Microsoft finally cancelled Project Astoria in favor of Project IslandWood. For those who don’t know, Project Astoria allowed developers to port their Android apps to Windows 10 as universal apps without much effort. Project Astoria was part of the tech giant’s plan to bring more mobile apps to Windows 10 Mobile / Windows Phone, but the idea has fallen apart.
Several months ago, Windows Latest observed that Microsoft had removed Android system files from Windows 10 Mobile without prior notice. In our tests, we noticed that some files that allowed the Android subsystem to work on Windows Phones have been removed, rendering the APK sideloading feature useless.
Some reports had already confirmed that Microsoft had no plans to promote Project Astoria.
Today, the company finally announced that they are no longer focusing on Project Astoria in favor of Project IslandWood, which allows developers to port iOS apps to Windows 10. Instead, the company will focus on Project IslandWood, which lets developers port iOS apps to Windows 10.
In a blog post, Microsoft explained that focusing on one Bridge technology makes things simpler for developers and that Project IslandWood, known as the Windows Bridge for iOS, will be the single option for bringing mobile code to Windows 10 devices, including PCs and Xbox.
Developers who were interested in Project Astoria are now expected to explore the iOS Bridge and Xamarin to port their mobile apps to Windows 10.
With Project IslandWood, Microsoft is hoping that more devs will bring their mobile apps from iPhone to Windows. The company will support their efforts by offering similar tools previously offered by Project Astoria.
If you’re upset about the change, don’t be. Microsoft wants to fix the app gap on Windows Phones, and the company will continue to focus on Project IslandWood. We will soon see tools to port any iOS apps to our Windows 10 devices—something similar to what we’ve seen with Project Astoria tools.
Would you like to use iOS apps on Windows Phone? Let us know in the comments below.
