This article was published on March 13, 2017

Windows 10 will soon let you try apps without installing them first


Windows 10 will soon let you try apps without installing them first

Microsoft has announced that it’s bringing support for Playable Ads to Windows 10, a feature which will allow you to see how an app works without having to download or install it from the Store first.

The program’s preview launched last week in the Windows Dev Center. Once advertisers start to take advantage of it, you’ll able to stream an app or game for three minutes as if it was natively installed on your device.

Sound familiar? Google adopted a similar approach with Android Instant Apps, which it first showed off at its IO developer conference last May and launched publicly in January.

The move to enable interactive ads like this should help you make a smarter choice about whether you should shell out good money or give up hard drive space for an app you come across. Plus, they don’t require any special coding; advertisers only need to click a few buttons to set up Playable Ads for their Store apps.

The new feature is currently in limited preview; Microsoft hasn’t yet announced when it’ll become more widely available. So, yeah, expect to see more Windows app and Store ads in the coming months.

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