. These Office Mobile apps are beneficial in more ways than one, so why Microsoft continues to hide these apps from the Windows Store and keep them labeled as "Mobile" is beyond me. Hopefully, Microsoft sees sense and starts taking advantage of these apps sooner rather than later.

• See Word Mobile in the Microsoft Store
• See PowerPoint Mobile in the Microsoft Store
• See Excel Mobile in the Microsoft Store

Your thoughts

What are your thoughts on the Office Mobile apps? Should Microsoft rebrand them and reposition them as something more than just mobile apps, or should Microsoft keep these buried and continue to push the full versions of Office instead? We want to know, so let us know in the comments.

Windows Core OS is a version of Windows 10 that can be tweaked for use on any device type according to our own Zac Bowden. Windows Core OS will allow Windows to run on wearables, PCs and a variety of other form factors, including mobile. Essentially, Windows Core OS enables the ability to remove specific Windows functionality that isn't essential to make Windows "lighter" and a better fit for the targeted hardware.

The key point here is that Windows 10 remains fundamentally the same version of Windows 10 regardless of the device it's running on. Because of the OSes flexibility, distinct Windows variants such as Windows 10 Mobile will no longer be necessary. Windows 10 will simply be Windows 10 on any device it is running on.

This additional information regarding Windows Core OS and the adaptable UI, CShell, is consistent with our previous analysis of Microsoft's One Windows vision. Of course, nothing exists in a vacuum, and Apple and Google have their own agendas. So what are the philosophical differences between Microsoft's one OS strategy and its rivals approach to personal computing?

Different perspectives: Apple's many platforms

Apple, Google, and Microsoft are the primary providers of personal computing operating systems. With Windows Microsoft has maintained a near 90-percent dominance of the desktop for decades, dwarfing its nearest rival Apple's MacOS. The script is dramatically flipped in the mobile arena where Microsoft has less than one-percent of the market. Android has over 80-percent of the market while Apple's iOS claims all but a tiny fraction of the remaining share.

Microsoft's personal computing strategy has always been to bring one Windows, in some form, to the range of devices people use. Conversely, Apple has an OS for all form factors. It has watchOS for wearables, iOS for phones and tablets, macOS for the desktop and tvOS for the living room.

The benefit to this approach is that each of these platforms is tailored for the devices they run on. The downside is they also each represent a different target for developers. Of course, Apple has 16 million registered developers and is a darling of the tech industry. Consequently, getting developer support even for disparate platforms is nowhere near the challenge it would be for say Microsoft. Sadly, Redmond, with only one platform, is struggling to garner developer support for its Universal Windows Platform (UWP).

Google's OS duality

Google falls somewhere in between Microsoft and Apple's approaches. Rather than one OS like Microsoft or several, like Apple, Google maintains two platforms: Android and Chrome OS.

Android runs on a broad range of device types from phones, to wearables to IoT devices. There has been little success in bringing a viable form of Android to the desktop scenario, however. Android simply doesn't yet have the level of comfort and consistency in a desktop context that Windows provides.

Chrome OS, a browser-based operating system, is Google's desktop platform. Chromebooks, which run Chrome OS have found growing popularity in the education sector. They're affordable, easy to maintain and because everything is web-based, a user's data is always easy to access from anywhere. Rumors of a merged Chrome and Android hybrid, have been floating around for years but have yet to bear fruit.

With all the excitement over Windows on ARM don't forget about Google's Andromeda

Ironically Microsoft adopted the moniker of Google's rumored universal OS, Andromeda, to describe (at least internally) its application of a single OS to rule them all.

Different approaches, same goal

Despite the different approaches to personal computing Apple, Google and Microsoft are all headed in the same direction. Each company has the goal of making mobile devices more powerful and more capable of doing what were traditionally tasks reserved for the desktop.

In less than 10 years smartphones have taken on web-surfing, document editing, messaging, emailing, increasingly more demanding gaming, job searching and a host of other previously PC-centric tasks. A combination of increases in processing power and apps have made the evolution of the mobile landscape a suitable replacement for the desktop for an increasing, but still limited range of PC-centric tasks.

Still, Apple, Google, and Microsoft recognize that because mobile is where most consumer personal computing is occurring mobile platforms must continue to become more powerful to accommodate even more desktop-type computing.

Convergence

Apple's and Google's primary personal computing platforms, Android and iOS, evolved around smartphones and an app-centric model designed for light, touch-centric computing. These companies now have the challenge of maintaining the advantages of the mobile platforms that have made them successful while making them more robust in order to handle increasingly complex computing.

Consequently, they are in essence moving mobile-centric paradigms toward a more inclusive personal computing paradigm that supports desktop computing contexts. Apple's iOS-based iPad Pro, with keyboard, pencil and marketing lingo that equates the tablet to a PC are evidence of this.

The truth about Apple's iPad ads

Google has made a similar move by bringing Android apps to Chromebooks. Android-based laptop designs have also come to market. Samsung also brought the Continuum-type DeX dock to market which turns an Android phone into a desktop. Unlike Microsoft's UWP apps, however, Android apps aren't developed with the same consistency to scale to all form factors, dynamically provide a context-sensitive UI and conform to appropriate input methods. UWP apps can dynamically conform to monitor, mouse and keyboard or touch-friendly mobile interactions.

Windows Core OS: Then there was one

Both Apple's and Google's attempts to accommodate more complex computing are centered around keeping their successful mobile platforms distinct from their desktop OSes. Microsoft has the opposite challenge. It has been successful on the desktop, and with Windows Core OS, it is attempting to bring the power of Windows 10 to everything.

The advantage Microsoft has is that Windows 10 is already where iOS and Android are trying to get. As the standard for desktop OSes, it has in power and range of functionality what users and manufacturers are increasingly pushing their mobile devices to achieve. So rather than trying to make its mobile OS more robust or capable like the competition, Windows Core OS allows Microsoft and OEMs to trim full Windows down for mobile and other devices. It keeps all of the power of Windows while relinquishing features not needed for a given form factor.

Windows Core OS opens the door for potentially creative hardware designs that Microsoft may bring to the mobile and IoT space.

Of course, the app gap will still be a challenge if this nimble approach to Windows makes it to market. It does modernize the platform, however. If Microsoft ever gets past the app gap problem, leveraging things like progressive web apps, Windows Core OS and a robust ecosystem bring something unique to mobile that Apple, Google, and consumers may not be able to ignore.

Updated September 30, 2017: Several sources have come forward and told us the "Andromeda OS" effort is now internally referred to as "Windows Core OS." We've updated this article to reflect this.

One of the benefits of the convergence of operating systems between Windows and Xbox is that developers can target both platforms with a lot of shared code by leveraging the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) for development. However, games published to Xbox One through the Windows Store have thus far been relatively limited in terms of access to hardware resources on the console. Now, in a move that will please developers, Microsoft has announced it will free up access to more system resources for UWP games on Xbox One this fall.

Currently, UWP games can tap into 4 shared CPU cores, 1GB of RAM, and access to only 50 percent of the GPU for Direct3D11-based games. With the next big update coming to Xbox One this fall, UWP games will now have access to 6 exclusive CPU cores, 5GB of RAM, and full access to the GPU for Direct3D12-based games. Put simply, UWP developers should be able to eek out vastly better performance for their games on Xbox One.

Ultimately, Microsoft says, expanded resource access will have an impact on Windows Store games like Fallout Shelter, which was built on the Universal Windows Platform and is now available across Windows and Xbox One. Similarly, games created as part of ID@Xbox and the Xbox Live Creators Program on UWP will be able to access the extra horsepower as well.

Microsoft recently announced that Progressive Web Apps (PWA) will soon be supported by the Microsoft Edge web browser. Moreover, a few apps hitting the Windows Store – like Slack and Trello – are now mixing PWA with Electron and elements of the Universal Windows Platform (UWP).

But why PWA and not just native, ground-up UWP apps? Here are a few reasons why PWA will become more prevalent and not just for Microsoft but Google and Apple too.

Who is behind PWA?

Ironically, Microsoft is not the biggest proponent of PWA – at least not yet. Google defined the phrase and criteria set forth for PWA in 2015. Alex Russell, a Google Chrome engineer, wrote what is considered ground zero for the PWA movement in an article called "Progressive Web Apps: Escaping Tabs Without Losing Our Soul". Google solidified the initiative in a dedicated page pushing the concept forward.

Currently, the Chrome browser is the only official browser that supports PWA, but Microsoft announced Edge is coming on board, too.

All of this may be surprising. After all, Google does not have an "app gap" problem like Microsoft, yet they are the ones pushing PWA. Microsoft also sees the benefit. Back in Microsoft Build 2016, Microsoft talked extensively about the long-term viability of "apps for everything" as being dated and beginning to fade. In the future, artificial intelligence, PWA, more powerful local hardware (e.g., your phone, or Windows cellular PC), cloud computing ("The Microsoft Edge") and ubiquitous 4G data connections will take over.

What is a PWA?

Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are more than just traditional "web wrappers," but not entirely native apps either. Web wrappers were just a web browser encased in a squared window. However, they lacked things like integration with the OS (e.g., notifications), synchronizing data in the background, and most importantly offline usage.

PWAs, mainly, fix all of that with apps that feel native but rely more heavily on the web. Much of that is thanks to Cache and Push APIs that make PWA more satisfying to use.

There are specific criteria set for what makes a PWA, and a lot of it has to do with the rise of multiple converging technologies, including:

• HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, and Service Workers
• The abundance of low-cost, affordable, and fast 4G LTE data
• Powerful processors that can render and load data

As defined by Google the criteria for a proper PWA include:

• Progressive - Work for every user, regardless of browser choice because they're built with progressive enhancement as a core tenet.
• Responsive - Fit any form factor: desktop, mobile, tablet, or forms yet to emerge.
• Connectivity independent - Service workers allow work offline, or on low-quality networks.
• App-like - Feel like an app to the user with app-style interactions and navigation.
• Fresh - Always up-to-date thanks to the service worker update process.
• Safe - Served via HTTPS to prevent snooping and ensure content hasn't been tampered with.
• Discoverable - Are identifiable as "applications" thanks to W3C manifests[6] and service worker registration scope allowing search engines to find them.
• Re-engageable - Make re-engagement easy through features like push notifications.
• Installable - Allow users to "keep" apps they find most useful on their home screen without the hassle of an app store.
• Linkable - Easily shared via a URL and do not require complex installation.

PWAs, in that sense, are thought of as hybrid web apps. If that sounds familiar, it is because Microsoft Desktop Bridge (Project Centennial) is also a hybrid system of classic Win32 programming and modern UWP APIs. Hybrid apps that mix and match feature sets are a popular topic these days and we'll be seeing more of it going forward.

Example of PWA (and how UWP makes it better)

One of the most prominent examples of a modern PWA is Twitter. If you navigate to mobile.twitter.com on your phone or even desktop web browser (doesn't matter which browser) you can experience what a PWA is like when it is just a website.

Now, take that site, pack it into a Microsoft APPX file (UWP) and list it in the Store and you have a new Twitter app that supports notifications and a native-like experience. Microsoft's UWP fills in the gaps of PWA with support for the notifications in the Action Center, Live Tiles, Cortana integration, Share targets and more.

Using web Service Workers and caching the "app" can receive live updates and even work offline.

While the PWA-UWP app can be updated at any time thanks to the Windows Store a lot of the content is dynamic meaning companies can make changes on the backend first cutting down time of delivery to customers. Moreover, due to the criteria noted above like support for HTTPS and the Store listing ("siloed apps") customers know that the app is safe.

Why PWA, anyway?

The question as to why we see a new push for PWA is complicated as there are three players involved: (1) The company or service (2) App developers (3) consumers. PWAs affect all of them in separate ways, not all good.

The simplest explanation for PWA for a company is money. A single professional developer could start at around $50,000 a year for a salary plus retention. Many large corporations with complex apps may have a "team" of developers pushing that cost into hundreds of thousands of dollars. While a good argument could be made that companies like Amazon, Yelp, or Spotify can "afford" such an expense, your local restaurant, car dealership, or flower shop cannot. PWAs bring a democratization of sorts to the app world for big players and small who now get a shot in an App Store while delivering a native-like app experience.

For developers, making a PWA is significantly easier than coding a native one from scratch. That's not necessarily great news, as it means companies may opt for a cheaper PWA rather than sophisticated native platform as web standards and technology improves.

For consumers, it is a bit mixed. PWAs can bring a pleasant experience (see Trello), but they likely won't match the look and feel of an authentic "native" app. At least not now. For many services, PWAs make sense, such as a flower delivery service, bus tickets, or a local restaurant. You won't be using these apps on a daily basis, nor do they require the particularly deep functionality of a native email client or messaging app.

Nonetheless, for consumers at least, some of that will change. We recently covered the UWP app Clatter, which is a messaging app that lets you connect to Skype, GroupMe, Google Hangouts, Slack, WhatsApp, and more all through web services in a single app. The cost to develop that app was likely extremely low, and the experience is not bad. That will only improve over time as web standards improve and expand.

Google, of course, also benefits. Since PWAs are treated like JavaScript sites that means when Google "crawls" the web those PWAs can show up for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. That's also good for publishers – like us – who "lose" web traffic by offering a native app.

Finally, Microsoft benefits because there are just more apps in its Store.

The app model is changing

I've mentioned on our podcast numerous times that the "make a native app for everything" model is not sustainable. The idea that in 2020 an app store from Apple or Google will have millions of apps creates a discoverability problem. Then there are the associated costs with native apps, which effectively blocks companies with small budgets from competing.

Services like Electron, which power apps like Twitch, Slack, Shopify, Discord, Github Desktop, Cryptocat, and more along with Google's PWA standards will push more unique, niche, and low-cost apps to consumers on all platforms. Cross-platform support with PWA and Electron are already its biggest selling points so that Android and iOS can make use of it too.

Microsoft may focus on desktops with UWP — here's why you should care

Microsoft is also betting big time on PWA with its UWP. Electron is already supported, which is why Slack exists in the Store. Next year, proper PWA support through Edge will happen too, which means even more apps.

While Microsoft's long-term goal is for proper, native UWP apps its ability to bridge into PWA and Electron benefits everyone in the consumer space. Just remember, these are not web wrappers, but a significant evolution of app design and implementation.

If Microsoft wants to get serious about competing with Google in the education market, it needs a version of Windows 10 that isn't just Windows 10 Pro with a virtual block on installing programs from outside the Store. Windows 10 S, while a nice idea, is not a true Chrome OS competitor. Microsoft needs a real, lightweight version of Windows 10 that removes the bloatware of Win32 and focuses primarily on being a web-first OS.

