14 DAY TRIAL // One of the key parts of the modern experience on Windows 10 is the Microsoft Store, which is supposed to provide users with access to secure apps that they can download with just one click.
In theory, there’s no reason not to stick with this Microsoft Store as the go-to place for new apps whenever you’re in search of specific software.
But in practice, everybody knows that the Microsoft Store has so many things to improve, and it’s very close to becoming another failed Microsoft experiment.
The biggest problem of the Microsoft Store is the one that also killed Windows Phone in the first place: the lack of developer support. While Microsoft struggled to convince developers to create UWP apps and port their software to the Microsoft Store, an en-masse transition never really happened.
And this eventually made the Store itself something that many people don’t even want to use, not only because they don’t need it, as they stick with Win32 programs, but because it’s lacking the majority of the apps they need anyway.
Microsoft itself rarely talks about the Microsoft Store in Windows 10, despite the company actually praising the app on some occasions.
“Microsoft Store has nearly everything for your Windows device, including the latest games, films and TV programmes, creativity software and apps,” Microsoft says in a description of the Microsoft Store that you can find online.
But at the end of the day, it’s not a secret that users don’t find the Microsoft Store the essential app that Microsoft hoped it would become.
“The Microsoft store is a mess and I know no one in this world that likes using it,” someone says in a post in the Feedback Hub which has already received plenty of upvotes. And several others confirm the Microsoft Store barely serves its purpose:
“The Store is a mess because of its user experience and lack of developer support.” – Joshua M.
“The Windows Store is an absolute joke. It's ridiculously slow in an everchanging world.” – Justin W.
“I agree. The Store is a mess.” – Neelesh K.
The most recent version of Windows 10 (version 2004 or the May 2020 Update) brings no improvements to the Store experience, so it obviously doesn’t change anything regarding its purpose. In other words, if you didn’t use the Store before, there’s a good chance that you won’t use it after installing the May 2020 Update either, simply because the experience overall is pretty much the same.
So right now, the Microsoft Store seems more or less another failed experiment, and the feedback that I pointed to is living proof that few find it useful. And if you’re not sure if the Microsoft Store should be there in Windows 10, you can do a quick and simple exercise.
Just think when you used the Microsoft Store the last time. If you know the answer, then the Store is probably worth a chance, but if you don’t, it’s pretty clear that this app makes no sense on your device.
As a matter of fact, the app store and everything is what users upgrading from Windows 7 actually hate about Windows 10. And this is why some refuse to upgrade to Windows 10, even now that support for Windows 7 has come to an end and no other security updates are released.
On the other hand, all these users must know that the Microsoft Store can be easily ignored in Windows 10, so if you want to stick with the traditional desktop experience, this is totally doable.