Using Microsoft’s commerce entails a still-market-low 15% cut. Even better for developers, they can bypass any fee cuts from Microsoft by using their own commerce engines. Other significant updates to the store are that developers can now include progressive web apps and old-school Win32 apps, as well as the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps normally found in the store. Note that the Phone Link app offers another (and superior, for my money) way to run apps on the PC-you can use any apps installed on your compatible Android phone. We’ve seen the spotty performance and appearance of Android apps running in Chrome OS (both owned by Google), so I’m not expecting perfection in this collaboration between Amazon and Microsoft. What remains to be seen is how well Android apps will run on the desktop. For now, the capability is in Preview and it offers a limited selection, favoring kids' games. Yes, you can run Android apps on your PC-but only through the Amazon AppStore or by sideloading them. Dark mode, too, looks more consistent, and these materials change to reflect that mode. A couple of new materials join the translucent one called Acrylic: the opaque Mica, which is slightly tinted based on the background color and Smoke, which darkens other areas to make you focus on an important input region.

More subtle are the transparency, animations, and clean icon design that represent an evolution of the Fluent Design System (Opens in a new window), which, though promised, never fully took over in Windows 10. The centered look may win me over, however, since it doesn't require you to move the mouse cursor across a full screen to launch an app from the Start Menu. In Windows 10 you get wide taskbar buttons for running apps that contrast with narrow icons for pinned apps. I’m still not a fan of the always-narrow Taskbar buttons.

Windows get tightly rounded corners, similar to macOS.

The Taskbar icons are now centered and smaller like in Chrome OS, but the Start button is still to the left of the other app icons. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill.How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages.

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