14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is trying to be the pioneer of porting Win32 software to the Windows Store with the Project Centennial set of tools, so the company will be bringing even its Office productivity suite in the Store with Windows 10 Redstone 3.
Although this isn’t the first time we’re hearing about a Windows Store version of Microsoft Office, a screenshot posted by MSPU and coming from the first Windows 10 Redstone 3 build indicates that work on the project is advancing and there’s a good chance the public launch takes place with the next OS release in the fall.
Specifically, the screenshot you see here comes from the Cloud SKU of Windows 10 Redstone 3 and shows Microsoft Office Store apps pinned to the Start menu. The links do not work at the moment, but given the fact this is just an early version of Redstone 3, there’s a good chance Microsoft will fix that in the coming updates.
Successor to Windows RT
Windows 10 Cloud is a version of the operating system that’s locked to Windows Store apps, being considered a successor to Windows RT, which debuted in 2012 with the Surface RT tablet.
As compared to Windows RT, however, Microsoft hopes to address the lack of apps with universal apps, trying to convince developers to bring Win32 software to the Windows Store with Project Centennial.
This is the reason Microsoft itself embraces this approach with the Office productivity suite, as developers can better determine the advantages of porting apps to the Windows Store and benefit from a growing number of users.
It’ll be interesting to see how many buyers actually go for the Cloud version of Windows 10, especially after the failed Windows RT experiment, but Microsoft has also implemented a restriction that can be removed and which allows users to upgrade to full Windows 10 and install Win32 software.
The release of Redstone 3 is projected to take place in the fall and a lot could change until then, as we’re only in the early days of the new OS build.