3D Viewer and Paint 3D won’t come pre-installed anymore

Mar 11, 2021 15:41 GMT  ·  By

The latest Windows 10 build lands for Insiders with little changes at first, but the release notes published by Microsoft include something that’s truly good news for the future of the operating system.

Beginning with Windows 10 build 21332 (and most likely starting with the next Windows 10 feature update going live for the production devices later this year), Microsoft no longer pre-installs the 3D Viewer and Paint 3D apps on your computer.

In other words, both would no longer show up by default on your fresh Windows 10 install, with Microsoft to continue to offer them through the Microsoft Store.

“3D Viewer and Paint 3D will no longer be preinstalled on clean installs of the latest Insider Preview builds. Both apps will still be available in the Store and will stay on your device after an OS update. So, if you upgraded your PC like normal, you shouldn’t see these apps changed in your app list,” the company announced.

Originally part of the Creators Update lineup

The two apps were introduced as part of the Creators Update, with Paint 3D at one point supposed to replace the classic Paint app on Windows 10. The moderate success of the app, however, convinced Microsoft it’s time to move it to the Microsoft Store and continue offering the classic Paint app as pre-loaded on Windows 10.

Microsoft has also announced that the Math Input Panel is getting the ax for the same reason.

“Due to increasingly low usage, Math Input Panel is being removed. However, the input control and math recognition engine that powered the app is remaining as an optional feature titled “Math Recognizer” which can be installed via Settings > Apps > Apps & features and clicking “Optional features”. So, while the app itself will no longer be there, the features it enabled for math equation input in OneNote, Excel, and elsewhere, will continue to work and developers can continue to utilize the input control,” it says.

The changes are currently live only in the Windows Insider program.