Microsoft Windows 10 Cloud May Only Run UWP Apps

With the latest Windows 10 Insider builds, more and more information is pointing to a new Windows Cloud or Windows Cloud N OS. While nothing has been said yet officially by Microsft on these new SKUs, it appears to be Microsoft’s latest attempt to strike at the ChromeOS and ChromeBook market.

In many ways, Windows 10 Cloud is a resurrection of WindowsRT. That much maligned OS was only capable of running apps from the Windows store and none of the old school Win32 apps everyone is used to running. Due to a lackluster store offering and bad marketing, WindowsRT ultimately failed. According to various sources, it looks like Windows 10 Cloud might be hobbled the same way as WindowsRT.

However, Microsoft has done a lot of work to improve things. For one, the Windows app store is now much more vibrant with even AAA games there. Another improvement is that Win32 apps can now be relatively easily converted to UWP and distributed through the Windows store. Combined with Windows for ARM offering Win32 compatibility as well, it looks like Microsoft may have a lightweight version of Windows great for tablets. Hopefully, we will get more information at Microsoft’s BUILD conference in May.