It’s been on the cards for a while if you believe the rumors, but Microsoft has now confirmed that it will be offering a way for developers of Android and iOS apps to port them across to the new Windows 10.
Making the porting possible and as easy as these things can really be, Microsoft will be offering two software development kits that will be tailored to either iOS or Android, allowing developers of either platform to take their existing code and port it over. Microsoft will also be offering a set of its own APIs that will mimic those offered by Apple and Google, meaning those developers will have as few hoops to jump through as possible when making the leap from iOS or Android to Windows 10. Android developers will be able to use Java and C++ code on Windows 10, while iOS developers will be able to use their existing Objective-C code, according to Microsoft’s Terry Myerson.
Microsoft has already been working with some software partners to test the process of porting apps across, and the current version of Candy Crush Saga for WIndows Phone was actually ported from the iOS version of the app with minimal tweaking required.
The confirmation comes as Microsoft kicked off its BUILD developer conference with a keynote full of demos and excitement. In fact, there was so much going on that the keynote managed to overrun by a whole thirty minutes which begs the question how such a thing is even possible. We’ll put it down to Microsoft just getting a little bit too giddy.
Windows 10 is a big deal for Microsoft, and is sure to be a major focus over the coming months. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for more information as the development process trundles along.
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