The beauty of Chrome OS is that it doesn't get in the way. It's a simple, straightforward experience that puts what you bought the thing for front and center: browsing the web. Microsoft's idea of a Chrome OS competitor is normal Windows with a block on installing non-Store apps, and while Windows 10 S is good for other reasons, it's not a viable Chrome OS competitor.

Windows 10 S Review

I think Microsoft needs a version of Windows 10 with a desktop environment that's true Universal Windows Platform (UWP)-only. That means no legacy Win32 programs, no classic Control Panel, and no ancient File Explorer. Microsoft needs a version of Windows 10 that's entirely modern while remaining familiar enough to be recognizable. Microsoft needs Windows 10 Mobile ... but without the Mobile part.

It wouldn't be for power users

I can already hear the power users in the comments ranting about why such a version of Windows 10 is a bad idea, but let me be clear here: This version of Windows 10 is not for you. It's for those in the education sector or casual users who do nothing but surf the internet.

In my life, I have bought or given Windows laptops to all kinds of people. Old people, young people, workaholics, casuals, you name it. While everyone's use case is different, I've noticed a trend amongst several of them; their use cases are using the web browser for accessing email, watching Netflix, and writing documents. These laptops often come with bloatware and extra crap that they're not ever going to use, killing performance, and it's overkill for a lot of people.

The fact of the matter is for a lot of people, Windows as a whole is overkill. Not everyone wants to customize every last setting available in the Control Panel. Not everyone wants to access the registry, manage connected domains or organize files in File Explorer. A lot of people just want to use the internet, and I think Microsoft needs a version of Windows 10 that gets out of the way and lets people do just that.

A version of Windows 10 that's true UWP-only, with a simple desktop experience that includes a taskbar, Start menu and windowed apps, is exactly what a lot of people need. Maybe not you or me, but people. Windows 10 S gets a lot right, but it's still the same old Windows under the hood. It still has the extra settings, functions, and capabilities that most people don't need.

As I showcased in my CShell video earlier this year, Continuum has been updated with windowed mode, which actually makes Continuum useful. Take that experience, build the hardware into a laptop rather than a phone, and you've got the exact scenario I'm imagining: A version of Windows 10 with a desktop experience that's UWP only, and runs on ARM-based laptops.

Edge needs to be better

Don't get me wrong, a true UWP-only version of Windows would come with its own problems. For example, UWP itself isn't exactly doing well when it comes to third-party apps, but again, a lot of these people just use the web browser on these kinds of devices. The only real problem with this is Microsoft Edge, which many would argue is still subpar compared to Chrome or Firefox.

While I personally disagree, I totally understand that argument. Microsoft needs to do more work to Edge before people will start taking it seriously, which is why a true UWP only version of Windows 10 today wouldn't work. Until Microsoft gets more extensions for Edge in the Store and improves Edge under the hood, the idea of a version of Windows 10 that puts the browser first falls flat. But Microsoft is serious about Edge, and I think Microsoft wants Edge to be the best browser out there.

And I'm not saying this version of Windows 10 should be installed on high-end machines. This would be a version of Windows 10 for Intel Atom or ARM-based devices that aren't all that powerful and are good at browsing the web or doing lightweight tasks. Too many times have I bought a sub-$300 laptop and found it to be incredibly sluggish thanks to Windows being so old and heavy, along with the added bloatware hardware makers like to pre-install. A UWP-only version of Windows 10 would improve the experience on devices like that dramatically.

What are your thoughts on such a version of Windows 10? Do you know anyone who would benefit from an OS like this? Let us know in the comments.

Microsoft initially introduced UWP Community Toolkit just over a year ago as a handy open-source resource for developing UWP apps. Now, after several smaller updates since launch, UWP Community Toolkit is moving to version 2.0 with the start of support for Microsoft's Fluent Design System and more.

The 2.0 release adds the necessary tools for developers to take advantage of new APIs in the Fall Creators Update. New and existing controls will also be updated over the coming months with support for the light, depth, material, motion and scale effects used in Fluent Design, Microsoft says. The sample app will be updated with a bit of Fluent Design as well to give developers something to tap for ideas.

In addition to the Fluent Design and API highlights, this release adds some new controls and updates others. From Microsoft:

• Added InAppNotification control – a control to show local notifications in app
• Added TextToolbar control – text editing control that enables easy rich text and Markdown formatting
• Updated Expander to support all orientations and added LayoutTranformControl from the WinRT XAML Toolkit
• Updated Menu to support underline characters, orientation and many other improvements

There are a whole lot more, smaller changes in the move to 2.0 to check out as well. For more, you can find the lengthy release notes at Microsoft.

UWP Community Toolkit on Github

The app is available on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile, though the mobile version seems to lack the ability to copy a character and doesn't have a dark mode option.

Functionally, the app isn't that different than the stock Character Map but it has some handy features and looks a lot better.

If you need to insert multiple different characters on your device, Character Map UWP makes it easier with a handy search bar and a touch- and mouse-friendly design. (UWP, of course, stands for Universal Windows Platform.)

As an added bonus, it's free.

See Character Map UWP in the Windows Store

Character Map UWP function

Character Map UWP is a straightforward app. It allows you to select a character in any font and copy and paste it to insert it into a document. You can also copy the XAML Code or Fonticon code or save a character as a PNG file. When saving a character as a PNG you can select the resolution, which is great if you're on screens with varying DPIs.

Characters aren't just limited to letters and punctuation. The app has everything from currencies from around the world to symbols such as the Windows logo. You can sort Character Map UWP by "All Fonts" or "Show Symbol Fonts Only," which makes it much easier to find what you're looking for.

A great example of symbols being available is under the "Hololens MDL2 Assets" font, where you have icons from throughout the Windows Store, such as the share icon, settings, icon, battery indicators and more. Character Map UWP makes it easy to insert these wherever you want.

You can search for any character or icon using its unicode, making it even easier to jump to an icon.

In terms of function, there isn't much more to it. Character Map UWP does a specific task but does it very well.

Character Map UWP design

In terms of function, Character Map UWP isn't that different than Microsoft's built-in Character Map. There are a few functional differences but the most notable changes are in the design. Character Map UWP uses a hamburger menu, has larger touch-friendly icons, allows you to jump to certain groups of fonts by clicking a letter and then you can jump to any grouping in the alphabetical listing. The app even has both light and dark themes. In comparison to the dated Character Map that comes stock on Windows, Character Map UWP is much more modern and attractive.

Summing things up

Character Map UWP is a bare bones app, but it is a better looking version of the stock Windows Character Map. It does the job well — and it looks good doing it.

See Character Map UWP in the Windows Store

Writing about technology is often a balancing act. Some people want general tech news, while others want deep dives. When it comes to software and OS development, as a non-programmer I often find myself in over my head. That's why UWP is such a steamy mess to talk about for the "prosumer."

Today, I'm going to chip away at this monolith of a topic.

Who is UWP even for?

Before I try to explain what Microsoft's software development platform is for Windows 10, let's just get this out of the way: The term "UWP" is not a consumer-facing one, it's for developers.

At no point should a customer walk into Best Buy and inquire with the sales clerk about what UWP apps a PC can run. In fact, a rule of thumb in technology is if you must explain something to someone the product probably already failed.

On Windows Central, however, we jump back and forth between consumer news and how-tos and more informative articles discussing Microsoft's technology, OS development, and general computing trends. In our reporting, we must talk about UWP to understand Windows 10. For non-pro consumers, however, it should be simpler.

'Universal' does not mean run-everywhere

On a technical level, UWP is Microsoft's extension of the Windows Runtime platform that leverages the C++, C#, VB.NET, and XAML coding languages. There are a few main ideas behind UWP, which include:

• Universal API toolkit.
• Responsive design and scaling in apps.
• Universal controls, styles, input, and interactions.
• Cloud, A.I., and cognitive services.
• Single Store for distribution.
• One Software Development Kit (SDK).

The confusing bit for our audience is the "universal" in "Universal Windows Platform." While the goal for UWP is to let developers share code between apps and utilize a broad swath of APIs, it does not necessarily mean that a UWP app is supposed to "run everywhere," such as on phones, PCs, Xbox, HoloLens, IoT devices.

Ideally, an app developer will write a native UWP app that just works across all Windows 10 devices, but sometimes that just doesn't make sense. For example, certain phone-only apps have little value on the desktop. Some UWP games could be too resource intensive for a phone, or the benefit of running a map app on your Xbox may not be self-evident (even if it is available, it's likely not used often).

The "universal" in UWP refers to the shared APIs and resources that developers have access to when writing an app, not the app's hardware destination. I can't stress this enough. Just because an app is only available on Xbox or can only be installed on Windows 10 Mobile does not mean it's not UWP or even "true UWP," which has no technical definition.

Windows Bridge apps are UWP too

To add to the confusion, Microsoft introduced Windows Bridges a few years back during its Build developer conference.

All you need to know is that an app that takes advantage of Windows Desktop Bridge (a.k.a. Project Centennial), Progressive Web Apps (Project Westminster) like LinkedIn, or Windows iOS Bridge (a.k.a. Project Islandwood) is a UWP app too.

Getting more technical, a Windows Bridge app is best thought of as a hybrid app. For instance, Adobe Photoshop Elements 15 and the new Spotify apps are classic Win32 desktop apps literally wrapped in a UWP appx file container.

It's not just the wrapper or installer that makes it UWP, but rather it is how a Desktop Bridge app can leverage Windows 10-only features like:

• Cortana.
• Live tiles.
• Action and Notification Center.
• Share targets.
• UWP background tasks.
• UWP XAML user experience.
• UWP app services e.g. cloud, A.I., and cognitive.
• Automatic updates, licensing, in-app purchases and all Windows Store features.

Therefore, desktop bridge apps are really hybrid-UWP ones. To the OS, however, they're just UWP since it is those features that are most prominent.

Those Desktop Bridge apps also behave like non-hybrid "native" UWP apps. They do not modify the system registry and are essentially sandboxed from the OS to ensure one-click uninstallation with no orphaned DLL files in the Windows System directory.

It might be easier to think of it as a slider. On the left, you have Win32 apps that use one or two UWP APIs, and on the right, you have apps that use only UWP APIs. An app that only uses UWP APIs are "true UWP" apps can run across different versions of Windows 10 with only one codebase.

An app that uses one or two UWP APIs is likely a Win32 app that taps into UWP features and functions. A developer is able to slowly convert its app to a true UWP app over time if it wants, slowly moving from left to right on that imaginary "UWP" slider.

The curious case of Spotify and UWPness

When talking about Microsoft's UWP, the Spotify example is a great one to highlight the weird choices that companies can make with its apps.

There are technically four Windows-type Spotify apps:

• Spotify Win32 .exe installer.
• Spotify for Windows Phone 8.1.
• Spotify for Windows 10 (UWP).
• Spotify for Xbox One (UWP).

The last two are the newest and are UWP even though they are vastly different. The Spotify app for Windows 10 is just the Win32 .exe desktop version repackaged using the Desktop Bridge. However, as noted above, bridge apps are still considered UWP.

The new Xbox One Spotify app is also UWP. Some have taken umbrage with the term since that app is not available for Windows 10 PCs or Mobile (although, technically, you could side-load it if it were signed).

So why did Spotify create so many apps instead of just one "native" UWP app that could run on Mobile, PC, and Xbox?

I have no idea.

But it doesn't matter. The UWP platform and its bridges are all about giving developers various routes to one place: the Windows Store. How they get there, or how many versions of the app exist, is inconsequential. Microsoft would prefer developers just to use the same code with a single app, but the company does not dictate such practice. In the end, it is up to developers to choose the best route.

For now, Spotify deemed a desktop bridge app for Windows 10 PCs as the best way to the Windows Store while a separate Xbox One app is the top solution for that platform.

UWP is a work in progress

The UWP is not finalized, nor will it ever be for developers. UWP is the future of Windows 10 app development that – someday – will supplant Win32. Nonetheless, Win32 has been around for 20 years, and you cannot recreate a developer platform in a year.

The point here is that UWP as is is far from perfect or feature complete. Thousands of APIs are needed to bridge Win32 app calls and features to the world of native UWP. Microsoft is prioritizing where it can, but it's like a wartime hospital where triaging the patients is necessary.

One reason some companies do not put their apps in the Windows Store – even with the desktop bridge – is today's tools do not make it possible. If your app uses a custom API or makes a weird system call that UWP does not yet support, well, the desktop bridge does not work.

Anything in the Windows Store is UWP

For now, the only definition that Microsoft and Windows watchers need for UWP is this: If the app is in the Windows Store it is technically UWP. If you want to get specific:

While Microsoft's intent is for a UWP to run across types of devices it's not all there just yet, nor is Microsoft forcing companies down that path.

The confusion here is also due to Microsoft, which has a lousy history of naming schemes. Many developers and even people at Microsoft have a tough time defining what UWP is and is not.

I can also add the caveat that websites can technically host UWP appx files, which would still make them UWP even if not in the Store. Although rare, these and apps that only target Windows Phone 8.x are the exceptions to the Windows Store rule.

Regular consumers have no idea what UWP is or is supposed to mean, nor should they. The customer experience is intended to be simple. Turn on a Windows 10 device, go to Windows Store, search, find, and install the app. How the app got there, or whether it's technically an Electron app or React Native or it leverages the UWP JavaScript container, is entirely inconsequential.

Microsoft is trying hard to make the Windows Store and the apps therein device-universal, but it's not quite there yet. UWP is a journey for Microsoft and it is just starting but all paths eventually lead to one destination: the Windows Store.

Further reading about UWP

Here are a few more deep dives and discussion articles about Windows 10, UWP, and the future of the platform:

• Can Project Centennial apps run on Windows 10 Mobile (and other questions answered)
• Why Windows 10 S, Project Centennial are critical to Continuum's success
• Microsoft may focus on desktops with UWP — here's why you should care
• If not phones, Microsoft needs another device category to ensure Windows UWP success
• How to convert desktop apps to Universal Windows Platform apps with Desktop Bridge
• Microsoft is NOT opening Xbox One to all UWP games ... but should it?

