During Build 2014, Microsoft unveiled a brand new Windows Store design, which focuses on improving navigation and making it easier to find apps. The Windows Store also features a new persistent green bar at the top, giving you quick access to various Windows Store sections.
According to research from Microsoft, customers want a Store that is easy to browse, has a large variety of apps, an easy to navigate interface, and the ability to find specific apps. The current design of the Windows Store, although decent, needs some fine-tuning.
With that being said, Microsoft has made some new improvements to the Windows Store, adding a section just for categories, just like the Windows Phone Store. You can also see a full list of app collections, similar to the Windows Phone Store. These collections include the Getting Started collection, Better together collection, and Red Stripe Deals. The Windows Store team will also publish hand-picked app collections, for your downloading pleasure. Apps that are featured in deals will clearly showcase the price reduction on the app’s description page as well, so you can easily see the discount.
The homepage of the Windows Store is also easier to navigate using a mouse, which is an added bonus. There is also a new persistent green menu bar at the top of the Windows Store app, which eliminates the need of having to right click to see your account details or see the Windows Store categories. This is obviously better for non-touch users.
Microsoft also revealed that the Windows Store will soon cut app certification time down to just a few hours, rather than a few days. This would be similar to the Windows Phone Store.
This update to the Windows Store is likely to roll out when Windows 8.1 Update 1 rolls out on April 8th, but that’s just an educated guess on our part. Microsoft did not indicate exactly when we would see this updated Windows Store. How do you like the new interface and features?
Further reading: Microsoft, Windows Store
