Microsoft's new Windows OS challenges Google, Apple app stores
Seen is Microsoft's app store Microsoft Store, which will be preloaded on the company's new operating system Windows 11. Courtesy of Microsoft Korea
By Baek Byung-yeul
Microsoft is making a bold move to challenge Google and Apple, which have been showing dominance in mobile device software markets, as the Windows developer announced the latest version of its operating system that enables app developers to use its own in-app payment system without fees.
The U.S. tech titan held a virtual event, last week, and announced Windows 11, which will be rolled out as a free upgrade for Windows 10 users by the holiday season of this year.
During the event, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer Panos Panay said the Microsoft Store, which will be preloaded in the new Windows, will allow software developers to use their own payment platforms to charge users, which means developers can keep 100 percent of any revenues they generate from their apps.
The move apparently goes against Google and Apple, which force app developers to use their own in-app payment systems and take between 15 percent and 30 percent of revenues the app developers generate. Due to monopoly issues, Apple has been implicated in a series of investigations in many countries.
“We are taking steps to further open the Microsoft Store to unlock greater economic opportunity for creators and developers. We're also announcing a progressive change to our revenue share policies where app developers can now bring their own commerce into our store and keep 100 percent of the revenue ― Microsoft takes nothing,” Panay said.
Panos Panay, chief product officer at Microsoft, introduces the company's new operating system Windows 11 during a virtual event, June 25 (KST). Courtesy of Microsoft Korea
Another major difference of Windows 11 from its predecessor is the new Microsoft Store will include Android apps that can run on Windows 11 devices, as Microsoft forged a partnership with Amazon.
“Starting later this year, people will be able to discover Android apps in the Microsoft Store and download them through the Amazon Appstore ― imagine recording and posting a video from TikTok or using Khan Academy Kids for virtual learning right from your PC. We'll have more to share about this experience in the coming months,” the chief product officer said.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company's goal for the new Windows is to form a developer ecosystem to rival Google Play and Apple's App Store.
“Today, the world needs a more open platform, one that allows apps to become platforms in their own right. Windows is a platform where things that are bigger than Windows can be born, like the web. That's our aspiration with Windows 11, to be the platform for the next web, the next transformational software category, the next personalized content business,” he said.