Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK is Now Available

It’s been a big day for Microsoft fans, but the fun’s not over yet: The Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK is also available now for developers, as is the ability to bring desktop applications to Windows Store using the Desktop Bridge.

“The Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK contains more than 2,700 enhancements to the Universal Windows Platform and gives developers access to Windows Ink, Cortana APIs, and Windows Hello,” a Microsoft representative told me. “We are also opening Dev Center and the Windows Store for submissions of apps built for PCs, phones and HoloLens, targeting the Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK, and will begin the process of accepting apps using the Desktop Bridge.”

Microsoft says that this latest version of the Windows SDK (software development kit) includes over 2,700 improvements for the UWP so that developers can target new Anniversary Update features. But there’s a lot more than just the new SDK. Also available to developers today are:

Visual Studio 2015 Update 3. Technically released last week, this new version of Visual Studio addresses the high memory consumption issues developers noted in Update 2, adds a number of new and improved tools, and of course supports Windows 10 version 1607.You can learn more here.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update apps. Starting today, Microsoft will accept submissions for apps built for PCs, phones and HoloLens that target the Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK. Later this month, Microsoft will detail how developers can get Xbox One apps in the Store as well.

Desktop Bridge apps. For the first time, Microsoft is accepting desktop applications—via the Desktop Bridge, formerly called “Project Centennial”—into the Windows Store. These apps are basically in containers and segregated from the system, and can adopt many UWP features too. Suffice to say that this will be a curated experience at first and will ramp up over time.

You can download the Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK and supporting tools like Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 from the Microsoft web site.