The Microsoft Store is the place to download apps, games, and other content for your Windows PC. A few improvements to the Store are now being tested with Windows Insiders.
Microsoft released two new builds of Windows 11 today for testing: Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25330 in the Canary Channel, and Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23424 in the Dev Channel. Both versions include a new Microsoft Store update with a new way to install free apps and games — if you hover over an app in search results, an expanded card will appear with an install button. There’s no need to open the app listing first, if you already know you found the right app or game.
Microsoft is also updating the popup that appears when purchasing a game or app. The blog post explains, “The purchase dialog’s styles align better with Windows 11 to bring you a more pleasant checkout experience.” The popup to rate a game or app has also been updated to stay consistent with the Fluent design language in Windows 11.
The new updates aren’t revolutionary, but at least they aren’t making the Microsoft Store worse. Back in February, Microsoft started allowing advertisements in search results and below app listings, similar to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
The new changes should roll out to the Microsoft Store on all Windows 11 PCs, once any bugs are ironed out. It’s unclear if Windows 10 will also receive these improvements — Microsoft has mostly stopped adding new features to Windows 10, but the Microsoft Store is still closely aligned across both operating systems.
Source: Windows Insider Blog (1, 2)
