14 DAY TRIAL // The modern Windows app problem has never been fully resolved, no matter how hard Microsoft tried to do this, and while some developers brought their apps to the Microsoft Store, others left to focus on Android and iOS.
This is a move that makes sense on the long-term and guarantees that developers can monetize their apps, mostly by focusing on a larger userbase that does not exist for Microsoft Store apps.
Bank of America doesn’t necessarily want to make money with its app, but focusing on an official mobile banking client that has only a few users is a waste of resources, so the company decided to wave goodbye to Windows 10 entirely.
This means the official Bank of America app is no longer available in the Microsoft Store, and users are now recommended to head over to the official mobile banking website to access their accounts.
As we all know by now, this is by no means a handy workaround, and switching platforms seems to just be the thing that everyone needs to do to access their Bank of America accounts.
The impact on Windows 10
What’s a bit more worrying for Microsoft, however, is that this decision impacts Windows 10 PCs as well. Most of the devs that previously pulled their apps from the Store did so because of the reduced market share of Windows phones, and switched their focus to Android and iOS in order to remain active in the mobile business.
But Bank of America is also giving up on Windows 10, which means that its app would no longer be offered to PC users either.
This may be an indication that Microsoft Store app usage isn’t high either, or at least not as high to convince developers to stick around.
It’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft deals with this migration and if more developers join the trend in the coming months.