Build 2015: Microsoft to open Windows 10 to rival developers
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Tess Danielson Staff Writer
Windows 10, Microsoft's upcoming operating system designed to unify the tech giant's PCs, mobile devices, and gaming consoles will also have something for app developers.
At , the聽company鈥檚 annual developers conference, the company 聽it would be opening Windows 10 to most developers, including ones that worked on rival operating systems such as Google鈥檚 Android or Apple鈥檚 iOS.
Microsoft is hoping to convince Android and iOS developers that it is worth their time to create applications for the , which currently only has about . By contrast, Android and iOS stores both have for users to choose from. Microsoft hopes that opening their new OS, which is expected to launch sometime this year, to聽developers will give them more incentive to create apps for a larger audience.
The once-dominant tech giant has in the smartphone market and hopes this will help close the gap on its lagging app numbers. To make Windows more appealing to developers, it created , a series of programs that allow developers building apps for the Web, competing mobile platforms, or for Windows to add their projects to Microsoft's new . 鈥淔rom PCs to tablets, phones, HoloLens, Surface Hub, and soon to include Xbox and Raspberry Pi 鈥� you can reach all these devices and look great on them all using one store and one codebase,鈥� the company .
This is part of Microsoft鈥檚 larger plans to gain traction in the mobile market, which includes allowing developers to bring over from Android and iOS stores easily.聽
鈥淲ithin two to three years of Windows 10's release, there will be 1 billion devices running Windows 10," Terry Myerson, Microsoft's vice president of operating systems, said Wednesday during the keynote presentation in San Francisco.
Microsoft has been working towards creating plenty of incentive for users to try Windows 10, which includes a free upgrade for those running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 on their devices, regardless of whether the user obtained the software legally or otherwise, when the OS is released sometime this summer.
The company will also roll out a new Web browser with the coming update. Called ,聽the new browser will replace the company's once-dominant Internet Explorer.
Microsoft鈥檚 open approach with Windows 10 has led to much , even if the operating system will attract new users and developers immediately. But no matter what your opinion, Windows 10 is completely changing the way Microsoft is approaching consumers.
