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Microsoft to allow iOS, Android apps in Windows 10
After falling way behind Google and Apple in mobile, Microsoft may have just found a way to catch up, tech sites reported.
Redmond-based Microsoftt is rolling out software development kits to let developers port iOS and Android apps to Windows 10, The Verge reported.
"We want to enable developers to leverage their current code and current skills to start building those Windows applications in the Store, and to be able to extend those applications," Microsoft’s Terry Myerson told The Verge.
For Android developers, Microsoft is letting them use Java and C++ code on Windows 10. For iOS app makers, Microsoft will let them use their existing Objective C code.
While the actual process could be more complicated, Microsoft is trying to win over developers to take advantage of Windows, Cortana, Xbox Live, Holograms, and Live Tiles.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is finding ways for websites and Windows desktop apps to get to Windows universal apps.
Early cases
Even now, The Verge said Microsoft is testing its tools with major developers like King (Candy Crush Saga) so games could be ported to Windows.
"Candy Crush Saga as it exists today on Windows Phone has been converted from iOS code using Microsoft’s tools without many modifications," it said.
It added Adobe and Microsoft have been working closely to package Adobe Photoshop Elements as a universal app for the Windows Store.
"It’s a key moment for the company to really win back developers and prove that Windows is still relevant in a world that continues to be dominated by Android and iOS," The Verge said.
Coming soon
A separate report by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley said Android developers may start submitting apps to the Windows 10 Store in the next few months.
Foley also noted the tweaked Android and iOS apps, once they become universal Windows apps, can do things on Windows that they cannot do on Android or iOS.
"They'll be able to be deeply integrated with Cortana, Microsoft's personal digital assistant, as well as Xbox Live. They will be able to be extended with in-app purchasing and to be available as Live Tiles," she wrote.
App gap
Foley said that as of end-September 2014, Microsoft had more than 527,000 "Metro" or "modern" apps in the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store - way behind Apple App Store's 1.3 million and Google Play's 1.3 million. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News
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