Apps Basics

As a full-featured desktop operating system for personal computers (PCs), Windows 11 supports running a wide array of apps, or applications, standalone software programs that perform specific tasks. Some of these apps are included with Windows 11, but most are acquired elsewhere, either from the web or from the Microsoft Store.

For the most part, it's not important to understand the low-level differences between the different types of apps that Windows 11 supports. But here is a quick and high-level overview of the most common app types you can encounter.

Desktop apps. This app type uses technology that dates back to the 1990s, but it is also the most powerful type of app because it can integrate with the system at a deeper level than Store, web, or Android apps. Desktop apps typically include their own mechanism for downloading and installing updates. Typical examples include Microsoft Word and Excel, Google Chrome, and Adobe Photoshop.

Store apps. This isn't so much a type of app as it is a description of where one acquires such apps, via the Microsoft Store, an app that is included with Windows 11 and works much like the App Store on an iPhone or iPad, or Google Play Store on Android. Many Store apps are modern mobile apps built on Microsoft technologies, but many are specially packaged desktop and web apps. Among the benefits of Store apps, updates are automatically handled by the Store. We discuss the Microsoft Store in its own chapter, but common examples of its apps include Mail, Calendar, Movies & TV, and Photos.

Web apps. Using modern web technologies, it's possible to create web apps that are installed and run on your PC like other apps. Web apps can be quite sophisticated and though they are by nature cross-platform, they can also utilize native Windows 11 features like notifications, storage, and more. Web apps can be acquired on the web, as described in Microsoft Edge and Web Apps, or through the Microsoft Store, and they are updated automatically either way. Apps like Clipchamp (a video editor included with Windows 11) and Spotify are web apps.

Command line apps. Windows 11 includes an app called Terminal that can run command-line apps in several different environments, including by default the MS-DOS-style Command Prompt and the .NET-based PowerShell. Each of these topics---Terminal, Command Prompt, and PowerShell---is covered in its own chapter.

Linux apps. Thanks to a technology called the Windows Subsystem for Linux, or WSL, it's possible to install one or more Linux distributions in Windows 11 and then install and run Linux command line and graphical apps. This topic is explored in the Linux chapter.

Android apps. Thanks to a technology called the Windows Subsystem for Android, or WSA, Windows 11 can also run Android apps. For now, distribution is restricted to a subset of the apps available in the Amazon Appstore for Android, including apps like Audible, Kindle, TikTok, The Wall ...