In a recent interview, he confirmed Microsoft's commitment to mobile on first-party hardware and reiterated Microsoft's vision of a phone that could be a desktop via Continuum:

My ongoing analysis is that Microsoft's anticipated Surface phone will be a telephony-enabled ultramobile PC. Focusing on its strengths, Microsoft is capitalizing on the smartphone's increasing adoption of tasks traditionally relegated to PCs but that also (in the case of iOS and Android) have OSes which cannot fully embrace the dominant Windows desktop environment that consumers and enterprises know.

Those phone-focused OSes and app models, though successful, are reaching their limits. Furthermore, the iterative advancements in these "slabs" is arguably a dead end in Apple's and Google's physical evolution of the smartphone.

Smartphones are dead

These tech giants maintain desktop OSes that have different development platforms and user experiences separate from their mobile OSes. This could be a hindrance to their advancement to the desktop, even in the case of Samsung's Galaxy S8 and DeX dock.

Finally, I anticipate Microsoft's context-sensitive ultimate mobile device will transcend the stagnant decade-old rectangular slab form factor. But to be a real PC it needs to run familiar PC apps, and that's where the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), Project Centennial and Windows S come in.

UWP is foundational to Continuum

Microsoft's UWP strategy is designed to enable app development across all Windows 10 devices and provide a unified user experience.

In the case of a Continuum-enabled ultramobile PC, it also potentially provides a consistent user experience as one device "becomes" many across different personal computing scenarios.

Whether connected via Continuum to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard as a desktop, or held in a user's hand, context-conforming hardware and software with a UI supported by CShell should provide a fluid experience.

Microsoft's ultimate mobile device "will not play by the other guy's smartphone rules," says Nadella. I believe he means it will be a telephony-enabled ultramobile Windows 10 PC with Continuum that Microsoft will position in the mobile, not smartphone, space.

This strategy potentially solves for the impasse Google and Apple have reached where smartphones cannot perform the full range of PC tasks. This will be a PC with full PC and smartphone capabilities and an evolving app ecosystem.

Microsoft's Project Centennial app bridge, which helps bring Win32 apps to UWP, and Windows S are essential to this strategy.

Windows 10 S breathes life into the UWP and paves path for Surface phone

Windows S, which allows only UWP apps and is aimed at the education sector (with hopes of eventual mass adoption), gives developers a reason to use Project Centennial. The hopes for a Continuum-enabled device providing a full and modern PC experience fall apart if developers aren't convinced.

Talking Project Centennial with Microsoft's Stefan Wick

Making Win32 into UWP apps is a process that begins with the Desktop App Convertor and Project Centennial. I explained this four-step process last year.

Microsoft's Project Centennial app bridge makes sense of Win32 apps on phone

To provide greater insight, Stefan Wick, Lead Program Manager for the Windows Developer Platform Team (who also set up the deck for the Centennial Presentation on the first day of Build) was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Jason Ward: Hi Stefan, I'd just like your feedback confirming or correcting [my] understanding that Win32 apps can be made into full UWP apps.

Stefan Wick: Hi Jason, This is exactly the purpose of the Desktop Bridge: provide developers a path to make full UWP apps from their existing Win32/NET investments.

The nice thing about it, is that developers can do so gradually. They start by converting their installer to a Universal Windows app package and get the immediate benefit of modern deployment on Windows 10, through Windows Store or other distribution channels of their choice.

Next, they can now modernize their existing apps with new Win10 APIs and features thanks [to] using UWP. Overtime, they can move all their code to UWP-compliant APIs and become a full UWP.

I've gotten a couple of negative responses challenging what I presented as the purpose of the Convertor and Centennial. Here's one of the comments (edited for length):

The Desktop Bridge is more than just the converter. The converter is the first step. It is correct that it doesn't change the APIs your app is calling, and the converter won't produce a full UWP (app) for you. But it sets you up for the gradual process of modernizing and migration to full UWP (calling only UWP-compliant APIs). In some cases, the full migration can be trivial, for example for Unity games, since all Unity APIs are already supported in UWP.

In other cases where apps have a lot of dependencies on non-compliant APIs, completing the migration is more complex. However, with every update of Windows 10, we are making this process easier for developers as we keep expanding the API surface supported in UWP (both for Win32 and NET APIs).

Right, I did understand that the Converter is the first step and makes the app available in the Store, but the subsequent steps of enhancing (modernizing) and migrating are what make the app a UWP app. So that I understand, in a practical sense the purpose is to bring Win32 apps to full UWP and as of today:

• Some APIs are UWP compliant, and apps that use those can undergo that complete process.
• Some APIs are not yet UWP compliant, and apps that use those APIs cannot yet undergo that complete process.
• If my understanding of No. 2 is correct, how long do you anticipate before UWP will support all APIs?

Regarding No. 2, if your app is calling a non-compliant APIs you can replace them with an equivalent UWP API and still go through the full process. The big example here is HWND-based UI APIs. Those are not supported in UWP, so you have to CoreWindow based UI.

So as of today, the process can be completed for any developer who wants to move his or her app from Win32 to UWP (as Microsoft broadens the base or surface of APIs covered with each update of Windows 10) because non-compliant APIs can be replaced?

Yes. In practice, depending on the app, the full journey can still be a considerable amount of work though. And UWP still has some gaps compared to Win32, where there is no equivalent API yet. With every new update of Windows 10, this will get better and easier though as we expand the API surface. It's a journey. The nice thing about the bridge is that they can start today and their app will be fully functional and shippable in the Store at all times along the way across the bridge, and they can go at their own pace.

There is no plan to support all legacy Win32 APIs in UWP. However, we strive for UWP to enable all relevant app scenarios - with modern, better APIs. Same example: HWND-based UI APIs are not something we will bring forward into UWP.

That's an interesting point. What other APIs will not be supported and what percentage of legacy Win32 APIs does that affect? Also, can you define what you mean by "relevant" app scenarios?

I don't think this can be expressed in percentage. UWP is a new app model; it is not supposed to be a superset of Win32. Win32 was invented in a time you bought software in a box and installed from disks. In today's world, Win32 has a lot of problems in terms of user confidence, privacy, battery life, etc. We don't want to bring those problems into UWP but want to provide the functionality that the user wants - and make sure the user is in control at the same time.

Win32 apps can run code at any point in time at full privileges without the user's intent, drain your battery, read your files, etc. UWP creates a much higher level of user confidence and control. Developers migrating to UWP will have to make changes to their code accordingly, to make their products better for their users.

How do developers find out if their Win32 program is one that will be supported?

Before starting a conversion, we point developers at the preparation guide on MSDN.

One more thing: My view is that Centennial making Win32 apps into UWP apps, (thus) modernizing the desktop experience, is important to Microsoft's vision for Continuum. Without a modern desktop experience, the "phone as desktop" loses its appeal. Any feedback on that?

That's another good aspect, yes.

Regarding Continuum, note that the app will need to do the full conversion in order to do Continuum. Just running the converter won't get you Continuum. This is because it needs to be able to run on the phone device. And then there is Project Rome - different, but somewhat related topic that we'll talk more about at BUILD.

Wrapping up

Microsoft's ultimate mobile device vision is a long-term journey. What Wick reiterated about the multi-step process of bringing Win32 apps to UWP and the current state of unsupported APIs reinforces my assertion.

Is early 2018 to soon for Surface phone?

The fact that Win32 apps must go through the full conversion process to UWP for Continuum to be effective is a critical point. Though Wick stresses it can be done at the developer's own pace, it's a time-consuming process for some apps.

A rumored Surface phone may not motivate developers to convert their Win32 apps to UWP but the launch of Windows 10 S might. Will developers embrace Project Centennial and the full UWP conversion process? If Microsoft's vision of a phone being a desktop is to become a reality, they'll have to.

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Continuum vs Motorola's Atrix

Continuum: This is not you father's smartphone

On May 2, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 S – its education play – and the new Surface Laptop, which is for higher education.

In talking to people on Twitter, reading comments, and following the internet zeitgeist, it's clear Microsoft muddled the delivery of the Surface Laptop. Despite that conflation, I don't think it matters, but I want to hit on a few points of confusion.

Windows 10 S is for schools (and eventually for consumers too)

Microsoft would love to ditch "classic" Win32 apps. If this is news to you, then you haven't been paying attention. The Universal Windows Platform (UWP), while still nascent, will be positioned to as a real development platform for PC, tablets, mobile, and even cross-platform in the next few years.

It's smart too. The same thing that makes Windows influential and far-reaching – installable .exe apps and games – is its Achilles Heel for consumers too. Viruses, PCs that slow down after years of usage, poor battery life, instability – all of this is often the result of consumers installing janky software off the internet. While such a system is fine for pros, it's bad for your parents (and kids).

Things are better with Windows 10 because of Windows Defender and SmartScreen, but the long-term solution is curated and screened apps that are properly siloed by the operating system. The system for that is UWP, where apps can be uninstalled with no remnants, leave the registry unsullied, are vetted by Microsoft, and distributed via the Windows Store.

Admittedly, UWP is not there yet as a Win32 replacement. There are missing APIs, Project Centennial can't handle all requests, etc. I expect Microsoft to have some announcements around this next week at Build 2017, but UWP is a multi-year project.

Microsoft may focus on desktops with UWP — here's why you should care

While Microsoft is rightly positioning Windows 10 S for schools, the long-term goal is that it becomes just Windows for consumers. Microsoft needs more high-profile apps though, like Spotify (Project Centennial, by the way) and third-party browsers. I think over the next several months we'll see an influx of those apps in the Store.

Why Windows 10 S is not Windows RT

Another bit of confusion I saw from people was conflating Windows RT from 2012 with Windows 10 S.

This contrast could not be any more wrong. Here are a few of the advances of Windows 10 S juxtaposed with Windows RT:

1. It runs on new x86/x64 hardware and not an old, slow ARM processor (e.g. Windows RT).
2. It can run Win32 applications through the Store (Project Centennial).
3. With one-click it can be upgraded to full Windows 10 Pro. (This option is always free for school licenses.)
4. The Store in 2017 is vastly improved from the Store in 2012.
5. Windows 10 S is not a tablet OS; it's a laptop and PC one.
6. It can handle Windows Mixed Reality.

Folks, those are not trivial details.

The ability of Windows 10 S to run on standard PC hardware, handle third-party drivers for peripherals, run "classic" Win32 applications, or just turn into "full" Windows 10 Pro is huge.

Why Windows 10 S on the Surface Laptop?

If there is one issue I had with the May 2 event, it was the odd transition from discussion K-12 education to college kids with the Surface Laptop.

Windows 10 S was positioned as a competitor to Google's Chrome OS in schools for 90 minutes. While Chrome OS was never mentioned, that was the subtext. From improvements to manageability with InTune for Education (huge news) to the focus on quick start times and long battery life, Windows 10 S is a viable alternative to Chrome OS.

For U.S. schools with existing licenses, they get Windows 10 S for free. Any machine with Windows 10 S can be upgraded for free to the Pro version of Windows at any time.

That's all fine, but suddenly the Surface Laptop is being positioned against Apple MacBook and MacBook Air and aimed at college kids who need an excellent computer for four years.

Anyone who has been on a college campus knows Apple dominates. Macs are everywhere and for those who think they're too expensive for college kids, well, visit your local university.

Windows 10 S though is suddenly being conflated as an OS for a $1,000 laptop. Lost in the message were the eight low-cost laptops announced by HP, Dell, Acer, and more that start at $189.

Those are the Chromebook competitors, not the Surface Laptop.

Windows 10 S does make some sense for college kids too. Heck, I'm fine with running just Windows Store apps right now. When I interact with "normies" a.k.a. people who don't read this site, their PC usage is very straightforward. It's 90 percent web browser, and the rest is a mix of a mail app, Microsoft Office, and some services e.g. Spotify, iTunes, Netflix.

While many PC users install Steam, "hack" their registry, or modify the shell with goofy Windows 7 Start Menus, those are the ten percenters.

I think Microsoft put Windows 10 S on the Surface Laptop for two main reasons:

1. Use your product – It would be weird if Microsoft boasted all those benefits to Windows 10 S like long battery life, fast resume times, and security only to turn around and not use it themselves for its new laptop.
2. Consumer transition to UWP - Microsoft must start somewhere with ditching Win32 for consumers. Why not release high-profile hardware that defaults to this new system? This transition away from Win32 is happening and will continue to happen. This positioning is one of those major milestones.

In the end, though, it does not matter if you're confused.

Surface Laptop is just Windows

When the Surface Laptop lands in people's laps on June 15 the experience will be familiar. It's just a fancy laptop, after all. They will turn it on, begin to use the Store and set up their accounts.

That moment when a non-PC enthusiast tries to install a Win32 app that is not from the Store they will get a simple message informing them of that limitation. They will then have the option to unlock Windows 10 Pro and continue as usual.

Total time to accomplish this feat: about 30 seconds. Full cost? $0 (through 2017; for schools it's always free).

While technically this is a barrier, the bar is so low here that I can't defend the position that it's troublesome. Compared to what Android users must agree to each time an app is installed this upgrade process is trivial.

So why even offer Windows 10 S? Simple, there will be a lot of people who don't unlock Pro. Fast forward six months or a year from now there will be even fewer upgrades. As the Windows Store populates with more Centennial Win32 apps the need to get apps outside the Store will diminish.

No doubt, this changeover is a process, but Microsoft must start somewhere. The important part is the company made it easy to escape those limitations. That was never the case with Windows RT.

If you are reading this, you are likely to unlock the Surface Laptop to Windows 10 Pro. That's fine. Some buyers won't and won't have to, and that's the main point.

For me, once Slack, Office, and Adobe Photoshop Elements came to the Store I could do my job with just Store apps. Games like Minecraft for Windows 10, Fallout Shelter and Pinball FX 2 for Windows 10 keep me entertained. Sling, Hulu, and Netflix cover my video-on-demand needs. I don't even need to install F.Lux anymore with Night Light.

Your usage might be different, but over the next few years, if Microsoft's plan goes accordingly, you too will be able to slowly give up non-Store apps. The ease of app updates, security, battery life, and preservation of your PC will be worth it.

And hey, if it's not and you want your "classic" Windows instead, well Microsoft will let you have your cake and eat it too.

The frustrated cries from disenchanted Windows phone fans are a familiar "sound" across the blogosphere. The deafening silence that is the apathy of disenfranchised Windows-on-phone developers is an even more impactful response to Microsoft's all too frequent breaks in mobile OS continuity.

Microsoft's Windows-on-phone strategy has been expressed as a number of mobile OSes over the years. In a trek toward OneCore, Windows-on-phone has transitioned from Pocket PC to Windows Mobile to Windows Phone and back to Windows Mobile again. Sadly, the time, financial and (often overlooked) emotional investments of developers in their apps were lost with some of those transitions. So too was some of the trust and faith these developers had in Microsoft.

