Microsoft to unify Windows app updates under a centralized system

Microsoft wants to unify future app updates on Windows under a single update system – the Windows Update orchestration platform. The preview is currently available for developers and product teams.

The experience would be similar to updates for apps through the Microsoft Store. Microsoft has announced that it’s building a new Windows-native update orchestration platform that would coordinate updates across “all onboarded products,” instead of each app using its own update mechanism.

“Updates across the Windows ecosystem can feel like a fragmented experience,” Microsoft said in a blog post for developers.

“Today, line-of-business apps, Windows components, Visual Studio, and other products are updated independently. There are costs to create, maintain, and improve your update orchestration.”

The orchestration platform would support all updates and manage them alongside Windows updates.

Developers can already sign up for the private preview and access the new system through a set of Windows Runtime (WinRT) APIs and PowerShell commands.

With a centralized system, Microsoft hopes to solve fragmented update issues, such as CPU and bandwidth spikes when the device is in use, confusing and conflicting notifications, missed compliance deadlines, and added support costs.

This bears similarities to the centralized update systems commonly found in Linux distributions, such as package managers like APT or DNF.

Both admins and users would see benefits such as efficient scheduling, coherent notifications, app update history in one centralized location, policy management for deadlines, and others.

The orchestrator will support common app packaging types, including MSIX/APPX, and custom implementations such as Win32 apps.

Developers who want to enroll should register with the orchestrator as an update provider and then use the APIs to tell the orchestrator about the updates and additional information.