Following weeks of 'Windows 10 Cloud' rumors, Windows 10 S made its official debut today as the latest edition, or SKU, of Microsoft's OS. Primarily targeting the education market, Windows 10 S will only be able to run apps downloaded from the Windows Store.
Of course, many of the most popular apps on Windows still aren't available on the Store, including the likes of Google's Chrome browser, Steam, and iTunes. But one very popular app which will soon be listed on the Windows Store is Spotify.
During a demo at its education-focused event today, at which he also unveiled the new Surface Laptop, Microsoft's Panos Panay revealed that Spotify is coming to the Windows Store, although he stopped short of specifying exactly when it will be available. Panay showed the Spotify app running on a Surface Laptop, which will ship with Windows 10 S pre-installed, although buyers will be offered a free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro until the end of the year.
Spotify is no stranger to the Store, but so far, it's only been offered for Windows phones. A few weeks ago, Spotify said that it was downgrading its Windows phone app to 'maintenance' status, and would no longer add new features to it.
Today's announcement suggests that Spotify's new accession to the Windows Store will result from the 'conversion' of its existing desktop application for Windows, using Microsoft's Desktop Bridge (or Desktop App Converter, also known by its development codename, Project Centennial). That means that while Spotify will be available to download from the Store and run on PCs - including those running Windows 10 S - it won't be available on other Windows 10 devices like phones, HoloLens or the Xbox One.
Such cross-device compatibility would require a more substantial rebuild of the app based on Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) - but the app shown during today's demo appeared identical to the existing desktop application.
Microsoft additionally announced today that it's bringing its full desktop Office applications to the Windows Store, which were also converted using its Desktop Bridge. So far, only the less capable 'Office Mobile' apps, built on the UWP, have been listed on the Store.
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