Some iOS/Android Developers Not Excited About Porting Their Apps To Windows

[xandros9]

Adjusted thread title to better fit the sample size - my statistics class comes in handy!

 

[EBUK]

I don't think you know what potential means.

Then you are wrong.

This figure of one billion is what MSFT hopes to achieve in three years' time. It is a desire, a wish, an aim; it is not a reality. Until there are one billion devices running Windows 10, then the potential one billion extra customers does not exist.

Why limit it to 1 billion? There are nigh on 7 billion people on this planet.

 

[Laura Knotek]

This figure of one billion is what MSFT hopes to achieve in three years' time. It is a desire, a wish, an aim; it is not a reality. Until there are one billion devices running Windows 10, then the potential one billion extra customers does not exist.

The key factor will be the number of Windows 7 users who upgrade to Windows 10.

Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

 

[vish2801]

Exactly, King manage to maintain Candy Crush Saga on WP despite it being an iOS port.

Seeing the reviews Candy Crush got in different WP markets, King must have underestimated their popularity in WP community. They should be thanking MS for making such easy tools that the ported app is so smooth on even 512 mb ram phones that it felt native until yesterday.

 

[TechFreak1]

It is far too early to write this off, it has just been almost 2 days since the announcement and the tools aren't publicly out yet.... This whole aura of negativity is just retarded.

I'd understand it if was say 6 months in (with the Windows 10 launch was imminent) and there wasn't any movement at all.

If the bigger devs with deep pockets are quick to write this off without even trying the tools... well then.. that just speaks volumes. They aren't devs at all but just pen pushers with their own agenda.

Many of us started out as devs because they either saw a gap unfilled or wanted to delight users with new experiences be it on their phone, tablet or PC. To address either of those, one would imagine by being multi-platform would gain you access to a much bigger audience.

 

[Jazmac]

If for every $1 in WP, the developer makes $500 on iOS and $300 on Android. The incentive is too low even for that little work.

Another interesting point is for developers It would be better if Windows Mobile dies. Two platforms is already enough work. If developers support Windows is essentially helping the platform to survive and that only increase the amount of work and the costs in the long run.

Are you a developer?

 

[Jazmac]

It is far too early to write this off, it has just been almost 2 days since the announcement and the tools aren't publicly out yet.... This whole aura of negativity is just retarded.

I'd understand it if was say 6 months in (with the Windows 10 launch was imminent) and there wasn't any movement at all.

If the bigger devs with deep pockets are quick to write this off without even trying the tools... well then.. that just speaks volumes. They aren't devs at all but just pen pushers with their own agenda.

Many of us started out as devs because they either saw a gap unfilled or wanted to delight users with new experiences be it on their phone, tablet or PC. To address either of those, one would imagine by being multi-platform would gain you access to a much bigger audience.

Exactly.
I find it troubling how posters that post the most negative comments get more attention than those posting progressive comments. Its like they live in this well of pure hopelessness. Every advance in the platform that gets us excited and hopeful, we have to read from their very depressing view of the world. Same people beating up on Microsoft ever since WP7 and Windows XP landed. The same retarded view is all they seem to know.

 

[Torcher Death]

Then you are wrong.

This figure of one billion is what MSFT hopes to achieve in three years' time. It is a desire, a wish, an aim; it is not a reality. Until there are one billion devices running Windows 10, then the potential one billion extra customers does not exist.

Why limit it to 1 billion? There are nigh on 7 billion people on this planet.

Sure its just an estimate, but lets not forget that Win 10(desktop) is going to be a free upgrade for Win7, 8 & 8.1 for the 1st year & apparenlty they will also allow pirated copies to upgrade. Then there are the Windows phones, tablets, xbox, 2 in 1's & lasty Hololens as well. To me the 1 billion estimate sounds to be on the lower & safer side. Would've been easier to prove if someone published details with actual numbers rather than just percentages available now.

 

[ajayden]

The key factor will be the number of Windows 7 users who upgrade to Windows 10.

Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

That is evident where I live. People who have not upgraded to a newer version due to the cost factor, are now waiting for the release of Windows 10, as it is a free upgrade.

Also, important to notice, is the corporate environment where atleast one firm that I know, has atleast around 1000 computers still running Windows 7 and they are happy to upgrade for free.

So surely, there are people getting ready to embrace Windows 10, just for the fact that it is free.

 

[Laura Knotek]

That is evident where I live. People who have not upgraded to a newer version due to the cost factor, are now waiting for the release of Windows 10, as it is a free upgrade.

Also, important to notice, is the corporate environment where atleast one firm that I know, has atleast around 1000 computers still running Windows 7 and they are happy to upgrade for free.

So surely, there are people getting ready to embrace Windows 10, just for the fact that it is free.

It won't be a free upgrade for Enterprise. Windows 10 for Enterprise: More secure and up to date

 

[tgp]

It won't be a free upgrade for Enterprise. Windows 10 for Enterprise: More secure and up to date

Technically, you're correct; it's not free. But the Enterprise version of Windows is only available to partners and to customers with Software Assurance. Partners get Microsoft licenses for free anyway, and those on Software Assurance get updates at no (extra) charge. Nobody really buys Enterprise.

 

[TechAbstract]

I know many companies I work with are skipping 8 and waiting for Windows 10. I will be very busy upgrading their computers to Windows 10.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I know many companies I work with are skipping 8 and waiting for Windows 10. I will be very busy upgrading their computers to Windows 10.

