Microsoft has built an entirely new app marketplace for Windows 11. The redesigned Windows 11 Store is not the same as the old Microsoft Store as it has to handle all types and sizes of apps.
Windows 11 will support all types of apps, be it Progressive Web App (PWA), Universal Windows Platform (UWP), and even Android apps. Hence, Microsoft has deployed a new Windows 11 Store which the company has built on XAML/C#.
Microsoft Windows Store built on HTML had several issues with performance and reliability:
Microsoft Store was (and still is) the central app repository for applications that work on Windows operating system. Incidentally, all the previous versions of Windows, including Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10, accept third-party installers that PC users can obtain from outside the app store.
However, the old Microsoft Store had quite a few performance issues. It resided on Microsoft Azure, and the front-end was based on HTML/CSS (web components).
Windows 11’s Microsoft Store is significantly faster as it dropped HTML components for full C#/XAML experience https://t.co/Ostyi2dbZq #Windows11 pic.twitter.com/2emSb9BGp3
— Windows Latest (@WindowsLatest) July 3, 2021
As the technologies were available back then, Microsoft designed the product pages entirely in HTML. But far better languages and technologies are available now.
Several Windows OS users who visited the Microsoft Store complained about sluggish performance and extensively slow download speeds. Whenever users clicked on the “Get” or “Install” buttons, the process seemed to drag on, claimed many.
One of the most common complaints about the Microsoft Store was large downloads failing to complete. And the error code did not offer any understandable explanation. This meant users had to reinitiate the downloads from the very beginning.
Microsoft fixes most of the problems with the old app marketplace:
Taking into consideration the root cause of the issues, Microsoft reportedly claims the Windows Store has been “redesigned from the ground up”. The company assures users will experience a lot more “responsive scrolling”.
Microsoft even claimed it ensured the Windows Store has “space for more content”. At the backend, the company has removed the HTML components. For Windows 11, Microsoft is offering a new Store that the company built using XAML/C#.
@canva Is your app ready to be downloaded from Windows 11 store yet? I get the following error when I try to download it. pic.twitter.com/A0yDSR5jyu
— Preetham Reddy (@preetham_reddyc) July 3, 2021
Windows Insider program participants can download the newly designed Microsoft Store. Windows 11 Preview Build testers can manually update to the new Windows Store using the old Store app.
#Microsoft #Store on #Windows11 guide: Here are the biggest changes so far https://t.co/AlHHgU9F3f via @onmsft
— TechHelpKB.com (@techhelpkb) July 3, 2021
Some reports indicate features like Amazon Appstore (Android apps) integration are absent. It is quite likely that Microsoft is finetuning the aspect.
Google recently made some significant changes to its APK file format. The Android OS creator is adopting the Android App Bundle (AAB).
Microsoft and Amazon do not have Google Play Services. Hence, the Windows OS creator will have to pull some strings to offer Android app support.