Neowin News Feed for: Uwp

Former Microsoft executive explains why Windows GUI strategy is such a mess

Usama Jawad — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:28:01 +0000

Decades of mixed signals and sudden pivots from Microsoft have left Windows developers stuck juggling overlapping tools with no clear direction. Read more...

Microsoft is discontinuing legacy web components in Windows

Taras Buria — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 22:18:01 +0000

Microsoft is deprecating more Windows components, with legacy EdgeHTML web components getting the axe. Read more...

10 features in Windows 10 that just never took off

Usama Jawad — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 16:00:10 +0000

In anticipation of Windows 10's upcoming tenth anniversary, we reminisce some features that just never took off. Here are 10 of them. Read more...

WhatsApp for Windows is ditching UWP for a web app

Taras Buria — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 17:10:48 +0000

Bad news for WhatsApp users on Windows 10 and 11: The app is switching from being a native UWP app to something much less appealing. Read more...

Microsoft deprecates Windows UWP Map control and Maps Platform APIs

Taras Buria — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 10:02:01 +0000

The list of deprecated features in Windows 10 and 11 has received a new entry about maps API in UWP applications. Read more...

Microsoft launches a public preview of UWP app support for .NET 9

John Callaham — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:42:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced it has launched a public preview of its new UWP (Universal Windows Platform) support for .NET 9 Read more...

Every Windows 10 and 11 feature Microsoft deprecated in 2023

Taras Buria — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 16:28:01 +0000

In 2023, Microsoft dropped support for 18 different Windows 10 and 11 features. Here is a recap of everything Microsoft deprecated, including Windows Mixed Reality, Cortana, WordPad, and more. Read more...

New System32 files suggest Microsoft may ditch UWP for XAML and Win32-based Windows 11 Shell

Sayan Sen — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 09:16:01 +0000

A bunch of new files were quietly added to the Windows 11 System32 folder and they seem to suggest Microsoft may be looking to ditch UWP in favor of XAML and Win32-based shell on Windows 11. Read more...

ExplorerPatcher fixes Windows 11 22H2 Start menu bugs, expands UWP app options

Sayan Sen — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:10:01 +0000

As Microsoft had announced two days ago, ExplorerPatcher's two latest versions resolve the Windows 11 22H2 Start menu issues. Alongside that, the app also brings new UWP options, and more. Read more...

Microsoft removes arm32 UWP app support from Windows 11

Taras Buria — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:48:01 +0000

The recently released Windows 11 build 25905 contains an important change for those using Windows PCs with ARM processors: the OS no longer supports arm32 UWP applications. Here is what that means. Read more...

Microsoft finally fixes broken Start menu, Windows Search and UWP apps in Windows 11 and 10

Taras Buria — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 11:22:01 +0000

Microsoft finally has a permanent fix for systems suffering from the broken Start menu, Windows Search, and misbehaving UWP apps. The necessary update is now available for Windows 10 and 11. Read more...

Dev confirms Defender Remover was indeed breaking UWP apps on Windows 11

Sayan Sen — Sun, 07 May 2023 07:22:01 +0000

This is another reminder that unofficial apps can cause issues on Windows sometimes. Following a popular debloater app being removed from Store, Defender Remover was also found to be breaking UWP. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Declining revenues, new Windows 11 issues, and Edge updates

Usama Jawad — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 21:58:01 +0000

Our latest edition of Microsoft Weekly unpacks news about Microsoft's declining revenues in consumer categories, some Windows 11 updates, bugs, and fixes, and a bunch of app enhancements. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Bugs, Windows 11's next "Moment", and an alternate File Explorer

Usama Jawad — Sat, 17 Dec 2022 18:16:01 +0000

This week's edition of Microsoft Weekly is filled to the brim with news about tons of new Windows bugs (and fixes), a bunch of Patch Tuesday updates, and improvements to a competent file manager. Read more...

Windows App SDK 1.2 is now live, here is what's new

Usama Jawad — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 01:28:01 +0000

Microsoft has released version 1.2 of the Windows App SDK with a bunch of new features including support for third-party Widgets in Windows 11, updated media playback controls, and lots more. Read more...

WebView2 is now generally available for WinUI 2 UWP applications on Windows

Taras Buria — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:50:02 +0000

WebView2, a Chromium-based control for embedding web content into Windows apps, is now generally available to developers building apps based on WinUI, replacing the original EdgeHTML-based WebView. Read more...

WhatsApp on Windows ditches Electron in favor of UWP, now works standalone

Usama Jawad — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 06:56:01 +0000

WhatsApp has announced that its new app for Windows is now live. It ditches the web-based Electron framework in favor of Windows-native Universal Windows Platform (UWP) technologies. Read more...

WhatsApp Beta UWP app gets two nifty new features

Rahul Naskar — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 10:48:01 +0000

The WhatsApp Beta UWP recently received an update on Windows 11, adding a couple of useful features. However, they aren't entirely new to most users, as Android and iOS users have had them for years. Read more...

WhatsApp Beta Windows client gains Archive feature with the latest update

Rahul Naskar — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 14:16:01 +0000

WhatsApp's UWP app for desktop is missing several useful features that are available on other platforms. However, with the arrival of Archive Chats, the list of missing features has become shorter. Read more...

WhatsApp's UWP app will get message reactions in a future update

Rahul Naskar — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 15:16:01 +0000

Meta-owned chat messenger company WhatsApp is currently working on a slew of new features, the ability to react to messages being one of those. The company will also bring it to WhatApp UWP. Read more...

WhatsApp Beta for Windows 10 and 11 gets much-awaited dark mode support

Rahul Naskar — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 06:12:01 +0000

Following the arrival of the WhatsApp Beta app on the Microsoft Store, the company has added several new features to improve the app experience. It gets even better with dark mode support. Read more...

