Having just done a test-install of Windows 10 2004, I thought I’d revisit the Microsoft Store and see how-many apps I use (and some other common apps) are in there.
TL;DR: not many.
Take for example a rarely-used piece of software called “Google Chrome” (/s).
All you find are user-guide PDFs/eBooks, but not the actual software (same for Firefox):
Other results were:
APPS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE MICROSOFT STORE: Adobe Creative Cloud • Adobe Reader • Bleachbit • Brave • CCleaner • CDBurnerXP • dBpoweramp • DOSBox • FileZilla • FoxIt Reader • GIMP • Google Chrome • Google Drive • Google Earth • Malwarebytes • Media Player Classic – Home Cinema • Mozilla Firefox • Mozilla Thunderbird • Oracle VM VirtualBox • Steam • SumatraPDF • Vivaldi • VMWare Player • WinRar
APPS NOT OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE (UPLOADED BY A THIRD-PARTY): 7-Zip • Audacity • LibreOffice (Paid) • OpenOffice (Paid)
APPS THAT WERE AVAILABLE VIA THE MICROSOFT STORE: Blender • Dropbox • Inkscape • IrfanView • iTunes • Paint.NET (Paid version only) • Skype • Spotify • TeamViewer • VLC Media Player (has warning: “does not offer all features of regular version”) • WhatsApp • Windows File Manager • WPS Office (formerly Kingsoft Office)
Overall the Microsoft Store does come-over a bit pointless: you’d think 5 years on it would have more to offer.
I know there is a new Linux-style Package Manager coming (maybe that might be better?), but I do wonder why Microsoft doesn’t just allow companies to put the .MSI version of their app installers into the Store (especially given the Windows RT/10S SKUs never really took-of, where use of Win32 was restricted). With UWP apps no-longer such a priority (Win32 apps will be allowed to use UWP UI elements and APIs soon), surely allowing .MSIs in would create a quick-boost in the available apps?