Tencent App Store and Microsoft Store Collaboration: Mobile Engine for Windows 11

On May 28, the Tencent App Store Cross-Terminal Ecosystem Conference was held in Beijing. At the conference, Tencent App Store announced a partnership with Microsoft Store. The two parties will work together to realize the listing of Tencent App Store mobile content on the Microsoft Store. At the same time, Windows users can seamlessly download and install mobile applications on the Windows platform and enjoy the native experience of mobile applications.


Tencent App Store and Microsoft Store reach cooperation

Tencent App Store and Microsoft Store Collaboration: Mobile Engine for Windows​

Through this cooperation, in the future Windows users will be able to search for mobile applications through channels such as the App Store, Start Menu, Windows Search, and Bing, which will trigger the Microsoft Store to complete download and installation, and will generate shortcuts on Windows. Users can use them by clicking the shortcut icon on the desktop.

Tencent Vice President Lin Songtao pointed out that the huge space of the PC market and the insufficient content supply form a sharp contrast, and the integration of PC and mobile ecosystems has become an inevitable trend. He said: "The PC side has a huge user base. We hope to provide mobile developers with technical, traffic and commercial support in cross-end integration through the PC version of App Store, together with Microsoft Store and Intel, to jointly promote the prosperity and development of the PC application ecosystem and bring users a better cross-end experience."

Market research data [1] show that with the development and maturity of mobile Internet, the shipment volume of mobile phones and the number of applications have shown a downward trend in recent years. In contrast, smart terminals have continued to diversify, and PC shipments have remained stable, with monthly active users reaching 500 million. Compared with the average number of applications installed per person on PC, the average number of applications installed per person on mobile Internet users is as high as 68, highlighting the serious inadequacy of the development of the application ecosystem in the PC market. In addition, PC users have the characteristics of high time usage, high retention, and high payment.

Giorgio Sardo, general manager of Microsoft Store, said that as one of the most commonly used applications on the Windows platform, Microsoft Store provides consumers with trusted applications, games and AI experiences; Tencent App Store is one of China's leading mobile application distribution platforms, with deep accumulation in virtual technology and application distribution operations. This cooperation will allow Windows PCs in the Chinese mainland market to seamlessly experience mobile applications and mobile games brought by the Microsoft Store Tencent App Store area on a variety of architectures (including ARM). Mobile developers will have the opportunity to display and promote products on Windows devices, covering many scenarios such as Microsoft Store, Windows Start Menu, Windows Search and Bing. Next, it is expected that the Tencent area will support more than 1,500 mobile applications when it is first launched in the Microsoft Store. We look forward to bringing users a better experience. At the same time, the AI application area will soon be available on the Microsoft Store application store.

New ecosystem of PC- mobile integration: new opportunities for mobile developers​

It is understood that the computer version of Tencent App Store will be officially launched in 2023. It is carefully built based on the two underlying technologies of Intel® Bridge (IBT) and Celadon, successfully breaking the barriers between x86 and ARM architectures and achieving a perfect integration of PC and mobile terminals. This innovation not only supports the application split-screen function, but also can call on hardware resources such as PC camera, microphone and location positioning, while supporting multi-tasking and multi-window operation, allowing users to easily switch between different applications.

At this conference, Intel and Tencent App Store jointly announced a major upgrade in cross-end experience. The Android version of the mobile application engine has been upgraded to 13, with a new parallel vision function, which enables dual-use of one screen, allowing users to enjoy multi-screen + keyboard mapping operations more conveniently in the Windows environment, with a clear interface; the new AI computing power sharing function has been added, and mobile applications can give full play to the AI performance of the Intel platform and provide a more intelligent experience; in terms of platform optimization, the platform performance has been greatly improved, the integrated graphics card has enhanced display performance, and the high frame rate mode and video enhancement can bring users a high-quality experience of high-definition large screens without wasting every frame; enhanced adaptation to new applications and games, bringing users a smoother and more stable cross-end experience to meet the diversified needs of the digital age.

At present, App Treasure gathers a large number of mobile applications and can provide rich content for the PC ecosystem. In terms of products, the PC version of App Treasure provides users with a native Windows application experience, especially in terms of cross-terminal experience differences, and optimizes the adaptation of login and payment links. For developers, the PC version of App Treasure provides diversified growth and commercialization opportunities, and supports a full range of business links, including advertising, in-app purchases, and PC malls. It is reported that the scale of new games currently listed on the PC version of App Treasure has increased by 100% compared with the single mobile terminal distribution. The PC scene payment of some games accounts for more than 40% of the overall market turnover, and the retention of new games on the next day is 1.9 times that of the overall market.

Zhang Qinchen, deputy general manager of Tencent's commercial product department, said at the event, "The integration of PC and mobile ecosystems is moving towards a more detailed and in-depth development stage, among which cross-platform design, unified account system, data synchronization, intelligence and global layout will become the key pillars to drive the industry forward. Tencent App Store will also be committed to working with partners to jointly promote the construction and development of the PC mobile ecosystem."

According to reports, mobile games, audio-visual entertainment, content creation, and education and learning are currently the most popular types of mobile applications. At the press conference, people from various industries including games, live broadcasts, and laptops also said that in the future, with the popularization and integration of various smart devices, mobile applications and games will have more cross-end experience needs. Cai Jiantao, head of Tencent App Store PC version business, introduced that developers can easily adapt mobile applications to PC to achieve cross-end compatibility, and only need to carry out lightweight development and adaptation.

"We share a common vision with Tencent App Store - to promote open, integrated, and computing-power-sharing software services. In the future, we will work closely together to leverage the computing power advantages of the Intel platform and the open, integrated technology framework, with the help of Intel's PC industry ecosystem chain and Tencent App Store's deep accumulation in the mobile application ecosystem, to jointly achieve a converged PC application ecosystem and use the 'core' to help enrich and better user experience." Dr. Li Ying, Intel Vice President and General Manager of Intel China Software and Advanced Technology Group, said at the press conference.

In fact, with the popularization of smart products and applications, major Internet companies and PC equipment manufacturers have launched Android virtual terminal products on PCs, and the total number of domestic Android virtual terminal users has exceeded 100 million. However, traditional Android virtual terminals have problems such as easy modification, high permissions, and no available identifiers. Some criminals even began to use simulators obtained through informal channels to make ill-gotten gains. In response to this, Tencent App Store has developed a series of security tools to prevent and control the use of simulators for malicious software dissemination, fraud and other illegal activities; on the other hand, it has also jointly promoted the Android virtual terminal device identification standard on PCs with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology to guide the healthy and orderly development of the industry.