Microsoft: Android app porting tool for Windows “is not ready yet”

Indeed, not everyone is interested in porting Android apps into Univeral Apps that run across devices on Windows 10. WindowsCentral reports that interest on the official developer forums is almost dead, and Microsoft could be the one responsible. While Project Islandwood that involves re-writing iOS apps to be Windows 10 ready (as Universal Apps) seems to be chugging along just fine, Microsoft has announced that its Project Astoria porting tool has been delayed. In its latest statement, Microsoft coaxes developers to use the iOS tool (Project Islandwood) instead, to build their apps into the Universal ones for Windows 10. Microsoft’s disinterest in Project Astoria became clearer after it removed the Android subsystem from the recent Windows 10 Preview build. So yes, all of the above does indicate that Microsoft may want to shut it down entirely. Microsoft told Re/Code earlier that it was not going to move ahead with Project Astoria, but for now it is unclear whether the company plans to shut down its Android app operations entirely or simply place them on hold. While Project Astoria was a big promise, the tool was not that great, which resulted into bad or weak ports of Android apps. The Project Islandwood tool presents a better option to third-party app developers as the apps needed to be reworked, but all that effort did not go to waste. This is because the resulting apps were of good quality, or ones that took advantage and integrated well with Windows 10 and its unique UI. While Microsoft will never see its ecosystem grow as quickly as Android or iOS, it is an uphill battle, considering that Windows smartphone users form a very tiny chunk of the mobile ecosystem. Making Windows 10 run across devices (smartphones, tablets, desktops etc.) was clearly Microsoft’s wildcard to woo in developers, but even after the release of Windows 10 for desktop, it is easy to say that it has not worked out.