With Windows 8.1 a stone’s throw away, Microsoft is once again shifting attention towards the Windows Store. And boy, has the company planned some improvements!
Last year was the first real foray of the Metro apps, the first time they ventured out.
Redmond itself was fresh from finishing up work on the core framework, and the Windows Store team was getting into groove. But this time around, the stakes are even higher, and the company knows it.
Right now Windows 8 commands a small, yet growing worldwide market share. But the platform as a whole is gaining the public’s attention. And apps make up a very important part of the puzzle. In order to ensure that developers can get their apps faster into the Store, Microsoft has outlined a new strategy.
Basically it wants to speed up the process of approving Windows 8.1 apps — starting October 18, app certification should take no longer than five days.
The company talked about this in a new blog post saying:
“Beginning Oct. 18, the Windows Store team has committed to no more than five days for initial certification, with many apps passing within a day or two, for apps developers submit for Windows 8.1. The Windows Store will continue to offer Windows 8 apps, and those apps will run on Windows 8.”
Great news for developers, surely!
In fact, it must be noted that the Windows Store team has in the past few months picked up its game. Duplicate, clone and low quality apps regularly removed from the apps repository, and with a new design for Windows 8.1, the Windows Store seems ready for the good times.