Microsoft, some developers just aren't "feeling" you

A developer's inability to bring an app, and all the work it represented, from a canceled OS to the next iteration of Windows-on-phone undoubtedly frustrated and disappointed many developers. That frustration was compounded to intolerable levels when committed developers (particularly those who saw themselves as partnering with Microsoft) reinvested in Microsoft's vision only to be burned again – and again.

Consequently, the meager mobile market share that provides little to entice developers, subpar Windows Store performance and paltry opportunities to earn money are not the only reasons developers are not embracing Windows as passionately as they embrace the more vibrant iOS and Android ecosystems.

Those reasons, combined with many developer's negative experiences with Microsoft likely have led some to simply not love Windows. Moreover, it is probable that their experiences have "poisoned the waters," discouraging other developers from embracing Windows as well. This is a big problem. Even Microsoft recognizes that there is a fundamental human, emotional component that drives developers and consumers to a product:

Simply put, no amount of streamlining processes, improving tools, guarantees of app visibility or promises of high return on investments (ROI) can bypass the reality that developers (and consumers) are, in part, emotionally-compelled beings. An appeal to the intellect, particularly when there are emotional barriers erected, will not drive a developer to love or get excited about Windows.

As BUILD 2017 approaches, Microsoft should consider how it will appeal emotionally as well as intellectually to developers. How will it promote good feelings about the company, its products and ultimately woo developers to embrace Windows 10, the Universal Windows Platform and Microsoft's personal computing vision?

Framing the mobile message with full Windows 10

Each year at BUILD, Microsoft appeals to its developer community to embrace the company's evolving personal computing vision. Microsoft has many businesses and is a software company and a self-proclaimed cross-platform dev-box for Windows, iOS and Android.

Mobile, though a priority for Microsoft, is not reflected in a push of the current iteration of Windows-on-phone — Microsoft's tools like Azure of Xamarin get attention for iOS and Android aspirations. In anticipation of Windows 10 on ARM and cellular PCs, Microsoft has a greater focus on what will represent the next iteration of Windows-on-mobile.

Windows 10 on ARM: Microsoft's ultimate mobile device vision comes into focus

Since full Windows 10 on ARM is expected to power Microsoft's "ultimate mobile device" (i.e Surface phone / ultramobile PC), the Windows 10 story is the mobile story. In other words, we must realize that as Microsoft makes various appeals for developers to embrace developing for Windows 10 at BUILD 2017, those appeals by default, will also be appeals to develop for what Microsoft has coming next in the mobile space (and they should make this clear).

That's all well and good, but Microsoft has appealed to developers to build for Windows 10 in the past with less than stellar results.

Bridging the gap

In 2015 Microsoft introduced the app Bridges to help developers reuse their existing iOS, Web, Win32 or Android (now canceled) code to ultimately build UWP apps.

Microsoft's VP for Windows Developer Platform Kevin Gallo said:

Sadly, the Android Bridge was canceled, and we've seen little developer enthusiasm for the remaining bridges. So why are developers not excited about bringing their existing code to a broader audience on Windows? A mere one percent smartphone market share is one barrier.

But what of more successful mobile devices, like 2-in-1 tablets and convertible laptops? Perhaps their lack of constant connectivity (unlike smartphones) is a barrier. The greater mobility of always connected cellular PCs — laptops, tablets, and 2-in-1s — coming later this year may make those form factors a more enticing target for mobile app developers. In anticipation of cellular PCs and a possible ultramobile Surface PC with telephony, I've predicted Microsoft will aggressively push of the Project Centennial app bridge to bring Win32 apps to the UWP.

Microsofts' Project Centennial app bridge makes sense of Win32 apps on phone

If mobile app developers' reluctance to embrace the app bridges is due to the lack of a mobile platform to deliver those apps to consumers, then highly mobile cellular PCs (and a telephony-enabled ultramobile Surface PC) should address that concern at least in part. If the problem is a fundamental lack of love for Windows, Microsoft has much more work to do.

Discoverability, monetization and a billion devices? Promises, promises

Developers want users to discover and buy their apps, or they at least want to earn money via advertising associated with their apps. Microsoft's Partner Group Program Manager for the Universal Store, Todd Brix stated in a blog post last year:

Sadly Windows 10's growth has stalled just shy of 500 million devices, store engagement on PCs is lower than expected, and Window-based smartphones represent less than 1 percent of the market. All is not doom and gloom though, as some developers are still bringing apps to the platform and others are updating theirs. Still, the fact that many developers never embraced Microsoft's UWP vision and many who have are withdrawing their apps speaks volumes. This is particularly painful when considering just last year Brix's same blog post stated:

Another spokesperson continued:

Sadly, with Microsoft's apparent confidence-killing reversal on first-party phones and subsequent revision of its one billion Windows 10 device install target, the potential for discoverability and monetization dropped dramatically. Thus, Microsoft's efforts to improve monetization now begin to ring hollow for many developers.

Developers who bought into Microsoft's vision may feel more comfortable using Microsoft's tools to develop for the more widely accepted platforms where opportunities for discoverability and monetization (though still very slim in crowded apps stores) are more likely than on Windows. That's not an entirely bad thing though.

Xamarin: Then there was one

Microsoft's acquisition of Xamarin last year presents an opportunity for the company to offer developers a tool to develop for multiple platforms simultaneously. Thus, developers inclined to use Microsoft's development tools to target iOS and Android could potentially be won to using Xamarin to reach Windows as well. Microsoft shared:

Such a move could represent an ideological shift where developers will see "mobile" as a single target, rather than three distinct platforms from which Windows is often omitted as a target for app development. Maybe.

Windows phone isn't dead part VI: App gap Microsoft has a platform for that

Time to come clean

The frequent breaks in mobile OS continuity, the failure of the Store to deliver on promised activity and discoverability opportunities; the diminished opportunities for monetization and the major shortfall in Windows 10 device growth among other challenges undoubtedly puts a sour taste in many developers mouths toward Microsoft and developing for Windows.

As BUILD 2017 approaches, Microsoft should be thinking about how it will appeal to developers on an emotional level to get past these barriers. Microsoft prides itself on the premise that it is a "do more" company that provides the tools to help individuals and companies do more.

Microsoft's "do more" vision of quantum computing

Satya Nadella talks about Microsoft's "do more" vision.

In the past, that philosophy has been the current that has driven many of BUILD's keynotes and presentations. These keynotes conveyed how great the company's tools are and how they would help developers meet their objectives. The tone from Microsoft to attendees has been a, "you need us" or at least a "you're better with us," message.

Microsoft's poor app ecosystem and precarious position in mobile states the contrary, however. Microsoft needs developers. And for the reasons I've shared many developers just don't love developing for Windows. This has been and will be an unaddressed elephant in the room at BUILD. Microsoft needs to openly acknowledge this problem and its role in why it exists.

Reconciliation and a new beginning?

While Microsoft's missteps have left many developers smarting, it's the lack of acknowledgement of these mistakes that hurts more. Simply "being nice" (like Microsoft with its first-ever Windows Developers Award) and brushing over past offenses hasn't helped to significantly heal the open wounds.

Microsoft can begin connecting with developers emotionally if it initiates its communication at BUILD 2017 with an acknowledgment of how some of the company's actions and decisions negatively impacted some developers. An apology, a promise to set things right, and a vision for the future — both far and near.

Furthermore, the underlying current driving the event should be one that acknowledges the value of the developer community and how much Microsoft needs them rather than how much developers can benefit from Microsoft's tools. Microsoft's innovations can easily be framed within a context of how much Microsoft values the contributions of and partnerships with developers who embrace its vision.

When an offense isn't acknowledged, the trust is shaken. Though there are no guarantees the past won't repeat itself, Microsoft's acknowledgment of how its actions negatively affected many developers can be the beginning of rebuilding the trust needed to get them to love Windows.

And, of course, getting developers to love Windows is the goal.

I recently argued that Microsoft needs to come clean on its smartphone ambitions – if it has any. Conflating its "commitment to mobile" with all laptops, tablets, and to competitors' smartphone platforms will not do. While I have my biases – yes, I enjoy using Windows 10 Mobile – my call was not only because I want a new Windows phone.

Instead, that analysis was really about Windows 10 and UWP as a platform. Without a smartphone OS, it is not clear how Microsoft will grow Windows 10 adoption. And I find that very concerning.

If not smartphones, then what?

On April 3, StatCounter claimed that based on its data Android use surpassed Windows usage across desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile combined. StatCounter's numbers are subject to debate, but the overall trend based on browser use is not improbable.

Smartphones are the now dominant computing platform. While "real" PCs remain vital for enterprises, professionals, and gamers, the best computers for consumers fit in their pockets.

Currently, Microsoft sees UWP as an app platform for traditional PCs, laptops, tablets, Xbox, mixed reality (MR), Internet of Things (IoT), wearables, and phones. It's an ambitious goal. Developers can write an app once and send it to the device where it makes the most sense. Microsoft creates software "bridges" (such as Project Centennial) so developers can bring apps from and to other platforms.

The problem with that strategy is that the only popular category with significant mass adoption is smartphones, which is the weakest segment for Microsoft. Let's assume the company is finished with the smartphone category. The growth path for UWP is less obvious.

MR is years from mass adoption, UWP on Xbox is barely a thing (is anyone using those third-party apps?), and I already covered traditional PCs.

Without a play for smartphones, I have no idea how Windows 10 grows beyond 500 million users. I don't see how Microsoft will continue to attract developers to make UWP apps. Additional laptop and Surface sales will drive awareness and some adoption, but there won't be hundreds of millions of new PC owners soon (or likely ever).

I understand MR, IoT, and even wearables are nascent categories and, in some ways, Microsoft is positioned to dominate at least one of those (MR). But in the consumer space Google, Apple, and Amazon are beating the company everywhere else. Whether it is the "smart home" voice assistants, watches, or phones, Microsoft is behind or nonexistent.

On desktop, the web browser still dominates instead of UWP apps. UWP begins to make more sense as the display shrinks. After all, the very concept of "apps" in the modern sense begins with phones. Even I don't use many UWP apps on the Surface Studio. Give me a laptop, and my usage of UWP goes up. Put me on a smartphone, and suddenly I loathe using a web browser, and it's all about the apps. It is common sense.

While UWP is a noble paradigm, the most significant market for it is the one Microsoft has less than one percent of (and is shrinking fast): phones.

Apple pushed nearly 80 million iPhones just last year, and it has now sold more than one billion in total, according to research from Gartner. That's impressive because Apple has only 17.9 percent of the smartphone market with Android making up the other 82 percent. That's more than 300 million Android smartphones in just one year.

That's a lot of apps, as well as a lot of opportunity for developers. And it does nothing for the UWP platform or Windows 10.

This is about developers (developers, developers!)

Microsoft's conundrum with mobile is a serious one, and it's not just because smartphones are chic. The future of Windows 10 and UWP needs an area of rapid and sustained growth, not only for adoption of the OS but for monetary and market incentive for developers to want to make UWP apps.

I have said Microsoft needs to continue what it has been doing: reinventing device categories. Every Surface device so far has rethought the concept of computing. The Surface Studio is a brilliant re-take on the desktop space. Surface Pro and Surface Book popularized digital inking and 2-in-1s. Even HoloLens is setting the foundation for MR and holographic computing.

Microsoft must have a mobile strategy in place for the Windows ecosystem to be sustainable.

What I find most troublesome is not the unending anticipation for new hardware from Microsoft. Instead, it's the feeling that the company doesn't have a plan. In recent months, no one I have spoken to at Microsoft — on or off the record — has given me confidence that "the next big thing" is almost here. In fact, my sense is that there's chaos behind the scenes when it comes to smartphones and mobile.

In 2015, Chris Capossela, the chief marketing officer (CMO) at Microsoft, referred to the company's mobile strategy as "massively retrenched". I was willing to cut them some slack on that idea. Taking a year or two to lay low while you put your "A-Team" on new hardware and build out the OS seemed like the right approach. From Capossela:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was on the same page as Capossela and noted that if its partners did not make Windows phones, Microsoft would. In July 2015, Nadella told All About Microsoft's Mary Jo Foley this:

Those three smartphone segments were enterprise, budget, and flagship. In 2017, the "operational details" are as clear as mud, and there is no budget and no flagship phones in sight.

Since Microsoft's OEM partners have not picked up the slack (and you can't blame them), Microsoft should be fixing this problem. Quoting Nadella again:

The world is waiting.

Going back to UWP and Windows 10 Nadella said this about being "path dependent:"

While that plan sounded plausible in 2015, two years later it feels underwhelming. That alleged "billion" never materialized, and there is no path to get there, at least that we know of. If UWP needs critical mass, Microsoft obviously needs a way to achieve that.

At a time when Microsoft should have been putting all its resources into the fastest growing category for computing, the company instead abandoned it. This problem is not just bad for Windows phone fans, it's bad for Windows 10, UWP and Microsoft's consumer future.

The big question is not whether Microsoft has a solution to this problem. It is whether Microsoft even knows it has one. I'm not confident that's the case. And that's another problem.

If Microsoft truly wants the Windows Store to be anything more than a vanity project in the coming years, it needs to outline the store's value beyond the desktop screen sooner rather than later.

Microsoft is proving to be a company that has amazing ideas and headline-worthy demos, while being consistently bad at bringing them to market. Now that Samsung has trounced Windows 10 Mobile to the mainstreaming of Continuum with DeX, and the arrival of the "Microsoft Edition" Samsung Galaxy S8 in Microsoft Stores, Redmond is effectively telling us that Windows 10 Mobile has no business even existing.

But here's the thing: For the Windows Store to be anything more than an extra hoop to access services available on the desktop web, UWP needs a mobile endpoint. Otherwise, UWP might as well be thrown onto the scrapheap along with Windows 10 Mobile.

Waiting for a paradigm shift is folly

Yes, I know UWP will support future paradigms, such as Windows Mixed Reality, but Microsoft hasn't given us much reason to think that it can beat Apple or Google to the mainstreaming of the technology first. To both developers and users, the technology doesn't matter as much as the ecosystem. So far, augmented reality's biggest app is Pokémon Go, which we all know isn't (and probably won't ever be) available on Windows 10.

