In perhaps what is Microsoft’s most ambitious move yet to usher in Windows 10, the company has launched ‘Project Westminster’ – an initiative that will enable developers to port iOS and Android apps to Windows.
The move forms part of Microsoft’s goal to reach 1 billion downloads of Windows 10; the company seek to attract both developers and popular apps to bolster the sparse Windows Store.
Kiril Seksenov, an Engineer on the Microsoft Web Apps Team made the official announcement on the Windows blog: “œProject Westminster makes it simple for you to bring existing Hosted Web Apps to Windows 10. Project Westminster embraces “œthe way of the web“ by giving you the opportunity to publish an app while continuing to use your tools, developing your code and deploying to the host you desire.“
This means that the develops of web apps and services can quickly create Universal Windows Platform Apps that will be able to run on both Windows Mobile and Windows 10 without the need to re-code.
Additionally, developers will be able to continue to use whatever code editing tools they are familiar with, and are no longer required to make use of Microsoft’s Visual Studio. Further, developers are also enabled to host their apps on whatever platform they choose; ranging from Microsoft Azure to a private cloud.
This will amount – as Microsoft clearly hopes – to developers being able to easily republish their apps on a new platform with a minimum of effort; potentially bringing hundreds of new and popular apps which were previously unavailable to the Windows 10 platform.
For consumers, Project Westminster might finally mean the end – or, the beginning of the end – of a poorly stocked Windows Store, enabling Windows desktops, tablets, and smartphones to finally enjoy the same breadth of apps available on Android or iOS.
