Microsoft to update its core Windows 8 apps well before ‘Blue’
Summary: Microsoft may have refreshes of its Mail, Calendar, Music and Games apps for Windows 8 and Windows RT in its app store as soon as this month. — There's been some worry that Microsoft's Windows team may be waiting until the …
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had already iterated on its built-in communication apps during the Windows 8 Release Preview, including a pre-release refresh of Mail, Calendar, People and Messaging. It also scheduled standalone software such as the Windows 8 and Windows RT Lync app outside the operating-system release cycle.
The planned Store refresh separates improvements to Mail, Calendar, Music and Games from the broader “Blue” wave, which prior coverage described as extending beyond Windows. That makes the core-app experience a product surface Microsoft can revise independently on both Windows 8 and Windows RT.
First-order effects
- Windows 8 and Windows RT users are positioned to receive revised Mail, Calendar, Music and Games through the app store before the wider Blue update.
- Microsoft can address core-app shortcomings without holding those changes for the operating-system release.
Second-order effects
- The Windows Store becomes a more consequential delivery channel for Microsoft’s own software, not just third-party apps, raising the importance of keeping Windows 8 and Windows RT app versions aligned.
- A separate core-app cadence lets Microsoft reserve Blue for platform-level changes while testing user-facing improvements in smaller releases.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft sustains this split, Windows product development shifts toward modular servicing: built-in experiences update through the store while the operating system follows a broader release cycle.
The trend: Microsoft is treating Windows’ built-in apps as independently updateable services rather than features tied entirely to major OS releases.