HoloLens was unveiled back in 2015. It's available at a premium for developers at the moment, with third-party consumer solutions on the way. Microsoft recently announced that Windows Mixed Reality sports a "whopping" 150 apps so far, which I'd argue isn't particularly impressive considering UWP apps are supposed to be platform agnostic. What's taking so long?

It's slightly hyperbolic of me to write off Windows Mixed Reality as an endpoint with UWP, but with Windows 10 Mobile's slow demise, the Windows division has told developers that it's a company that throws in the towel. If Microsoft has given up on its mobile endpoint, who's to say it won't give up on Mixed Reality, too? Whether that's a fair point to make or not, it's the signal Microsoft is giving developers, consumers, and the media. Apple and Google have the mobile ecosystem to back up any paradigm shift in this space, while UWP languishes at the back, largely ignored and unaccounted for.

We can only speculate about the value of UWP holograms as an entity in the future, but at least for the long-term foreseeable future, PCs and smartphones are right now and firmly here to stay. And every day, the march of technology makes Windows on desktop PCs less and less important. The way Microsoft has complacently opted to "retrench" and stop investing in its own ecosystem exudes a lack of foresight on the same scale as Steve Ballmer's snobbery towards the first iPhone.

Microsoft is clearly waiting for the next paradigm shift before proposing another jaunt in the mobile space, but when that paradigm shift comes, nobody will care if the ecosystem isn't there to back it up.

UWP on desktop is weak

As much as I personally enjoy them, I'm willing to bet that it's only a very small percentage of Windows 10's hundreds of millions of reported users that know what a "live tile" is, let alone UWP's other unique features. Microsoft isn't actively marketing the Windows Store's intrinsic value on the desktop, and maybe, that's simply because it doesn't have a great deal of value.

As a fan of live tiles, actionable notifications and the like, UWP apps on the desktop are far from a necessary, "killer" feature, which speaks to why the Store has seen very little traction despite the OS's install base. There's certainly no real evidence that the Windows 10 Store is seeing a huge amount of usage.

If the hundreds of millions of reported Windows 10 users were actively downloading and using UWP apps, surely we'd see far more big-ticket items in the Store than we have so far. While the inclusion is welcome, it speaks volumes that Facebook couldn't be bothered to provide a native solution for its services, giving us clunky OSMeta iOS ports that don't even make use of UWP's unique features. And even then, Facebook.com provides a better experience on a laptop than its app.

A huge amount of desktop UWP apps in the Windows 10 Store needn't exist. Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, Slack, YouTube, Twitter, and even Microsoft's own apps like OneNote and Groove Music, either have websites, more feature-rich Win32 desktop versions, or they face vicious competition from rival, web-based services. Where UWP apps might struggle for relevance with the web and Win32 legacy programs on the desktop, they gain a big edge on mobile touch devices.

UWP apps shine brightest on mobile

I'm by no means suggesting UWP apps on mobile would help Windows 10 Mobile compete with iOS and Android directly, even with new hardware and a marketing campaign, but at least nurturing that mobile ecosystem would've helped Microsoft prepare for the future in ways that the desktop can't.

The best desktop apps in the Windows Store are generally third-party solutions for services that are available, fully-featured, on the web. For example, Readit for Reddit and MyTube! For YouTube. The same is true for first-party apps. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter generally have better experiences on the web than they do in their respective UWP apps, making them an unnecessary, often debilitating hoop to jump through for many. Most modern TVs come with video apps and media casting baked in, so it's not even like you need a laptop or an Xbox One for many of those features anymore. It's nice that we can get UWP apps on Xbox One, but the focus there is always going to be on games, especially now that the removal of Snap Mode has gutted its multi-tasking capabilities.

UWP apps on the desktop compete with the web, and in that endeavor, they will never win the fight. Not every service has a website, but as "universal" as UWP aims to be, on a desktop, it'll never be as universal or as up to date as a website can be. Websites can be designed to function on virtually every modern platform, with little difference between the major web browsers. Instagram might not allow you to upload from a browser, but there's no real reason it couldn't include this feature down the line, making the Windows 10 apps, once again, pointless.

So far, UWP apps primarily shine on small, touch devices, where web solutions often struggle. Readit, for example, is far better than Reddit's website when browsing on a phone, allowing you to swipe through posts with ease. Getting notifications on a phone, when you're more likely to be mobile is handier than on a desktop, where they're more likely to be a distraction from a more intensive task.

There are multitudinous reasons why mobile is a more powerful endpoint than desktop for UWP apps, even when you ignore the install base. Apps on your phone command more of your attention than the multi-task heavy, distraction-laden desktop. Solutions on the phone don't compete with the web to the same extent nor do they compete with the millions of legacy Win32 apps that Microsoft doesn't see a shred of revenue from. If desktop was a truly good environment for these services, the likes of Instagram and Snapchat would have seen their birth on PC, rather than iPhone. Mobile is crushing desktop, and there's nothing Windows 10 can do to stop it.

When it comes to personal, leisurely computing, increasingly mobility is king, and Microsoft knows it. The company went as far as to put "mobile first" in its contemporary motto. So why does the company seem so willing to throw in the towel in this paradigm, which is steadily chomping Windows' market share?

Desktop is becoming obsolete

Despite some amazing hardware from the likes of Dell, HP, Razer and Microsoft's Surface line, the PC market is still in decline, and mobile is to blame. The days of the "family PC" are over, with more and more consumers realizing that they don't need a home PC at all anymore. A high-end smartphone not only gives you access to all the most important services, but it also contains all the latest social fads and entertainment.

Android might have a whole host of its own problems, but the ecosystem obliterates Windows right now, and the market share says it all. Android has overtaken Windows for the first time as the primary method for accessing the web.

The only thing a PC can do better than a phone, right now, is high-end professional tasks, such as Adobe CC, core PC gaming, and word processing. However, as mobile chips become increasingly powerful, even these features will begin to migrate away from Windows if Microsoft continues to move as slow as it has been.

It's not likely that we'll see the "Android version" of Steam running Battlefield 8 on a DeX-powered Samsung display any time soon, but it's an increasingly possible scenario, especially when you factor in Thunderbolt-powered external hardware for the extra juice. I'm simplifying the complexities, of course, but it's designed to illustrate the fact that Microsoft's desktop dominance is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Simply put, Microsoft needs to wake up. The idea that Microsoft incorrectly expected Windows 10 to be on a billion devices by now alludes to the fact that the company doesn't even realize how rapidly Windows' significance is fading away.

Windows 10 on ARM might not be enough

Microsoft's plan seems to be focused on bringing full Windows to the mobile space. CShell, combined with Windows 10 on ARM, will make the OS more friendly on smaller screens, mimicking a Windows 10 Mobile-like touch experience. These are great reasons to keep the faith in the idea of Windows mobility, and I've previously outlined my reasons for retaining Windows 10 Mobile as my daily driver before. However, if Build 2017 fails to address these concerns, it could prove to become Windows 10's event horizon for any aspirations to get UWP into the mobile space.

Regarding CShell, Surface Phone, and Windows 10 on ARM cellular PCs, all we have right now are leaks and rumors to go on. Like the Surface Mini, Project Astoria, and various other projects Microsoft has failed to see through to completion, these features might never even see a public release.

Even if Microsoft succeeds in bringing full Windows 10 to a new generation of Snapdragon-powered ultramobile cellular PCs, what guarantee is there for devs and consumers that the company won't abandon these efforts too, as it has with Windows 10 Mobile?

The way Microsoft has handled the slow, miserable death of Windows 10 Mobile is a case study in bad decision making. On the one hand, the company is still shipping modest updates to the OS, throwing existing users a lifeline, while actively denying the platform's existence with the other.

Despite OS updates, it's obvious that Windows 10 Mobile has no future. Microsoft just refuses to admit it. The Windows 10 Mobile diehards left (including myself) exist only as guinea pigs for the Windows Insider program, while Microsoft strips all mention of Windows phones from its stores and marketing efforts. They have very effectively alienated what fans the platform had while convincing the developer community that the company isn't serious about UWP as a vehicle for cross-device applications. What good is UWP if you're using an Android or iOS phone alongside a Windows PC? I know from my own trips to Redmond that Windows 10 Mobile users are as rare there as anywhere else in the world.

If Microsoft wants Windows to survive, it can't afford to be this unashamedly complacent about UWP's mobile endpoint, because it's the mobile component that makes UWP a viable proposition. Things like Project Rome, the adoption of futuristic and new highly-mobile paradigms, session handoffs between devices, the synchronicity of login details, cross-platform notifications, and, dare I say Continuum. These are the features that make UWP an awesome platform, not the fact that I can get live tiles in my laptop's Start menu. Microsoft should be nurturing the ecosystem for the future, not retrenching.

It feels almost as if Microsoft is waiting for mobile to come to Windows rather than the other way around. But this is the entirely wrong approach. It's iOS and Android with the more exciting ecosystems, while Windows languishes shackled to its legacy Win32 apps that are atrocious to use on small screen devices, that consumers want to use, rather than have to use, for work and school.

Windows fans often laugh at devices like the iPad Pro, but iOS is vastly ahead of UWP as an adaptive ecosystem purely by the merits of its app breadth alone. UWP might have the feature set needed for apps to roam between form factors, but what happens if (and when) Apple gets it right? Microsoft won't be able to respond because it didn't work hard enough to make the Windows 10 ecosystem exciting.

For UWP, it might be too late

Microsoft shouldn't have waited for a Surface Phone messiah, nor should it be waiting for Windows 10 on ARM with CShell to be complete. It should never have stopped making and marketing contemporary mobile devices, even with the app and share gap, if for no reason other than to build confidence and let the world know that it was still in the game. If, indeed, it is the plan for Windows as a Service to succeed.

From an outside perspective, Microsoft's strategy for mobility seems to rest somewhere between incompetence and "we have no idea what we're doing." The company has the opportunity to set the record straight at Build 2017, but the huge bout of radio silence has damaged its ability to command any authority in this space.

Microsoft's vague non-committal comments, the odd leaks we get, and Windows 10 Mobile Fast ring updates simply aren't enough to convince developers, consumers, or the wider tech media, that those scalable UWP apps have more value than Win32 or web solutions. And without confidence in UWP, the entire proposition falls apart. Windows as a Service will flop along with it.

I'm by no means suggesting that Windows 10 Mobile ever had a chance to take on Android and iOS, but sticking it out with Windows 10 Mobile would have shown confidence that Microsoft was willing to persevere in new areas, rather than give up, while it waits for the next big thing.

Windows 10 Mobile should have been an ecosystem-nurturing bridge to the next paradigm shift, rather than another fruitless reboot.

Related reading:

• Windows Mobile and the enterprise: The key to ecosystem success
• Is Microsoft passionate about its mobile strategy?

The transient nature of personal computing, from mobile to sedentary to consumption and to productivity settings, has made personal computing very complex. Gone are the days where all of our computing occurred on a single device, such as a Windows PC, Mac or even a smartphone.

To accommodate our "transient computing" behavior, the "PC" (a personal device that handles our computing needs) is evolving into a family of context-relevant hardware on which computing occurs across devices, and our digital experiences occur increasingly within an intelligent cloud.

There are some who point to a single form factor as the evolved or redefined PC. I think the mobility of our digital experiences paints a much larger and more complex picture of what the PC is and will become.

Microsoft is instrumental in redefining the PC

I recently wrote, that "Microsoft – not Apple – is redefining the modern PC." In that piece, I challenged respected writer Walt Mossberg's analysis that Apple is best positioned to redefine the PC. He believes an ARM-based laptop running only iOS apps will redefine the PC. From Mossberg:

I thought his view lacked the perspective of the evolving PC form factors beyond the laptop and traditional PC, as well as the platforms such as Microsoft Cloud, Windows Mixed-Reality and the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), that are driving innovation in new PC experiences across the industry.

Microsoft's mobility-of-experiences focus

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has made a point of emphasizing his vision of the mobility of a user's experiences. He stresses that mobility is not about the mobility of a given device, but is about the mobility of a user's digital experiences across devices. This is an important point to acknowledge in this modern age of personal computing, where many consumers use multiple devices such as smartphones, tablets, PCs and laptops as portals to their digital content.

As much of that digital content exists in the cloud, a single device, even a "primary computing" device, or "PC," such as a smartphone, begins to fade into the background, and the current and future personal computing landscape comes into view.

That is, as the intelligent cloud continues its integration into our lives as the personal computing platform, we will become more aware of the ephemeral existence of, our access to and our ability to manipulate, our digital content wherever and whenever, on context-relevant hardware, and we'll be less focused on a single device.

Microsoft's cloud focus, UWP and the Windows 10 device family create a foundation and ecosystem for this personal computing landscape. Mossberg's vision of iOS apps on a laptop seems like a short-sighted goal by comparison.

Microsoft is solidifying its vision, Apple has not presented iOS on a laptop

If Microsoft had not already redefined the PC with the Windows 10 device family (including Surface and HoloLens), the UWP, Continuum and a host of PC partners who have brought millions of Windows 10 laptops and 2-in-1s (that run mobile apps) to consumers over the last two years, I might be inclined to agree with Mossberg. If industries, businesses, and entities such as NASA and the military were not adopting HoloLens, a wearable Windows 10 PC, I again might be inclined to agree with Mossberg. If Windows Mixed-Reality (formerly Windows Holographic) wasn't powering much of the industry's virtual, augmented and mixed-reality personal computing endeavors, well ... I think you get my point.

Personal computers and personal computing take many forms and are broadly and deeply represented in our industries, lives, businesses and cutting-edge areas that push the boundaries of innovation.

The intelligent cloud, where Microsoft ranks second only to Amazon, powers computing for both large enterprises and is the unifying thread for the consumer's digital experiences. Here I'll address these instrumental agents to the PCs evolution, which are profoundly more relevant than a copy-cat move of putting a mobile OS and mobile apps on a laptop form factor.

Before we get there, since Mossberg's analysis was founded on iOS's and Android's dominant mobile ecosystems and Microsoft's consumer failure of the same, let's review my previous argument and begin there. (If you read my last piece you can skip the next section.)

Windows 10 Mobile is irrelevant, but Microsoft still drives the shift

Mossberg asserts that Microsoft's mobile app ecosystem lacks the critical mass to propel a mass adoption of a traditional productivity form factor, a laptop, that runs mobile apps. With that, I must agree, at least in the sense that Windows on phone (and the companion app ecosystem), which now has less than one percent share, has been unsuccessful.

But Windows 10, because of the UWP and universal apps, is just as valid a "mobile" OS as Android and iOS, though (sadly) it is less relevant on a pocketable form-factor.

