Microsoft Delays Tool Designed to Bring Android to Windows 10; They Might Kill it

[dgstorm]

For folks who have been impressed with how open and welcoming the "new" Microsoft has been with trying to be cross-platform compatible, this latest news might have you feeling disappointed. Earlier this year Microsoft revealed they were working on something called "Project Astoria," which is a tool that lets Android apps run on Windows 10. It is the beginning of a plan by Microsoft to bridge the gap, so that app developers can easily convert Web, iOS and Android apps to Windows.

Microsoft just confirmed to several media outlets that the app is "not ready." What's even more disconcerting is that the Project Astoria forums have gone dark. Furthermore, Microsoft recently removed the Android subsystem from the latest Windows 10 Mobile preview. Could this be a sign that Microsoft has killed the concept entirely? Maybe. Of course, it's also possible that Microsoft devs have simply run into some hefty hurdles in development. Project Astoria is basically going to be an emulator for Android. It might be tougher to get that working than they originally thought.

There's one other possibility. Here's a quote with the details,

On the other hand, the "Project Islandwood" tool for iOS requires that apps be reworked and recompiled before they can be imported to Windows. With the latter tool, the end result is high-quality apps that take advantage of Windows 10 features -- in fact, it's reportedly being used on the next Facebook app for Windows 10. The fact that many Android developers also build iOS apps may mean Microsoft feels the Android tool is no longer necessary.

What do you folks think? Are there any devs out there who would like to weigh in on this issue?

Source: Engadget