Will Microsoft’s Bridge Address the App Gap?
In the world of mobile devices, the model of porting apps from one platform to another has a mixed track record and, perhaps worse, an appearance of desperation. Lower-tier platform players tend to turn to porting and runtimes as solutions to a larger problem: a general lack of developer interest based on low penetration rates.
This week, Microsoft released an early, open-sourced version of Windows Bridge, a tool to port existing apps developed for Apple’s iOS platform to Windows. Bridge is available on GitHub and supports porting code to Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. The current version of Bridge allows ports for Intel processors, though Microsoft says support for ARM is coming soon — a requirement to bring apps to most current Windows Phone devices.
Microsoft stresses that Bridge isn’t a pure porting tool, but rather a facility that enables iOS code to be repurposed for Windows devices. The ability to reuse Objective-C programming code and skills should cut development time to bring apps online to Windows PCs, tablets and phones. It’s notable that Microsoft’s tool isn’t future-proofed out of the gate, as Apple moves toward its Swift development platform in place of Objective-C. Support for Swift quickly became a frequently asked question on Microsoft’s blog introducing Bridge.
Shorter development times should enable more existing apps to be brought over to the Windows Modern interface. Programmes developed for Apple phones and tablets could become the basis of apps for Windows devices of all forms.
It’s too early to say if Bridge will be a quick way to address the so-called Windows Phone “app-gap”. As the initial release of Bridge doesn’t support ARM-based devices, there will be a delay in seeing results on Microsoft’s weakest platform, though iOS code won’t be the only option for pushing mobile apps onto Microsoft Phone devices. Preview versions of Windows 10 Mobile include a runtime supporting Android apps, meaning developers could choose between their existing options for Android and iOS.
Windows Phone’s global market share of about 3 percent has resulted in a limited app library, which makes the platform undesirable for many users. Smartphone buyers wanting a well-supported device and developers wanting a broad installed user base has been a difficult problem to solve.
Microsoft will need to address more than user numbers and ease of ports to attract developers to its mobile platform. There’s a current uncertainty about Windows Phone that needs to be cleared, with mixed messages about the future of Microsoft’s mobile platform likely to cause hesitation among developers contemplating a port to ARM-based Windows devices.
App porting isn’t a trivial matter, and requires an investment of time and distraction. There’s more to it than simply recompiling code, and developers will work to determine the potential returns. Microsoft’s reputation is at stake — market leaders don’t usually turn to porting. It implies that the more innovative apps start out elsewhere and arrive on Windows Phone devices as an afterthought. Microsoft needs its own killer apps.
Other smaller platform makers wisely use ports and runtimes to address sparse app stores. Amazon, BlackBerry and Jolla, for example, turn to Android apps for their devices.
CCS Insight believes Microsoft’s support for ports is a net positive for Windows, though won’t be a game-changer for its mobile platform. The company must shake the image that it’s winding down before it can ramp up, but Bridge doesn’t do that.
Many unanswered questions remain about Microsoft’s porting strategy, including the very different approaches for Android and iOS. While iOS apps need to be recompiled into native code, Android apps will work through emulation for Windows 10 Mobile. Unlike with iOS, Android will initially only be supported on Windows 10 Mobile. This could cloud the issue for many developers, and might push them toward the runtime solution.
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