There has been much turmoil and conversation about the new features and tools created to allow for easier porting of existing iOS or Android code to the Windows Platform. The announcements mean that they will be able to bring more basic apps over (banking ones, general use, some games) with a much smaller assisted dev budget than before…
I don’t see the rapid influx of Android or iOS developers rushing to take over the Win market, there is far too much small-minded Microhate out there for that to happen.
Simply re-compiling a iOS or android project will not give the rich / adaptive UI necessary to create a great, cross device experience or to take advantage of all that Windows has to offer, there still is architecture, device and user consideration to factor in. Many devs will not do this, to their own detriment. The projects where Microsoft partners with top development shops to create Windows Platform versions of their popular products will do this.
I don’t see native development going anywhere right now, or in the near future. Native development still looks strong, there are still vast resources and effort being put into the native toolset And the evolution of those tools
Many native developers thought the world was ending with Cordova, HTML 5 app development, App Studio and did anything change, not really..
It will take time for the numbers of Win 10 devices to hit a critical mass that will turn the vultures and, more importantly, the industry fanbois from their current troughs. At that time, we, as native developers will have to compete with the same numbers as if the platform had been popular all along, which has been what we wanted anyway right??? Why are we all whining and bitching?
My tactic will be to be entrenched in the landscape so that they are competing against me, not me against them.
Realistically, a vast majority of app developers do not make money, on any platform and these announcements are not for them… It is for the banks, services, and other companies that are not looking to make money, but reach all their customers… This will, hopefully close that gap… Until there is a device count that approaches, matches or exceeds the other platforms, most developers will ignore this change.
Worst case scenario, the porting tools fall flatter than the WinJS options have. In which case, there are still native cases to be made for all the millions of users that do and still will use Windows.
As the platform gains traction and market share promised (if it does) there will be value in knowing how to rapidly, expertly and effectively create experiences that do that. In the event that Microsoft does exactly what it dreams and regains the dominant position, the native developers that have worked hard to hone their craft, will be golden. Until then, even targeting the smallest market on the landscape, i am doing just fine and it will just get better.
Every challenge is only what you make it.
