Microsoft might not bring Android apps to Windows 10 after all

The two biggest selling points for Windows 10 were the fact that it was a unified platform that worked across all devices, and the promise that Microsoft would be offering a variety of tools that would help developers bring their apps over to the platform, which is especially important for the mobile version of Windows 10. Unfortunately, it looks like Project Astoria, which is the tool that’s supposed to help Android developers easily bring their apps over to Windows 10 Mobile, has been delayed, or possibly even cancelled, for reasons unknown. 

Microsoft confirmed this weekend that it has delayed — if not killed entirely — a tool designed to make it easy for Android apps to run on Windows 10 phones and tablets. Dubbed Project Astoria, the effort was unveiled in April as part of an aggressive but risky plan to get developers who write for Android, iOS or the Web to bring their programs to Windows. Developers had begun to raise questions, though, as the tool was never released publicly and Microsoft had stopped talking about it. Microsoft confirmed to Re/code this weekend that it was not moving ahead with Astoria as planned, but a representative declined to say whether Astoria was delayed, on hold or being scrapped altogether. “The Astoria bridge is not ready yet, but other tools offer great options for developers,” Microsoft said in a statement, adding that the tools for Web and iOS developers are ready, with another option coming soon to allow older Windows programs to run on phones and tablets. Microsoft said, “We’re committed to offering developers many options to bring their apps to the Windows Platform.”