HomeWinBuzzer NewsMicrosoft Details Roadmap for Merging UWP and Win32 App-Experience

Microsoft Details Roadmap for Merging UWP and Win32 App-Experience

With Microsoft's XAML Islands v1 now live, it has shared its plans for v2 and 3, which will bring UWP and win32 apps even closer together.

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has laid detailed plans for its UWP and app experience merger. Its XAML Islands v1 lets .NET and Win32 apps host UWP XAML controls and became available with Windows 10 1903. The company is now ready to speak about enhancements to v1, as well as a timeframe for v2 and 3.

Essentially, Microsoft is planning to roll out the Windows Community Toolkit v6.0 this summer, bundled with the WindowsXAMLHost and wrapped controls for .NET. A 6.1 preview will also launch, which will include the 3 version and launch in the second half of 2019.

As you'd expect, other versions of XAML Islands are looking further out. Here's the official roadmap:

“XAML Islands v2 is intended to ship as a part of WinUI 3.0. Therefore, v2 will support the same versions as WinUI 3.0. We are planning to release v3 major release of WinUI during the first half of 2020,” said Microsoft. “WinUI is an project, and you can follow  the latest roadmap and news at: //github.com/microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml/blob/master/docs/roadmap.md

The ultimate goal for Microsoft is to get its ecosystem to the point where the different types of apps are more or less undisguisable. CVP of Windows developer platform Kevin Gallo previously said they'll simply be called Windows Apps, rather than the confusion of UWP and win32.

The most interesting part of the equation is perhaps the Microsoft Store. Previously, it was the main place users could go to install UWP apps. With many of those features now open for implementation in regular Win32 apps, the store will be less necessary. The bottom line is that while UWP is very much alive, Windows as a whole is moving away from fragmentation.

SourceMicrosoft
Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.

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