Microsoft is Working on a New App Store for Windows 10

The Windows 10 app store could get a major update that includes Win32 support

Microsoft could be working on a new store app for Windows 10. The new store app could deliver major design changes and also solve the app gap problems that developers and Windows users have long complained about.

This is all still a rumor, but according to Windows Central’s Zac Bowden, it is part of Microsoft’s plans for a “revitalized storefront that’s more open to both end users and developers.” Part of those plans is a visual redesign of the store app itself. This should make it less slow and more visually appealing, and more in line with the rumored Sun Valley visual overhaul for Windows 10.

That means the new store will include a new design, iconography, and more fluid animations, according to Bowden. Also part of these plans is a more stable download and install experience for larger-sized apps and games.

But that’s just the start. Bowden’s sources also indicate that Microsoft is planning to tweak the way that developers submit apps to the Microsoft Store. He believes developers will be able to submit traditional unpackaged Win32 apps to the store, host their app updates on their own networks, and use third-party commerce platforms in apps.

Being able to submit Win32 apps to the store is huge. Developers will no longer have to recompile their own apps as an MSIX file or change their code. It opens the door for the chance for more popular apps to come to the Microsoft Store, including Firefox, Adobe Creative Cloud, and even Google Chrome. The changes should allow developers to push out app updates via their own content delivery networks, independent of the store itself.

The new store will also allow Microsoft to finally bring its own apps over to the store itself. That includes Microsoft Teams, Office, Microsoft Edge, and Visual Studio. These apps have long been missing from Microsoft’s own store, and per Bowden, could position the Microsoft Store as a platform for the best apps on Windows 10.

There’s no word yet on when you can expect these changes for the Microsoft Store in Windows 10. Any changes would need to be beta tested with Windows Insiders first, so you can expect these to roll out later this fall when Microsoft starts testing the second major update for Windows 10 this year. Build 2021, Microsoft’s annual developer conference, could shed more light on the plans as well.

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