Back in April, Microsoft unveiled a huge news that developers can run the reworked Android or iOS apps on Windows. But pushing iOS tools to development, the company’s Android work has been put on hold. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed that the company has pulled back on dedicating employees to Android app porting, favoring the iOS route instead.
Microsoft’s Project Astoria, the codename for its Android app porting, has developer forums that have fallen silent. Microsoft has also removed the Android subsystem, that enabled ported apps to run on Windows, from its final version of Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft had been battling performance-related issues, security concerns, and a general wariness of app piracy.
Microsoft’s Project Astoria always looked like a quick fix to less apps on Windows Phone Store. While Project Islandwood (for porting iOS apps) would help developers to build universal apps across PCs, mobiles and tablets.
It’s really no surprise that Microsoft’s Android work has been put on hold. According to Microsoft, the main reason to include Android support, Myerson argued, was to capture a bigger audience of developers in countries where iOS devices aren’t available.
Microsoft isn’t saying whether its Android tool has been fully killed off, but it’s easy to read between the lines of the company’s official comment. “The Astoria bridge is not ready yet,” says a Microsoft spokesperson, noting that “other tools offer great options” for developers. Microsoft also says it’s “committed to offering developers many options to bring their apps to the Windows Platform, including bridges available now for Web and iOS, and soon Win32.”
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