WhatsApp Desktop is getting a Windows 11 makeover

Usama Jawad — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 06:26:01 +0000

It appears that the WhatsApp Desktop app available via the Microsoft Store is about to get a Windows 11 makeover soon. The development team has reportedly transitioned to WinUI 2.6 for this purpose. Read more...

Microsoft promises it's focusing on improving Windows 11 performance come 2022

Sayan Sen — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 05:24:01 +0000

Via an AUA conducted on Reddit by the Windows Developer team, Microsoft has confirmed that it is focusing on improving Windows 11's performance especially when it comes to the UI performance. Read more...

After community outcry, Microsoft is dumping new Whiteboard in favor of the older UWP one

Sayan Sen — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 10:40:01 +0000

Microsoft has confirmed that it is dumping its new Web-based Whiteboard and going back to the native app based on UWP after the user feedback has been generally negative owing to missing features. Read more...

You can already try the all-new WhatsApp for Windows 10 and 11 in beta, if it works

Sayan Sen — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 05:28:01 +0000

The new WhatsApp for Windows 10 and 11, which was spotted earlier today, can already be downloaded and tried out, if it works. The app is still in beta and is apparently based on the UWP framework. Read more...

UWP no longer fashionable as Microsoft releases guidance for migrating apps to Windows App SDK

Usama Jawad — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 09:08:01 +0000

It appears that UWP is on the way out as Microsoft has recently published guidance about how to migrate from UWP to Windows App SDK, which has been highlighted as the new strategic direction. Read more...

Microsoft's Build of OpenJDK is now generally available

Usama Jawad — Tue, 25 May 2021 15:00:18 +0000

Customers looking to migrate their Java workloads to the cloud will be happy to see Java-centric announcements at Build 2021 including the general availability of Microsoft's Build of OpenJDK. Read more...

Microsoft's Project Reunion 0.5 is now available with WinUI 3 and WebView 2

João Carrasqueira — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 17:34:01 +0000

Microsoft's attempt at bridging the gap between UWP and Win32 is now available for developers building packaged apps. Version 0.5 still has some limitations, but version 1.0 will come later in 2021. Read more...

Windows Community Toolkit 7.0 is now live with a new MVVM library

Usama Jawad — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 05:16:01 +0000

Microsoft's Windows Community Toolkit simplifies the process of building UWP and .NET apps. Version 7.0 of the utility sports a new MVVM library and improved notification support, among other things. Read more...

Microsoft doubles down on Win32

Nero Cui — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 21:12:01 +0000

Microsoft just doubled down on Win32, creating new ways to consume Win32 APIs in programming languages other than C or C++. Project win32metadata makes it easier to call Win32 APIs for developers. Read more...

A near-final build of Windows 10X has leaked to the web

Abhay V — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 15:54:01 +0000

A near-final version of Microsoft's upcoming lightweight OS, Windows 10X, has leaked, providing the clearest look yet at the upcoming offering. The OS competes against the likes of Chromebooks. Read more...

myTube reaches version 4.0 with a new UI, GIF maker, and more

João Carrasqueira — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 17:00:02 +0000

myTube, one of the most popular Windows 10 apps for YouTube, has just received a major update to version 4.0, and it introduces a large number of new features and changes. Here's what's new. Read more...

Google brings Flutter to Windows in Alpha form, aims to add UWP support soon

Abhay V — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 19:18:01 +0000

After a few months in technical preview, Google is bringing its open-source, cross-platform framework, Flutter, to Windows in Alpha, with the company working to add UWP support soon. Read more...

Project Reunion is Microsoft's new plan to unify UWP and Win32

Rich Woods — Tue, 19 May 2020 15:00:12 +0000

Today at its Build 2020 virtual developer conference, Microsoft announced Project Reunion, a new plan to unify the Universal Windows Platform and Win32, and it will be backward compatible. Read more...

OneNote 2016 starts being offered automatically with Office 365 installs

Abhay V — Fri, 01 May 2020 10:42:01 +0000

As promised last year, Microsoft has begun automatically installing OneNote for desktop along with the Office 365 suite of apps. The app no longer has the year branding and is called just 'OneNote'. Read more...

Microsoft launches new WinUI website, listing the advantages of the platform

Abhay V — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 19:16:01 +0000

Microsoft has launched a new WinUI website that lists the advantages of using the platform. The firm aims to get developers to migrate their existing apps to use the modern UI of Windows 10 and 10X. Read more...

Microsoft is shutting down its Ad Monetization platform for UWP apps

Rich Woods — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 16:14:01 +0000

Microsoft is going to be shutting down its Ad Monetization platform on June 1, the company announced. UWP developers are going to have to find a new way to monetize their free apps. Read more...

Kodi might drop its next Xbox release if it doesn't find new Windows developers

Rich Woods — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 17:48:02 +0000

Kodi is looking for Windows developers that have experience with UWP. Moreover, it says that if it doesn't find some, it might have to cancel its next versions for the Xbox One and Windows 10. Read more...

Windows Community Toolkit version 6 is out now with XAML Islands improvements

João Carrasqueira — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:54:01 +0000

Microsoft has relased version 6 of the Windows Community Toolkit, and it brings XAML Islands to Win32 apps, support for apps targetting ARM64, new controls, and other improvements. Read more...

UWP developers can now register their apps for next year's Launch event

João Carrasqueira — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 18:32:01 +0000

Launch, the event that saw a number of new UWP apps released onto the Microsoft Store earlier this year, is coming back in 2020, and interested developers can now sign up to participate. Read more...