Microsoft will soon stop accepting new apps for Windows Phone 8.x or earlier or Windows 8/8.1 packages (XAP and APPX). After this step in the Windows lifecycle, updates for the apps would also be restricted unless the user is using Windows 10.
Developers can move their apps to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). There, a single Windows 10 app package can be created that the users can, then, install on all types of devices.
“Your app will benefit from exciting new hardware, great monetization opportunities, a modern API set, adaptive UI controls, and a range of input modalities including mouse/keyboard, touch, and speech.”
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Source: Windows
Developers can refer to the
porting guide to know more regarding how to move their apps.
A few tentative dates were revealed by the company regarding the updates, so the developers must keep them in account while planning their developing cycle.
- October 31st, 2018 – New apps submissions will be declined with Windows Phone 8.x or earlier or Windows 8/8.1 packages (XAP or APPX) by windows but the existing apps would not be affected and the develops can still update them
- July 1st, 2019 – Microsoft will stop distributing app updates to Windows Phone 8.x or earlier devices while users will Windows 10 will still receive
- July 1st, 2023 – Microsoft will stop distributing app updates to Windows 8/8.1 devices. But will be available to Windows 10 devices.
You can read the complete blog announcing the dates from
here.