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Microsoft Store Expands To Update All Win32 Apps, But Users Remain Skeptical

In a nutshell: Despite a lack of user interest, Microsoft is still trying to transform the Windows App Store into a "universal" platform for accessing all types of Windows applications. The company is now introducing an option to update third-party programs through the Store, where publishers will be able to manage the update process themselves.

Microsoft recently released the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27758 to Canary Channel subscribers. The most interesting change brought by the update is Microsoft Store's support for Win32 applications, which can now be managed and updated without leaving the Store's interface.

The Win32 API, which is now formally known as the Windows API, is the original standard for developing and running 32-bit applications on Windows since the Windows 95 era. Microsoft has released several updates to Win32 over the years, introducing support for 64-bit programs through the Win64 architecture.

While Win32 applications have been supported by the Microsoft Store for some time, this new Preview Build introduces a key improvement: Win32 programs that are "provided and updated" by third-party publishers can now be updated directly through the Store.

Previously, and like most legacy Windows software, applications could only be updated outside the Microsoft Store. Now, Insider subscribers can access the new update option by navigating to the "Downloads" page and clicking "Get Updates."

If an update is available, it will appear on the pending list. However, the update process will only begin after users manually click the "Update" button, meaning updates for these applications will not start automatically.

This centralized update feature is available exclusively for applications downloaded or purchased through the Microsoft Store. Traditional Win32 software, however, remains unaffected, allowing users to continue downloading programs from third-party websites or installing them from external storage devices as before.

This change allows software developers to distribute their Win32 applications through the Microsoft Store and manage updates, offering users more flexibility if they prefer this option. Historically, the Microsoft Store has been plagued by bugs, scammy software, and sluggish performance, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved.

Luckily for Store deniers, Windows continues to provide exceptional backward compatibility with 32-bit programs dating back to the Windows 9x era. In addition to the Store's new update capabilities, the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27758 includes numerous fixes for bugs affecting File Explorer, the Taskbar, Task Manager, and other Windows components. However, the widespread compatibility issues reported with Windows 11 24H2 remain unresolved.

Apple's IOS 11 Kills Old 32-bit IPhone And IPad Apps

Many of the affected apps are games and educational titles

Owners of iPhones and iPads who install the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system will find that some older apps will stop working.

The move will generally affect apps that have not been updated in the past two years.

Although many will have been abandoned by their developers, owners will still use some of them frequently.

It is a consequence of iOS 11 being restricted to running apps written in what is known as 64-bit code.

The number signifies how much data a processor can handle at once - the larger the figure, the faster a computer can potentially operate.

Dropping support for 32-bit software lets Apple streamline its operating system and helps it run more quickly since it no longer needs to load software libraries to make sense of the older programs.

Apple has explained in the past that it is relatively easy for app-makers to reversion their products, and its App Store has rejected updates that lack 64-bit support since June 2015.

Even so, the move bucks a general trend for operating systems to support legacy software for longer periods of time.

"Two years is a very short period for something to become obsolete, even in the technology world where things move very fast," said Prof Alan Woodward, from the University of Surrey's computing department.

"What most vendors have done so far - and Microsoft is the biggest example of this - is to keep as many things as compatible as possible for as long as possible.

"It wouldn't have taken a huge amount of work for iOS 11 to have continued supporting 32-bit, so it's difficult not to conclude that Apple is really trying to force the pace and make people move on."

The iOS 11 update became available to download earlier in the day.

Apple has made it possible to check which apps will stop working before iOS 11 is installed

Many of the affected apps are by independent developers who have shifted focus to other projects. However, the list also contains software from more established publishers, including:

several Disney products, including its Winnie the Pooh Puzzle Book, Tangled digital book, and Princess & the Frog app

high-profile video games, including 2K's XCom: Enemy Within and Gears' Flappy Bird

American Express's Amex UK-iPad

several Penguin Books apps for young children, including its Ladybird I'm Ready to Spell and First Focus titles, as well as its Spot Goes to School interactive book

Some of these products were still on sale in the App Store at time of writing.

IPhone and iPad owners can find out which, if any, products they will lose access to by going into their devices' Settings menu, clicking the About button and then tapping the Applications subheading.

There are, however, benefits to installing iOS 11.

Users of iOS 11 will be presented with a revamped App Store

support for new augmented-reality apps, which mix together graphics and real-world views

a redesigned App Store that includes articles about some of the products and developers it features

improved voices for Siri

a "do not disturb" facility that activates when a device detects it is being used in a moving vehicle

"Of course, you don't have to upgrade to iOS 11, and in theory you could say people have a choice," said Prof Woodward.

"But in practice users are bound to go up to the new version, assuming their products support it."

64-bit v 32-bit: a brief introduction

The number of bits in relation to a microprocessor affects the size of the numbers that can be handled by its registers - the tiny bits of memory on the processing chip itself. Those numbers are then used to address Ram (random-access memory).

In the case of 32-bit architecture, the amount of memory than can be addressed is two to the power of 32, in other words 4.3 billion values.

In the case of 64-bit architecture the processor can theoretically address 18,400,000 trillion values.

As a result, operating systems written for 32-bit chips can only access up to 4GB of Ram, but those written for 64-bit processors can, in theory, support up to 16 billion gigabytes of Ram.

If a program has been written to take advantage of a 64-bit operating system, it should mean the processor can access data that is in this larger memory rather than retrieving it from flash storage or a hard disk, which can speed up the whole processing chain.

However, including more Ram also makes equipment more expensive and power-hungry. None of Apple's iOS products to date has included more than 4GB of Ram.

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