Now that Progressive Web Applications (with its acronym in English PWA) are so popular, many seem not to remember that in the past Microsoft’s great commitment to promoting the creation and development of apps had a name. They were and are the Universal Web Applications or popularly known as UWP.
These were other times when Microsoft promised them very happy with the UWP and Continuum. But in the end, neither option has ended up triumphing. Or that is at least what we thought, since for Microsoft, according to the words of some representatives, the UWPs are still very much alive.
They weren’t dead… they just rested
It will be the arrival of new devices and cloud computing systems in the future, which can lead to the takeoff of the UWP again against the previous Windows APIs that focused mainly on the PC landscape.
Microsoft had popularized the term UWP, both for developers and for the general public. Especially in a time when many still gave a certain breath of life for Windows on mobile.
The fall of Windows Phone and the failure of Windows 8 made many of Microsoft seem to withdraw support for UWP applications. A movement that could be curious, especially when we see how later Apple and Google decided to bet on a similar idea.
In fact, Kevin Gallo, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Developer Platform assured ZDNet that this move could be a mistake, causing UWP applications to look worse if compared to Win32 type. These had years of development behind them and were more interesting for content creators.
“We shouldn’t have gone that way” is what Kevin Gallo said a few months ago
The environment was not adequate. There were no APIs or these were not complete and that was not motivating, at least until Satya Nadella reached the top of the company and this seems to have changed the way he proceeded.
New devices, new opportunity
The company now wants to bet again on UWP applications but in a different way. They have seen the mistakes of the past and want to remedy them to make it easier for developers to access and use the tools to bring applications and games to Windows 10 and the Microsoft Store.
Developers have access to new ways of working. WPF, Win32 and WinRT, XAML, React Native, Electron or the possibility of creating Progressive Web Applications (PWA) is something that allows developers to gradually modernize their applications based on their needs. And all these ways allow the UWP to develop gradually.
In this regard, we must also highlight the role of WinUI, remember that Microsoft wants to take GitHub as free code. Microsoft is separating the user interface layer in WinUI, from which version 3.0 is expected. This means that developers will have an easier time creating Windows Apps in either Win32, UWP, .NET Core or C ++, React Native… it will be easier to jump from Win32 to UWP.
In addition, the critical moment came with Windows 8 and the fall of the mobile ecosystem with Windows Phone, a period that has nothing to do with the current one, where very different devices coexist under the operating system of Redmond ( HoloLens 2, Surface Hub 2, dual-screen devices, IoT devices…) all of which are perfectly compatible with UWP.
The time when a developer worked only with PC apps is over. If you have to program a utility for HoloLens 2 or for a Surface Neo, UWP is the ideal option.
In fact, Microsoft believes that these systems, although still very young, will grow in importance, especially with the shift to cloud computing and the arrival of new devices in the coming years.