It first came into light in April this year that Microsoft was working on the Project Astoria to get Android developers and iOS Developers bringing their software on Windows. Many developers raised their eyebrows then and there and now see Microsoft is saying that it is not bringing any such support for now. If the project is not terminated, it may be delayed.
As confirmed by Microsoft to Re/code in the past weekend, nothing is moving forward to bring Astoria. A representative of the company declined to comment on any status of Astoria. It means the company has stopped talking about whether the project will be delayed or scrapped.
In a statement Microsoft said “the Astoria bridge is not ready yet, but other tools offer great options for developers”. It seems they are planning something else instead of the Astoria. They hinted that another option is coming out soon and it will allow older Windows programs running on latest Windows versions.
This seems to be right decision particularly if Microsoft wants to continue its legacy without help of others. Microsoft is still the biggest PC platform with having almost all sorts of applications readily available. If Windows developers are able to port older software to new Windows platform, users will hardly need of Android / iOS apps for various things they want to do on their Windows tablets and phones.
As we know Windows Phone’s app store is still not wealthy enough. But we know Windows – as a PC OS, has always the most productive and widely adopted operating system. If the older Windows apps can be repackaged for newer Windows versions, users will hardly feel any sort of applications because of which they do not want to continue with Windows Phone smart devices.
As I mentioned, many Android developers expressed their concern over the porting of Android apps to Windows without taking advantage Windows OS. They referred how unsatisfying was the performance of Android apps on BlackBerry devices when RIM allowed users to download Android apps from Amazon app store to BlackBerry 10 powered devices.
Only apps can make Microsoft successful in mobile market. This was the premier reason Microsoft planed adding support for Android / iOS apps to Windows smartphones and tablets. But as I have observed, the company has taken good step by not realizing the Project Astoria because if Microsoft would have made it available to the platform, millions of Android and iOS apps could overshadowed the Microsoft’s own app store and own apps for Windows devices.
Let’s see what development happens in future. Will they still release the Astoria?
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