14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is planning another big change in Windows 10 Mobile, with support for classic Windows Phone apps to be discontinued, most likely when the feature2 update goes live.
Internal builds of Windows 10 Mobile have already implemented restrictions that block Silverlight apps from running, with the change to roll out for insiders as well in the coming weeks.
Whenever users attempt to launch a Silverlight app on one of these builds, they are provided with an error message saying that “Silverlight Launch Requested. Silverlight apps are no longer supported on this version of Windows.”
Microsoft’s apps also running on Silverlight
As if the lack of apps weren’t already a problem on Microsoft’s smartphone platform, this change will substantially impact the number of apps available on Windows 10 Mobile devices, including super-popular names like WhatsApp.
This means that developers need to prepare for the new restriction by launching universal apps, though this is unlikely to happen en-masse, especially because of the dropping market share of Windows phones.
What’s a bit more unexpected is that several Microsoft apps are also running on Silverlight, and until now, not all of them have been launched as universal apps, which means they might be blocked when this new restriction comes in place. The company might have a backup plan for this, but it’s very clear that more work needs to be done on the developer side to prepare for the future of Windows 10 Mobile.
At this point, there’s still no indication as to when Microsoft plans to make this official, but future public builds released as part of the Windows Insider program could bring more news in this regard.
The next major release for Windows phones is feature2, the sibling of Fall Creators Update on PCs, and this is the moment when Silverlight apps could be blocked on public phones as well. Only 13 models will be getting the upcoming update, and it remains to be seen how strong the impact will be on users.