Plex is retiring their Microsoft Store app

In theory, with Windows 7 rapidly approaching end-of-life and a real push to upgrade those users to Windows 10, now would be the perfect time for a Microsoft Store app.

Surprisingly in practice, we have seen fewer and fewer Store apps being launched, with even Microsoft giving the Store a miss.

Today media streaming app Plex has joined the exodus, announcing the end of life of their Microsoft Store app, to be replaced with a new desktop app which can, of course, be installed directly from the web.

They write:

First, the Windows Store app. It’s been a little broken for a while now. Back when we first started developing Windows apps, it made a ton of sense to embrace the ecosystem, but over time (? Windows Phone ?) it made less and less sense to keep investing dedicated development resources to the Metro [sic] platform. We’d much rather invest the effort on a cross-platform app with a best-in-class player engine under the hood, so as of today we’re taking our Windows app out of the store. The new desktop app which replaces it has a much more capable player stack, support for all modern features, and finally a proper replacement for Sync.

The announcement is, of course, a clear criticism of the failings of older Metro apps, being more constrained, less powerful and doomed by the lack of a cross-platform runtime.

The new Plex app has all the player capability of Plex Media Player, plus new offline capability. Users will easily be able to download media for local access even when offline.

The app does, however, lack a TV mode, meaning there is now little point in connecting your PC to your TV, with Plex being supported directly on smart TVs. For those who prefer the old solution, Plex will Plex support Media Player until Jan 30, 2020.

The app is available for Mac and Windows and can be downloaded here. Read more about the development at Plex here.

Via the WC.