Android and iOS are important from Mossberg's perspective because they are the primary mobile platforms that consumers use. And bringing mobile platforms and their associated apps to a productivity-focused clam-shell form factor, he asserts, is the direction in which the PC is evolving. It is, and it has, but it's not waiting on Apple.

Mobile apps (as part of an OS that fit a productivity-focused desktop context) are what Microsoft's UWP, which is supported by context-conforming universal Windows apps, accomplishes. These apps fit mobile, desktop and even mixed-reality personal computing environments.

As such, part of Microsoft's vision for the "redefined" PC has been rolling out for nearly two years, and Windows 10-based 2-in-1s and laptops have been embraced by consumers and PC manufacturers.

Mossberg is right ... and wrong

You see, Mossberg's shift is happening. But it is not waiting for an uncertain move by Apple to make iOS and iOS apps fully compatible with a keyboard-and-mouse productivity scenario, akin to what Windows 10 touch-enabled 2-in-1s and laptops provide.

Nor has it been dependent on a mobile app ecosystem to promote mass adoption of the form factor running mobile apps. (See my previous piece for a major caveat). It is being propelled by Windows 10 PCs and Microsoft's OEM partners that have been seeding the market with the type of touch-enabled clam-shell devices that have mobile apps, that Mossberg asserts iOS would be the transformative agent in promoting to the masses.

Windows 10's effects on transforming the PC go much further than 2-in-1s and laptops, however.

The ties that bind

A recent Cntrl-Walt-Delete podcast featured the following statement: "This week Walt [Mossberg] and Nilay discuss how they use their tablets, laptops and phones and how there's something missing linking those gadgets."

Though Microsoft has not yet optimally implemented its intelligent cloud, Windows 10, UWP and Windows 10 device family strategy, I believe it is or at least best represents the gadget-connecting link for which Walt, and his co-host, The Verge's Nilay Patel are searching for. Microsoft's platform approach not only has the goal of unifying a user's digital experiences across Windows 10 devices, but Redmond is also incorporating iOS and Android in its mobility-of-experiences vision.

Microsoft is tying Android, and to a lesser extent (due to its closed nature) iOS, into its Windows ecosystem. Through Windows 10 and cloud computing, Microsoft is managing users' digital experiences across devices and making the idea of a personal computer, as in a single device responsible for all or most of our computing, less relevant.

This is the area where I believe Microsoft has the greatest advantage over Apple in the modern computing landscape.

The Windows 10 device family is PCs redefined

The combination of Microsoft's UWP with cloud computing ideally makes the mobility of a user's experience far more efficient than focusing on a single form factor.

The UWP and digital experiences managed by the cloud give users a common UI and the same app experience across PCs, phones, 2-in-1s and HoloLens. Even Xbox is sharing more in common with the other devices in the Windows 10 device family. This commonality of a shared experience will apply to even new devices that join the Windows 10 family.

Microsoft's investments in category-defining devices have made its technologies the platform for the modern age of personal computing that is less tied to a single device. I believe Microsoft's impact on the evolution of the PC, will continue in line with a cloud-based experience that carries user's experiences across multiple computing devices (personal computers) based on a user's context.

Furthermore, I believe personal computing will in time include ambient computing. Ambient computing is a term I use to define a context where mixed-reality glasses and goggles will be used to augment a user's perception enabling him to perceive and interact with a digital plane. This digital plane will be created by an IoT saturated environment in the home, business and public settings. The video below provides a visual of such a scenario:

How Microsoft's mixed reality strategy may augment its Home Hub and IoT visions

PC future is bigger than a laptop with mobile apps

Yes, the PC is evolving, and I believe Microsoft's investments in the UWP, the cloud and mixed-reality better position it to impact that evolution far more than what Apple may offer. We're moving into a personal computing future where multiple devices in our lives will act as "PCs" at different times and in different contexts, while the cloud maintains the consistency of our experiences.

We're entering a future where mixed-reality, in which Microsoft not only leads but which also provides a platform for the industry, will define new ways for users to interact with their digital experiences.

I am confident that Mossberg sees personal computing and the evolution of the PC as something beyond the laptop with mobile apps he described (and that Microsoft has already achieved). His piece, admittedly, was addressing a small portion of a much larger reality. The breadth of computing is far broader and is becoming increasingly more complicated than a user in a stationary position interacting with a single device.

It is an experience that we are "submerged" in even now. The digital world engulfs us and our smartphones and PCs act as our vehicles to navigate and windows to perceive that increasingly ambient digital environment. Mixed-reality glasses and goggles, based on HoloLens tech, will eventually be added to the repertoire of other PCs we use and will make navigating that digital plane even more natural.

Microsoft already has mobile apps on a laptop

Microsoft already has UWP mobile apps on a laptop. Mossberg hopes Apple will get there. While Microsoft nurtures and improves that achievement it is also pioneering the next steps in the PC's evolution. Mixed reality, Windows 10 on ARM via cellular PCs, and potentially an ultramobile PC with full Windows 10, Cshell and telephony can be seen on the horizon.

It will be interesting to see if Microsoft introduces an intersection of mixed-reality glasses with an ultramobile Continuum- and telephony-enabled Surface running full Windows and Win32 and Store apps.

A synergy of those two modern PC modalities would give users two devices that work in concert as a tablet, full PC (via Continuum), phone and mixed-reality personal computer.

That sounds almost like science-fiction, I know, but so did the phone-iPod-internet device former Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced as the iPhone ten years ago. Apple combined available technology and changed the personal computing landscape.

As the pioneer of a unified platform, holographic computing and context sensitive hardware and software, and a leader in intelligent cloud computing, Microsoft can do the same.

Advice for Apple

If Apple, within the current personal computing landscape defined by the mobility-of-experiences and context-relevant hardware, puts iOS on a laptop and dubs it a PC redefined, it could potentially seal its reputation as no longer being an innovator. Following that vision would be akin to Apple's mistake of adding a keyboard to the iPad Pro and dubbing it the equivalent of a Windows PC.

Microsoft's personal computing vision, though imperfect and not always optimally executed, embraces and provides the tools for the current and future personal computing landscape.

Today and in the future, the PC is and will be many things. And Microsoft is providing the platform, hardware form factors and pervasive and unifying cloud-computing platform to support the new and evolving age of personal computing. If Apple wants to compete, it will need to do more than put iOS on a laptop and call it a PC redefined.

Related reading:

• Microsoft is serious about hardware, but not for the reasons you think
• A "HoloLens" for everyone; Microsoft is democratizing HoloLens tech
• Getting in touch with creators: how Microsoft is courting Apple's creators
• Microsoft's aggressive push to rule personal computing: cross-platform clouds and alternate realities, Part II
• Microsoft's aggressive push to rule personal computing Part I: Windows 10
• The Internet of Intelligent Things: Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and the new battlefront
• Microsoft's cognitive services and AI everywhere vision are making AI in our image

I've described the evolving personal computing landscape in the past. To communicate an accurate picture of the modern personal computing environment and the influencing factors that have shaped it, I've acknowledged that it's impossible to ignore the impact of the iPhone.

Though smartphones existed before the iPhone, those business-focused devices were not relevant to the masses. The iPhone, with its "massive" touch screen merged the iPod, a phone and an internet device, and redefined the smartphone. Consumers loved it as much as they loved the popular iPod that primed them for a pocketable consumer-focused smartphone from Apple.

Eventually, the iPhone and the "there's-an-app-for-that" model, which made it a veritable "swiss-army mobile computing device," evolved into much more than the phone-iPod-internet device introduced by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2007.

In time, Apple's introduction of the iPhone had a profound effect on the personal computing landscape. The iPhone, Android phones and to a lesser extent Windows phones — all with their supporting app ecosystems, integrated services, always-connected nature and pocketability — supplanted the traditional PC as the most used personal computers. Yes, smartphones are personal computing devices.

I agree with Mossberg that the mobile computing environment and ecosystems that shape personal computing today are influencers on what the PC will ultimately be. However, I disagree with his assessment that a significant shift to the new type of ARM-based PC that runs mobile apps will be determined by Apple.

Millions of consumers already buy laptops that use "mobile apps"

Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) and Windows 10 laptops and 2-in-1s have already begun the process of bringing consumers to a laptop form factor that runs mobile apps, as well as traditional apps. This computing environment will be brought to ARM processors, as ARM-based Windows 10 PCs begin rolling out in several months. The change to an ARM-based system will be largely transparent to users.

What won't be transparent are the advantages of ARM-based cellular Windows 10 PCs. Among other advantages, consumers will reap the benefits of lower costs, and lighter, fan-less and more power-efficient Windows 10 PCs.

Mossberg said the following of a shift to ARM in relation to this problem:

I agree with the general assessments Mossberg puts forth. I also see the value in his conclusion that Apple, because of its vast and appealing app ecosystem, occupies an influential position. Consumer love for iOS apps may be a sufficient motivating factor for the masses to consciously and deliberately choose to use a laptop running those same mobile apps. That's if Apple can deliver a good mouse-and-keyboard productivity experience.

I put forth a similar analysis in relation to Google's position if it ever decided to merge Chrome and Android. Google's 80 percent dominance of the mobile market would be a real threat to Microsoft's 90 percent dominance in PCs if Google brought a viable desktop experience to a desktop environment.

Microsoft already invented the universal app 'wheel' Apple needs

iOS apps are optimized for a slate consumption-based experience, not a peripheral-enhanced productivity setting. Mossberg stated the following in relation to this problem:

Microsoft's Windows 10 and Universal Platform with Continuum are driving the evolution of the PC while also keeping the traditional PC around. Rather than just a clamshell laptop that runs mobile apps, which is Mossberg's vision for an evolved PC, Microsoft's strategy is more comprehensive.

Redmond saw the coming shift and created a device form factor with the Surface, a context-sensitive OS in Windows 10 and a Universal Platform that provides a common core for all device types and app development.

The research firm IDC said the following, confirming the success and adoption of Windows laptops and 2-in-1s in a recent report:

As we watch the unfolding of Microsoft's strategy with the industry's embrace of 2-in-1s, Windows 10 laptops and PCs and Windows Mixed Reality (formerly Windows Holographic), Microsoft's impact on the evolution of the PC, in all of its forms, obviously exceeds Apple's.

Technologically, Microsoft is where Mossberg hopes Apple will get

Mossberg states, "Apple … boasts 1.3 million tablet-optimized apps for the iPad, and these could presumably easily run on a small laptop with a built-in keyboard and touchscreen." He supplies the caveat "presumably" in acknowledgment of his (and all of our) uncertainty as to the viability of iOS apps running on a small laptop with a built-in keyboard (and mouse).

By contrast, we know with full certainty that Microsoft's unique UWP allows Windows Store apps to run on phones, laptops, 2-in-1s, HoloLens, Xbox, desktop PCs and any as yet to be created Windows devices. Most Windows 10 devices also run Win32 apps in conjunction with Store apps, and Windows 10 on ARM may bring that ability to phones.

What Mossberg speculates would be a technological advancement for the Apple ecosystem already exists in far greater depth and breadth as part of Microsoft's UWP. Mossberg's vision of an evolved PC is a laptop with iOS apps and only iOS apps.

Microsoft's personal computer vision is far broader than that.

Windows 10 is key to the modern PC

Though Windows 10 is only running on 400 million devices, Windows is a desktop and mobile platform. In less than two years, though far below it's one billion devices target, 400 million devices is impressive. iOS and Android have had roughly a decade to reach the billion mark those OSes achieved.

Some may argue that Windows 10 is merely an upgrade to the Windows OS that has a billion installed base. It is actually more of an evolution toward a new type of OS that retains the legacy strengths of the traditional desktop while adopting the necessary attributes of the modern, mobile personal computing environment. Universal Windows Apps, along with the coming full Windows on ARM and CShell on all types of mobile devices, help us visualize this reality.

When viewing it from that proper perspective, the unique unified desktop and mobile OS that is Windows 10 has already begun to achieve in a very real way what Mossberg anticipates will be achieved with Android and iOS: bringing a relevant "mobile" OS to a desktop clamshell form factor.

The market is buying, but may not "buy into" Microsoft's vision

The PC's transformation, based on Windows 10 2-in-1s and even laptops, has already been accepted in the market by OEMs and consumers. Mossberg's vision awaits a move from Apple to create wide acceptance for what the success of Windows 2-in-1s is already achieving: market-wide acceptance of a laptop (or 2-in-1) OS that runs mobile apps. The Windows Store on a Windows 10 desktop has thousands of universal apps that work across various form factors, including mobile.

I concede that the success of the Windows Store is not on par with Microsoft's goals. Moreover, the implementation of a Windows-based smartphone has not met commercial success. Consequently, though there are thousands of universal apps that are compatible beyond the mobility of a laptop or 2-in-1 form factor, and that work on a phone, the number is dwarfed by the number of iOS apps in the App Store.

So yes, the popularity of iOS apps, if somehow made to work as efficiently in a mouse-and-keyboard laptop form factor, would produce more of a "conscious" decision by consumers to seek out or inquire about such a device. These consumers may be motivated by a desire to use the mobile apps they're familiar with from their iPhones, on a laptop-like device.

By contrast, the universal apps that are part of Microsoft's proliferating "evolving PC" vision and that are also available to users who buy Windows 10 2-in-1s and laptops are in many cases likely just "along for the ride." Candidly speaking, these user purchases are likely less motivated by the opportunity to experience universal apps and their benefits than by the productivity legacy of Window PCs, even as manifest in modern touch-enabled laptops and 2-in-1s.

The Windows Store's underperformance is likely one of the motivating factors in Microsoft's increasingly aggressive advertising efforts in Windows 10. It needs to get users that have embraced the new OS and evolving PC form-factors to also embrace the ecosystem that they exist within. Apple, with the popularity of iOS apps, but the lack of a truly universal platform akin to the UWP, and the efficient productivity environment that Windows 10 PCs bring mobile apps, would have the exact opposite challenge.

Microsoft's impact on PC evolution is both deep and broad

Ultimately, I agree with Mossberg's conclusion from a consumer perspective. That is, if Microsoft cannot draw developers and consumers to its modern app ecosystem, Apple may be more successful in drawing consumer "attention" to the concept of a mobile-app-focused laptop. That's if Apple invests in and successfully creates an iOS-based laptop, which the famously secretive company has made no indication of doing.

