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Windows 11 to get a major overhaul - Back to native apps

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 04 Apr 2026 6:59

Windows 11 to get a major overhaul -  Back to native apps

Microsoft has recently given strong hints that Windows 11's problems and pain points are finally being seriously addressed.
As one clear step, Microsoft has established a completely new team, which focuses on renewing a large number of key Windows core applications - and they are intended to be implemented entirely as native applications. This refers to the fact that nowadays - in both Windows and most other operating systems - a large portion of applications are implemented as so-called PWA applications, meaning, to put it very simply, they are solutions built with web technologies, wrapped as apps.

The advantage of native applications over PWA applications is that they demand much less PC resources like RAM, and partly also better consistency in the user interface's appearance and usability. Apple has also been criticized for the fact that an increasing number of Mac's core applications are implemented using (usually Electron) PWA technology.



The team will be led by a name perhaps vaguely familiar to many tech enthusiasts, Rudy Huyn. Huyn rose to fame during the Windows Phone era, when the biggest problem with Windows phones was the lack of many important applications. App giants were not interested in developing new versions of their apps for Windows Phone, so Huyn - usually without permission - made them himself. His creations on Windows Phone included an unofficial Tinder app for Windows Phone and an unofficial Windows Phone version of Secret.

Microsoft snapped him up soon after Windows Phone's collapse, and since then, Huyn has been working for the company. Now, he is moving to lead a new team that will unify and lighten Windows' application selection.

The advantages of native applications are particularly emphasized now, as computer memory prices have completely spiraled out of control and computers with as little as 4GB of RAM have returned to the market.

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