The Windows 10 Instagram app has been updated in the Microsoft Store and converted to a full PWA that makes use of the Chromium Edge installation process.
Despite Microsoft and Google’s confidence in PWAs, there’s been a lurch in developers adopting the conceptual advantages of a single web-based platform development process over dedicated multiplatform app resources.
Fortunately, for the 192 million Twitter users and now 1.16 billion Instagram users, these companies have chosen to pursue the PWA path of development to help expand their usage on desktops.
After updating the Instagram app through the Microsoft Store, users are met with the color-branded version of the icon as they would have if they used Edge to create an app from the website itself. A new ellipsis is now present at the top left of the app that offers additional settings options normally found in Edge.
If Twitter’s PWA progress is any indicator of what to expect for Instagram, users could be in for shortened feature parity timelines on desktop as well as gaining some additional native notification settings in Windows 10.
Ideally, Microsoft and Google will touch upon PWAs and their respective developer tools to make future development more alluring and resource accessible during BULD and I/O next month.
The update appears to be rolling out to devices and may not be present in all facets of the Microsoft app store at the moment.