There are also many companies that won't be getting 10 for quite some time, as they've just recently upgraded from XP to 7.

 

[TechAbstract]

There are also many companies that won't be getting 10 for quite some time, as they've just recently upgraded from XP to 7.

Well, if they don't within 1 year then they will have to pay. Simple as that. I doubt many will skip.

 

[tgp]

Well, if they don't within 1 year then they will have to pay. Simple as that. I doubt many will skip.

For a business, there is a lot more cost to upgrading than the cost of the license. Labor, testing, compatibility, updating proprietary software, and whatever else goes along with it. Windows 7 is supported until 2020, and by then Windows 10 will not be current, at least not what we are getting soon. Also, large companies often don't jump on a product such as Windows right after it's released.

I work for a small IT company, and we never did upgrade to Windows 8. We waited until 8.1 was released, and went directly to that from 7. Vista was also completely skipped. And since we're a Microsoft Partner, we do not pay for the licenses, so that cost was not a factor.

 

[Laura Knotek]

For a business, there is a lot more cost to upgrading than the cost of the license. Labor, testing, compatibility, updating proprietary software, and whatever else goes along with it. Windows 7 is supported until 2020, and by then Windows 10 will not be current, at least not what we are getting soon. Also, large companies often don't jump on a product such as Windows right after it's released.

I work for a small IT company, and we never did upgrade to Windows 8. We waited until 8.1 was released, and went directly to that from 7. Vista was also completely skipped. And since we're a Microsoft Partner, we do not pay for the licenses, so that cost was not a factor.

Many companies wait for SP1 before upgrading. 8.1 probably could've been considered "SP1", since it followed the same pattern as the previous SP's in older versions of Windows, the difference being 8.1 pushed out through the Store rather than Windows Update.

 

[TechAbstract]

For a business, there is a lot more cost to upgrading than the cost of the license. Labor, testing, compatibility, updating proprietary software, and whatever else goes along with it. Windows 7 is supported until 2020, and by then Windows 10 will not be current, at least not what we are getting soon. Also, large companies often don't jump on a product such as Windows right after it's released.

I work for a small IT company, and we never did upgrade to Windows 8. We waited until 8.1 was released, and went directly to that from 7. Vista was also completely skipped. And since we're a Microsoft Partner, we do not pay for the licenses, so that cost was not a factor.

That's true for companies with propriety software that won't be compatible with Windows 8.X and Windows 10. I don't see much of a difference between 8 and 10 as far as compatibility wise. Luckily many of the companies I do IT for only need Microsoft Office, shared folders, and a browser to do their jobs. Everything is moving to websites and virtual environment.

 

[EBUK]

Here's an interesting article from Venture Beat which gives more details about how iOS, Android, Web, and .NET/Win32 apps will run on various WIndows 10 devices.

Everything you need to know about porting Android and iOS apps to Windows 10 | VentureBeat | Dev | by Emil Protalinski

 

[sprtfan]

Here's an interesting article from Venture Beat which gives more details about how iOS, Android, Web, and .NET/Win32 apps will run on various WIndows 10 devices.

Everything you need to know about porting Android and iOS apps to Windows 10 | VentureBeat | Dev | by Emil Protalinski

From the linked article
While in its documentation Microsoft describes that Project Astoria is meant for building apps for Windows 10 phones, as shown in the table above, your app can technically work on ARM-based Windows 10 phones and small tablets. Windows 10 on these devices includes an Android subsystem, which naturally doesn’t work on non-ARM Windows 10 devices. That also means x86 Windows 10 tablets or phones, for example, won’t be able to run these apps.

I take this to mean that Android developers would not have the full windows ecosystem to move apps to but just those that run on ARM devices? For the most part, that is phones. I was pretty optimistic about this to start with but this does lower my expectations if I'm reading it right. This limitation does not seem to limit bringing over iOS apps though I think.

 

[falconrap]

I think people underestimate the impact to the younger crowd that this will have. My son constantly uses Windows Apps, mostly game, and I occasionally do as well. Games and social media apps are the ones most likely to garner a huge audience when ported and actually be used. With Win32 and .NET apps being able to be recompiled into APX's and be put into the Windows store, allowing them to run sandboxed, without registry issues, on any Desktop capable (i.e. x86 capable) device, we'll see a lot more movement toward using the Windows Store and the apps as packaged there. We already see Adobe moving their stuff over. Apparently banks plan to do it as well due the enhanced security available running as an app. With these running in windows like desktop apps, people will no longer care about the nuances. It's an app/application that runs on Windows and it's in my Start menu or on my task bar. Do I really care if it's a purely Dekstop Win32 app? No. Most won't. But the younger generation will have even less issue making this transition than us older folks.

Of course, it never ceases to amaze me how lazy programmers can be these days. Just think, if you've been programming code for a significant length of time, then simply moving to eh VS environment, learning C#, and using it to generate code for all OS's seems like an even better route, though I understand that this does take some effort. For smaller developers, however, they shouldn't consider any other route. Why? Because it represents minimal effort to get on and maintain an app that runs on every device, versus developing one set of code for Android and another for iOS, or some combination thereof. I've learned several programming languages over the years (Basic, VB, COBOL, C/C++, CSS/HTML, a little C# and Javascript) and it really boils down to understanding the syntax and form nuances as well as the name of the different core library functions you call. If you can learn one, you can learn others.

What it boils down to for every developer is this: if you put in the time and effort, your far more likely to be rewarded financially than if you don't.