If there is a unique feature of the Windows 10 operating system is that it allows developers to create apps for both the desktop and mobile devices. This means that one could technically have access to desktop-class applications on their mobile devices. However the downside is that unlike iOS and Android, there aren’t as many apps for Windows 10.
Granted we probably won’t even need a million apps, but the point is that there are options so that even if there is something obscure that we want, there is a good chance you might find an app for it. Apparently former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer feels the same way, and has expressed his opinion in an interview with Bloomberg that what Windows Phone needs is actually Android apps.
This is something that BlackBerry 10 used to be able to do, which was run Android apps. Microsoft had even initiated a similar program codenamed Astoria. This project would allow developers to rework Android and iOS apps for Windows, but it seems that the project has since been put on hold.
At the moment Android is the largest mobile operating system and together with iOS they both take up a huge chunk of the market, with both platforms’ ecosystems to thank for that (amongst other things). It is unclear as to when Astoria will be back on track, but even then we have to wonder how many developers will actually take advantage of it.
Filed in . Read more about Android, Apps, Microsoft and Windows 10.