Build 2020 is Microsoft’s annual developer conference. Here’s everything that happened at this year’s show.
Microsoft on Tuesday kicked off the first day of its 2020 Build conference with a ton of new announcements. During the digital-only event, Microsoft announced a new platform for Windows apps called Project Reunion, HoloLens 2 getting 5G support, new features coming to Microsoft Teams, and more.
Here’s everything you need to know from Build 2020
Unification of UWP and Win32 apps
The Universal Windows Platform is dead. At this year’s Build 2020, Microsoft announced that it is unifying Win32 and UWP” under the WinUI framework. Under Project Reunion, Microsoft will unify the Windows developer program to make it easier to build apps across all the Windows 10 versions. Project Reunion will provide a common platform for new apps.
“Project Reunion expands this effort to make it easier to build a great Windows app,” Kevin Gallo, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Developer Platform, said in a statement. “It will unify access to existing Win32and UWP APIs and make them available decoupled from the OS, via tools like NuGet.”
The Universal Windows Platform was supposed to give developers a single unified platform they could use to create apps that would run on a wide range of devices including Windows computers Windows Phone, HoloLens, or Xbox One game consoles. The UMP also promised that the platform would provide apps with better performance and security as they would be distributed from the Microsoft Store. Earlier this year, Microsoft gave the first signs that it was moving away from the UMP.
HoloLens 2 getting 5G support
HoloLens 2, the mixed reality headset, will be getting 5G dongle support. Plus, HoloLens 2 is coming to a number of new countries including the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Microsoft plans to ship the HoloLens 2, its mixed reality headset, in these markets in summer. The HoloLens 2 was originally announced at the last year’s Mobile World Congress. HoloLens 2 retails for $3500 in the US.
Microsoft Teams gets new features
Microsoft announced some new features coming to Microsoft Teams. These include the integration of the Bookings app with Microsoft Teams. Microsoft is also bringing Power Platform integration to Microsoft Teams. Microsoft is bringing new shifts actiona and APIs to build out Teams’ scheduling tool.
Microsoft Edge gets a Pinterest integration
Microsoft Edge is getting Pinterest integration. So now you can sync your Edge collections with your Pinterest boards. “This collaboration also allows users to export collections to a Pinterest account, populating a new board with any saved webpages or images,” Microsoft said. In addition, collections is getting the ability to send items to Microsoft’s OneNote note-taking tool. Pinterest integration is expected to start rolling out to Edge’s Insider testing channels in the next few days.