I do, however, believe that Mossberg may be underestimating the industry impact Microsoft's Windows 10 and UWP has had, and is currently having, on the evolution of the PC, in the form of touch-sensitive laptops, 2-in-1s and other devices like HoloLens that run universal apps.

OEM's, consumers, businesses, and various industries have greatly embraced these "modern," evolved PCs.

As Microsoft's partners begin bringing ARM-based cellular PCs to market in several months, that impact will be even more evident than it is now. In truth, Apple's mimicry of the Surface with the iPad Pro is indicative of its reactive, or follower's role, in the PC's evolution.

The evolution is well underway. Microsoft is driving it, and its plan goes even further than Mossberg's vision of mobile apps on a laptop form factor.

Related reading:

• The truth about the new iPad ads, Microsoft Surface and Windows
• How the Surface changed Microsoft forever

With just 0.3 percent share in Gartner's most recent report, things almost couldn't look worst for Windows phone. Blackberry's 0.0 percent (with only 200,000 phones sold last quarter), however, is worse and seems to be the inevitable direction in which Windows phone is headed.

At this point, some of you having read the title may be ready to head off to comments to share your thoughts. But keep reading. I challenge you to a more mature discussion, and you're going to need to read more than the headline.

So given Windows phone's current state, is the platform dead? That depends on who you ask.

Common ground

I recently watched the movie, "Arrival" which is based on a sci-fi short story called, "Story of your life." In the film, aliens come to earth positioning 12 ships in different locations around the planet. The beings in the ships have a completely different language and language structure, both verbal and written, than humans.

The central character in the story is a human linguist whose role is to set the stage for a dialogue between the species. To do so, she must establish common ground, ensuring that both species understand and agree upon the meaning of certain words and concepts. In essence, to have a meaningful and productive conversation she had to make sure everyone was on the same page.

The same must occur when we address whether or not Windows phone is dead.

Dead or alive?

The status of Windows phone is a polarizing topic. Many fans are passionate, and any allegation that their beloved mobile platform is dead sends them into a well-rehearsed defense.

Many critics are equally passionate, and Microsoft's consistently diminishing share fuels these critics' relentless offensive against the platform that has been reported dead several times a year for several years now.

The first thing we must establish as the fundamental underpinnings of this conversation is, "What is dead?" First, as you know, since we are talking about an inanimate object, a platform, that has never actually "lived," the terms dead and alive are applied in a more figurative sense than an actual one. With that said, the word alive means: living, not dead; alert and active; animated.

Conversely, the word dead means: no longer alive, not alert and active; animated.

When we look at the definitions of these two words, we must think about the object to which we are applying them. Therefore, we must also agree upon what Windows on a phone is. Finally, what aspects of the inanimate Windows on phone platform are sufficiently congruous to qualities of life, to reflect "alertness, activity and animation?"

Signs of life

Emanating from Microsoft's leadership are both vision and activity in relation to its admittedly troubled mobile efforts.

Microsoft's Dona Sarkar heads the Windows Insider Program and actively releases mobile builds to Insiders.

Windows Chief Terry Myerson has expressed Microsoft's commitment to mobile.

The company's CMO Chris Capossela has confirmed Microsoft's commitment to mobile through partnerships and Redmond's category-defining hardware strategy in relation to mobile.

Finally, CEO Satya Nadella shared an "ultimate mobile device" vision.

Clearly, these few examples from Microsoft's leadership, reveal that the company has a vision for and is actively involved in developing Windows on phone. The level of that commitment can (and I'm sure will) be debated, and their failures of the past can (and I'm sure will) be rehearsed.

Empirically speaking, however, Redmond is developing the platform, along with the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). Like a living thing, it is progressing, as further revealed in the forward-looking, Discover what's next for Windows 10 Mobile video from Microsoft's 2016 Ignite Conference below.

Microsoft partners including Alcatel, HP and WhartonBrooks have invested millions of dollars in and embrace Windows phone. Here again, the level of success with those OEMs that have and continue to embrace Windows on phone can be debated.

What can't be refuted is that they have and are investing their resources as part of a business strategy to use the Windows platform as part of their mobile strategy.

Not yet thriving, but still alive

Finally, a host of fans (though shrinking) are actively using Windows on phone. The Windows Insiders among this user base engage in active communication with the builders of the platform. Through feedback, via official channels and social media, Windows on phone is being developed in "real time." The progress is visible as interactions are readily observable on social media and as blog posts alert of the changes in new builds.

Clearly, objective observation of the collective examples above leads us to an undeniable conclusion that "Windows on phone" has more in common with the definition of alive than dead.

Even the snarky, "brain dead but on life support" analogy some like to use may not hold up. When an individual is brain dead they cannot consciously respond to external stimuli. Following the critics' analogy through, Insiders' feedback is like external stimuli to the platform, and the responses of fixed bugs, addressed concerns, added features and more are "conscious responses" from the brain, or the Microsoft employees working on the platform. Is the platform in an unhealthy state? Yes. Is it dead? Obviously not.

Windows on phone rose and fell but never died

Though Microsoft's Windows-on-phone strategy has transitioned through various iterations over time, the over-arching platform never died. The central theme since its inception has always been to bring Windows to a pocketable telephony-enabled form factor. Therefore "Windows on phone" can mean any form of pocketable, telephony-capable device.

Unfortunately, the unceremonious failure of Microsoft's efforts at various stages of this vision composes a sad history that many use to point to a supposed inevitable future of more of the same. Many critics at this stage in its lifecycle claim Windows on phone is dead (something that has never historically occurred) rather than a failed iteration and transition to the next for which there is a precedence.

Pocket PC, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone were all phases of Microsoft's Windows on phone vision on the path to OneCore that Redmond hoped would succeed, but which ultimately failed before transitioning to the next iteration. Windows 10 Mobile is the latest Windows on phone OS, and unlike its predecessors, it shares the same core as Windows desktops. Windows 10 Mobile, therefore, is Windows and is consequently under consistent development as part of UWP. Therein lies further evidence that Windows on phone isn't dead.

Furthermore, Windows 10 on ARM suggests that the Surface "phone" will have full Windows. If so, Microsoft's Windows on phone vision will be fully realized. The consistent progression of the Windows on phone vision, from Pocket PC to Windows 10 Mobile and potentially to full Windows on an ultramobile Surface, reflects a continuity of the Windows on phone story that, though troubled, has never died.

Windows on phone may live on as full Windows 10 on ultramobile PCs

Finally, because Microsoft's ultimate mobile device strategy reflects a vision to redefine the PC and push it into the smartphone space, it is necessary to address the use of the word "phone." If my analysis that Microsoft will be positioning an ultramobile Surface PC with telephony is accurate (which I first suggested in January 2015 and revisted in November of the same year), the Windows on phone strategy will be realized on a pocketable PC. Though the word phone is used, the spirit of the Windows on phone strategy has always included Windows on a pocketable, telephony-enabled device. Microsoft's Terry Myerson's words are consistent with this assessment:

Myerson's statement clearly points to the importance of Windows 10 Mobile as a technical investment for the continued development of cellular and ARM devices.

Though there are numerous paths Microsoft can take with Windows 10 Mobile, this may suggest that Windows 10 Mobile will eventually be subsumed by full Windows 10 on ARM-based, cellular-capable ultramobile PCs.

If so, the eventual absence of Windows 10 Mobile on a device, as Microsoft's Windows-on-phone vision progresses, would not be without precedence. Windows Mobile faded from devices as Window Phone replaced it. Windows 10 Mobile did the same to Windows Phone.

As long as Windows lives so does Window on phone

An interesting point to consider is that the introduction of full Windows 10 on an ultramobile PC designed to overlap the smartphone space won't have the same, "beginning with zero market share" challenge Windows Phone had in 2010. Microsoft's category-defining ultimate mobile device will run full Windows 10 and will join the currently 400 million other devices that also use the OS. This may be why Microsoft seems unmoved by Windows phone market share approaching zero percent.

As we look at the history of Windows on phone, its admittedly current dismal state (with Windows 10 Mobile), as well as the Windows-on-phone ultramobile PC vision Microsoft is working toward (full Windows on ARM), it's clear that Windows on phone is not dead.

Will Microsoft incorporate mixed-reality, inking and other innovations in its ultimate mobile device? Whatever the final product, if Microsoft is successful, the ultramobile Surface and third-party ultramobile PCs Microsoft partners may build (as they did 2-in-1s) will be category-defining Windows 10 devices. As such they will benefit from the innovations that are part of the platform, as well as the breadth and scope of Windows, as they push Microsoft's enduring Windows on phone vision forward.

Windows on phone is not dead, and ultramobile PCs running full Windows are why the concept of Windows on phone may never die.

Following the story

Windows phone isn't dead

• Microsoft's Surface phone should be much more than just a 'phone'
• If Microsoft doesn't kill at BUILD 2017, the Surface phone may be dead on arrival
• Is early 2018 too early for a Surface phone?
• Will Samsung beat Microsoft to market with an ultimate Mobile device?
• Did Microsoft give us a glimpse of its Surface phone vision

Smartphones are dead

The untold app gap story

Windows Mobile and the enterprise

• I'm a Windows phone fan in an iPhone/Android world. Why? Microsoft has it going on!
• What Android and iPhone users need to know about Windows phone

The Surface Phone

While the situation is improving, the vast majority of games in the Windows 10 Store are far from what I'd deem even vaguely approaching the quality core gamers expect. Many of the Windows Store games available now were designed for mobile devices, and they were often shovelware projects that less-experienced developers would simply fire and forget.

Despite the recent speculation, Microsoft is not opening Xbox One up to every UWP game in existence.

Some commentators speculated that the slide above indicated that Microsoft was preparing to open up Xbox to UWP games in the same way the company opened it up to UWP apps, bypassing the strict quality checks of Xbox and ID@Xbox certification. We reached out to our contacts for clarification, and they told us developers making UWP games will still need to register with a publisher or via ID@Xbox to bring their titles to Xbox One. The slide Microsoft showed at Developer Day was simply to reiterate the situation as it exists today.

That said, should Microsoft move to make the Xbox Store more open?

Open up Xbox

Steam has taken a far more relaxed stance on what sort of games can appear on its store, using programs such as Steam Greenlight to crowdsource the games that should be approved for the platform. While this has led to some high-profile success stories, such as Besieged, Five Nights at Freddy's, Rivals of Aether and SUPERHOT, it's also introduced a slew of pretty awful games. These range from abandonware, to clickbait masquerading as games, all the way to pure malicious scams.

Since the advent of the internet, the music industry has, to some degree, reorganized itself to accommodate indie artists who have more ways than ever to get discovered. While I'm by no means suggesting that developing quality games is comparable to creating popular music, the tools and resources needed to learn how to build games are getting more accessible by the day.

This is at least superficially similar to how the internet, YouTube and social media provided musicians with a huge platform upon which to promote themselves, democratizing access. The rise of indie game development has gradually spilled over onto historically closed consoles, creating programs such as ID@Xbox, but Microsoft still holds the keys to what games get access to the console and the coveted Xbox Live API.

I think Steam Greenlight's sentiment of open community-led curation is a positive one, but it needs a few tweaks. It might be giving Steam a reputation for patchy quality, dragging it down in the same way the Android or Windows Store has been affected. With proper tools, curation and moderation, however, there are a few ways being a little more open could benefit Xbox. The openness of Windows is what led to games like Minecraft, after all.

Responsibility

My music industry comparison isn't 100 percent appropriate, of course, because running a random .exe from the web is potentially far more dangerous than wasting 30 seconds on a cringy YouTube clip. That's why openness in software needs at least a degree of divine interference from platform holders.

Unlike Win32 titles distributed on Steam, UWP games distributed on the Windows 10 or Xbox stores cannot harm your device. They don't have access to the operating system in the same way a Win32 .exe does, even when they're distributed via an executable file. When it comes to an open UWP on Xbox, the primary issue is quality, and what we expect as Xbox gamers.

Developers of all experience levels can bring their games to the Windows 10 Store today without Xbox certification, but those games cannot (and will not) be available on Xbox One or gain access to the Xbox API without going through a lengthy quality test. That test is far more intensive than that of Xbox-uncertified games in the Windows 10 Store.

Someone at Xbox once told me that they see achievement points as effectively having monetary value. When you buy an Xbox game, you're paying for a fixed amount of achievement points, at least in part. By this comment, you can assume that by allowing developers to add Gamerscore to lesser-quality "amateur" games, sometimes typical of the Windows Store, Microsoft may feel that a fully open store would dilute the value of the Xbox brand and also achievements as a coveted, "prestigious" system. This is why smaller Windows Phone games often carry only around 200 Gamerscore, compared to the console and PC version's 1000 score.

Developers can submit games to the Windows 10 Store without Xbox certification, and sometimes, it's a simple case of a developer not wanting to bother with the certification process. If the Xbox One was opened up to the Windows Store, we'd get some odd scenarios, as we've seen with Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, which doesn't have Xbox achievements on the Windows Store. I think it's fair to assume that most Xbox gamers expect and value full Xbox integration with games on their consoles. If you allow large developers to bypass that process on Xbox One, it could seriously devalue what makes the console great.

There are all sorts of other arguments and factors that could feed into how an open Xbox could be both a positive and a negative thing. On the plus side, it would give even more developers an opportunity to get their games in front of a large audience, both for gathering feedback and building up a community. It would provide Xbox with more digital revenue, simply by virtue of adding more "buy" buttons to the store. It could also help to drive adoption of UWP as a more popular platform for larger "AAA" developers, most of which have yet to release their games for the Windows 10 Store.

Of course, on the flip side, it could degrade the quality of the Xbox Store by a huge amount. It could dilute the value of achievements, and it could also lead to some nasty, fraudulent situations, as demonstrated by the lightly-regulated Steam Greenlight.

No right or wrong answer

I think maybe Xbox could benefit from a program like Steam Greenlight, as long as it was moderated more strictly. Xbox One's Game Preview has already provided us with some great games, but even then, the games are generally of a far higher level of quality than you might expect from a Steam Greenlight title. Perhaps there could be a program that provides a stepping stone to ID@Xbox, allowing the community to pitch in its own input via those project's Game Hubs.

Xbox and Windows 10 are getting closer together, but clearly, Microsoft does not want to eliminate what makes Xbox special. Either way, we'll likely learn more about any changes to Microsoft's plans for publishing on Xbox One, Windows 10, and Project Scorpio at GDC 2017 very shortly.

What do you think about opening up Xbox to even more game developers? Would you like to see a Steam Greenlight-type program on Xbox?

