Microsoft is exploring new ways to seriously bolster its app line-up ahead of Surface Phone

▤ Summary

Microsoft is exploring potential new avenues to remedy its issues with a lack of applications in the context of its rumored dual-screen mobile Surface device – which will allegedly utilize a custom version of Windows 10, referred to as Andromeda – beyond initial app expansion plans driven by Progressive Web Apps.Part of the reason for that delay is the software side of the equation, and Microsoft’s concerns about the number of apps that will be available to users.Apparently part of the reason for the delay of Andromeda and the related dual-screen device is wrapped up in getting more PWAs on the boil and into the Microsoft Store (and also optimizing the Edge browser to get better performance out of these web apps, and perhaps more importantly, to ensure they are suitably power-efficient so as not to drain too much battery on mobile devices).Although there could be an argument that if Microsoft does resort to this particular Google-powered shortcut, as it were, it would almost be like admitting (another) defeat in the long-running battle to get more apps into its ecosystem.Still, the average user may not care much, as long as all the popular big-name apps are actually there – and, most crucially, they perform well under Andromeda OS.

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