A rectangular slab with a slightly faster processor, a moderately improved camera and a new way to unlock it (among other iterative advances) is all we've had to look forward to each year since 2007.

Microsoft is positioning to change this with what many are calling the Surface Phone. That's if Samsung doesn't steal its thunder.

The ultimate mobile device

In 2015 I mused about a 7" Windows tablet with Continuum and telephony. This "tablet that could replace your smartphone" would be more than a "better" smartphone.

As Windows phone fans await the Surface Phone, I pondered if that device would be a reimagined Surface Mini. A Continuum-enabled pocketable Surface with an inking focus would fit well in the Surface family. For Devices Chief Panos Panay, who still loves and writes notes on his Surface Mini, such a Surface would be a salvaging of the positive aspects of the canceled tablet.

This ultimate mobile device would occupy the space between PC and smartphone. Thus, unbound by conventional smartphone parameters, Microsoft engineers could think "outside the box" in relation to hardware form and design. They could target a device that is the spiritual equivalent of the context-conforming Surface.

I believe that's exactly what they did. In November I presented an analysis of Microsoft's 2009 Future Vision video where a foldable handheld device that could also separate into two independent parts was highlighted. I asked, "Did Microsoft give us a glimpse of its Surface phone vision?". In light of recently discovered patents that reflect what Microsoft showed us in those videos, the answer may be a resounding: Yes.

Windows phone fans hopes have been raised by what is potentially a foldable, context-conforming Surface "phone" that, through Microsoft's differentiator Continuum, can become a PC. This ultimate mobile device could change the game for Microsoft. That's if Samsung doesn't introduce their ultimate mobile device first.

Samsung: Two can play at that game

Samsung is the largest Android phone manufacturer, and they have big dreams. Their Galaxy line of smartphones, and "The Next Big Thing" ad campaign, even succeeded in upsetting the iPhone's dominance.

Moreover, Samsung is known for pushing the smartphone form factor envelope. In 2011 they introduced the 5.3" Note when the 4.7" HTC Titan was considered gargantuan. Curved displays have been their recent venture. If reports are true, a device that can be a 7" tablet one moment and be folded into a pocketable smartphone the next is on the horizon.

In a further assault on Microsoft's vision, Samsung is also rumored to be bringing a Continuum-like feature to its next flagship. If true, users will be able to dock their Samsung Android phone and work in a desktop mode just as one can do with a Continuum-enabled Windows phone. Samsung's advantage is that consumers have embraced Samsung smartphones as well as their vast portfolio of other products.

Samsung sales 500 million televisions, monitors, laptops, household appliances and more to consumers every year. With this core strength, the company can strategically market monitors and televisions alongside flagship phones with the Continuum-like feature to help build out the necessary peripheral base. The company has a precedent for offering complementary televisions when a customer purchases a smartphone after all.

Furthermore, as a laptop manufacturer a Superbook or Lap Dock-like peripheral from Samsung isn't farfetched.

Moreover, the company's acquisition of Harman gives them a position in automobiles where the phone's Continuum-like feature could potentially be applied. Moreover, their purchase of AI company Viv is expected to put a unique self-programming AI on its smartphones as well as on its broad range of consumer electronic products.

This will create an intelligence imbued ecosystem within which Samsung's "ultimate mobile device" can integrate. Furthermore, the vision for Viv of an "unbounded AI breathing life into inanimate objects," broadens Samsung's scope to non-Samsung devices.

This AI and IoT vision, combined with a device that can be a phone and a PC sounds very much like Microsoft's vision. Samsung's vast consumer product portfolio coupled with its intelligent IoT/AI visions and vast Android app portfolio are an advantage over Microsoft that positions the company to build out an ecosystem on the consumer's frontline, that supports an ultimate mobile device.

The One Core Microsoft way

A foldable ultimate mobile device on Microsoft's unified platform offers some advantages over an Android offering. One Core provides developers and users a single development platform, Store, OS and eventually context-sensitive UI shells.

Furthermore, UWP apps conform to the form factor on which they're used. Thus, unlike Android apps which only project to a larger screen, UWP apps act like desktop apps, keyboard shortcuts and all, when in desktop mode.

Furthermore, whereas Samsung is a single OEM, Microsoft's solution can be distributed through the industry via partners like HP, Alcatel, WhartonBrooks and even Samsung.

Moreover, Windows on ARM makes the prospect of a cellular-capable foldable ultramobile Surface an intriguing prospect. I expect to see a much-needed push of Project Centennial to encourage developers to bring Win32 apps to the UWP at Build 2017, in preparation for cellular PCs and ultimately the ultramobile Surface. In truth, a push of all app Bridges, Xamarin and Wand Labs tech are needed to make the Surface phone successful.

Finally, Microsoft's common shell, which ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wrote about in 2013, will present users of this form-shifting Continuum-powered ultimate device with the UI appropriate for the user's context. Such context-sensitive shells are not expected to be part of Samsung's offering.

First come first serve

Microsoft's Continuum for phones was first to market but is virtually unknown to consumers. Samsung's consumer focus and smartphone market dominance are almost certain to help the company grab mindshare for its Continuum-like feature. Though Microsoft's offering may be superior, Samsung's solution might be "good enough" for most consumers most of the time. A "good enough" experience with practical applications is all that's needed to grab mindshare after all.

Furthermore, Samsung's foldable phone that can become a PC may beat Microsoft's ultimate device to market.

Ironically, the fact that Microsoft will likely ensure its popular Office Suite is a great experience via Samsung's Continuum-like feature may help Samsung beat Microsoft at its own game-changing strategy. We need only wait to find out.

Following the Story

• Did Microsoft give us a glimpse of its Surface phone vision
• Windows phone isn't dead
• Smartphones are dead
• The untold app gap story
• AIs, Bots and Canvases
• Microsoft and the duo user
• Windows Mobile and the enterprise
• The Surface Phone

The Windows Shell is essentially the Windows environment we all know and love. In layman's terms, it gives us access to system elements and objects necessary for running applications, and houses features such as the Taskbar, Start Menu, Desktop and more. Currently, the Windows Shell is different depending on the version of Windows 10 you're using. For example, Mobile is using a different Windows Shell than desktop; but Microsoft is working to change and streamline that.

According to my sources, Microsoft is building an "adaptive shell" into Windows 10 that'll work across PCs and tablets, phones, HoloLens, and even Xbox. As it currently stands, the Windows Shell isn't a true universal element of Windows, unlike the OneCore subsystem and Universal Windows Apps. PCs and tablets share the same shell thanks to Continuum, but Mobile, HoloLens and Xbox have their own individual shells that are updated and maintained separately.

Over the next few Windows 10 releases however, Microsoft will be bringing each of these device categories under one Windows Shell, making for a true universal Windows 10 experience no matter what device you're using. Internally referred to as "Composable Shell" or "CSHELL", this new Windows Shell will be able to scale in real-time between all types of devices, similarly to how Continuum currently works between desktop mode and tablet mode, only this time it'll scale across Xbox and Mobile as well.

For our more techy readers, the Composable Shell is essentially a shell modularized into sub-components. The system can transition between each component if it is required, making for a much more flexible experience on devices like 2-in-1's or something that has multiple form-factors.

We're told that the Composable Shell will begin showing up over the next few major Windows 10 updates, for Mobile, then Desktop, and eventually Xbox too. In fact, Microsoft has already given us a glimpse of this Composable Shell in a demo a few months back detailing improvements upcoming to Continuum on Windows 10 Mobile. In the demo, Microsoft showed off a Continuum environment on phone that was extremely similar to the environment we know and love on actual Windows 10 PCs today. This is essentially the Composable Shell in its infancy.

That demo showed us that Microsoft is enhancing Continuum to go both ways. Windows 10 Mobile can expand into a full desktop environment, and eventually, Windows 10 desktop will be able to do the opposite or scale further for devices like HoloLens and Xbox.

A perfect example of this Composable Shell is with the rumored Surface phone and Windows 10 on ARM. We all want Microsoft to release a phone running some kind of Windows 10 on ARM, but as it currently stands that would be impossible — Windows 10 doesn't have a UI that adapts well to screen sizes of less than 6 inches. With this Composable Shell, that wouldn't be an issue because Windows 10 would be able to switch into "phone-mode", providing an experience one would expect on a Windows 10 Mobile device, except powered by a universal Windows 10.

In addition, with the Surface phone also rumored to have a foldable screen, the Composable Shell would simply be able to adapt itself accordingly when folded out. When folded like a phone, Windows 10 will be in phone mode, but when folded out, it'll automatically switch into tablet/desktop mode. A Windows 10 machine in your pocket, with a full Windows desktop environment and phone environment whenever needed; these are the kind of experiences this Composable Shell can enable.

The other benefit of an adaptable shell is that Microsoft will no longer have to maintain and update each individual shell separately. The Composable Shell, being scalable across all kinds of Windows 10 devices, will be the same shell everywhere, meaning Microsoft won't need to worry about updating individual shell environments. Update once, deploy everywhere.

Now although this new shell is universal, that doesn't mean certain devices will be encumbered with features and behaviors they don't need or play well with. Xbox will still be primarily Xbox orientated, Mobile will be primarily Mobile orientated, and Desktop will be primarily Desktop orientated. That's the magic of Continuum and the Composable Shell. It adapts.

And in regards to the name "Composable Shell", why call it composable? Well, I think the definition of composability explains it perfectly. _"A highly composable system provides recombinant components that can be selected and assembled in various combinations to satisfy specific user requirements."

Of course, we're still a few major Windows 10 releases away before this new shell begins showing up across all versions of Windows 10, but assuming these plans don't get canceled, this is a very exciting concept for Windows 10 and one that will enable a whole new market of devices.

Updated: Corrected some information regarding the potential of a "Surface phone."

Though it has never been explicitly confirmed, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's "device beyond the curve in mobile" and "ultimate mobile device" statements suggest that a post-smartphone category-defining Surface is coming. Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela, recently alluded to the same.

My own predictions of a category-defining ultramobile Surface date back to January 2015; and Windows 10 on ARM and the potential of Win32 apps joining Universal Apps via the Centennial Bridge on a post-smartphone device seem to be moving us toward that vision.

Of course, the success of that vision relies heavily on other factors.

Just as the Surface family and HoloLens remained secrets until they were ready, the same holds true for what many are calling a Surface phone. Redmond has stressed the device must be unique and category-defining before it launches.

Beyond the engineering required to develop unique hardware that we presume will be context-conforming like that of the rest of the Surface family there are other things that must be in place to prepare for the Surface "phone."

A plan for recovery and success

My ongoing analysis of Microsoft's mobile strategy has highlighted Redmond's self-inflicted harm such as a late reentry into the mobile space, poor marketing and limited distribution in addition to external factors. But Microsoft must have a position in mobile to succeed. And they know it.

The Surface phone has never been Microsoft's sole hope for its mobile strategy. Though I'm a die-hard Windows phone fan, I've stressed the role of the ecosystem and even conceded that:

Microsoft must succeed in various areas of its ecosystem investments on which the mobile strategy depends if the Surface phone is to succeed.

Putting all their ducks in a row

Microsoft's initial steps toward recovery involved retrenching its mobile efforts. Nadella's focus during this period was: "to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem that includes our first-party device family."

Though the company no longer makes Lumia smartphones, an ultramobile Surface, as a first-party device, will fit in that strategy. For the ultramobile Surface to succeed Microsoft's investment's in the following areas of their ecosystem must also succeed.

Apps

Though my Gartner-confirmed prediction suggests apps will decline in usage, they still have a place. Microsoft currently has the Westminster (Web), IslandWood (iOS) and Centennial (Win32) app Bridges in place to bring more apps to the Universal Windows Platform. With Windows on ARM, I expect a big push of Centennial and hope for a greater push of the other Bridges as we move into 2017.

AI and Bots

Microsoft's Conversation as a platform strategy positions AI and bots as the next evolution of apps toward an intelligent app ecosystem. Redmond has also democratized Cortana and has over 40,000 developers as part of its Bot's Framework.

Partnerships

Manufacturer partnerships are critical to Microsoft's ecosystem strategy. The initial retrenching and the more controversial exit of first-party hardware allows partners like HP, Alcatel and others to fill the space that was previously dominated by Lumias.

Furthermore, the IDC reported: "…1Q16 also saw the introduction of detachable tablets from traditional "mobile first" vendors like Samsung and Huawei."

I presented an analysis on traditional PC makers and mobile-first vendors crossing over into common territory:

Microsoft's cellular PC strategy presents the ideal platform for the realization of this vision.

The UWP

Microsoft's UWP is vital to its mobile strategy in that Windows is Windows on all devices be they PC's, 2-in-1s, HoloLens or some as yet unintroduced devices. As Microsoft introduces new features like those coming in Redstone 3 the OS that will power the anticipated Surface phone is being continually improved.

Mindshare

Redmond needs current and potential smartphone users to recognize that the company has a play in the cellular-connected world of mobile computing. Windows 10 on ARM and the potential deluge of cellular PCs OEM partners will bring to the market will be poised to do just that beginning late 2017.

These cellular PCs may be just the precursor to market the Surface phone needs. As a new type of always-connected Windows PC they will help pave a path, in the collective minds of the industry, for Microsoft's mobile strategy of an ultramobile Surface that will run legacy and Modern apps and become a PC via Microsoft's key differentiator: Continuum.

Carriers

Finally, Microsoft must nurture relationships with carriers as they are the primary device distribution channels to consumers.

Surface phone cometh

As Microsoft prepares for what is presumed to be a 2018 launch of the Surface phone I foresee 2017 being a runway where Redmond greatly ramps up efforts in building its ecosystem.

I anticipate a much stronger push of all of the App Bridges, but notably Centennial as they prepare to bring Win32 apps to ARM.

I expect an increased push of its AI and bots initiative, an aggressive refining of Windows 10, further revelations of Microsoft's strategy to provide cellular connectivity, renewed efforts to build relationships with carriers and deeper relationships with OEM partners which will include marketing.

It will be the confluence of success in these areas throughout 2017 that will be the foundation for the innovative hardware Devices Chief Panos Panay and team will bring to the table as a category-defining ultramobile Surface in 2018. That is, if we're are not surprised with something this year of course.

Will Microsoft's multifaceted ecosystem-building plan work? Time will tell.

Following the Story

• Windows phone isn't dead
• Smartphones are dead
• The untold app gap story
• AIs, Bots and Canvases
• Microsoft and the duo user
• Windows Mobile and the enterprise
• The Surface Phone