The latest and greatest technology have been, according to Microsoft’s marketing statements, Universal Windows Platform. The reason for that was the need for a single runtime for mobile devices, tablets, and desktops. Until recently. Surface Duo will stick with Android and Windows development is experiencing a rollback. Current UWP apps will no longer be eligible to distribution via Microsoft Store. Only those based on Windows App SDK will see the green light.
The good news is that this change is not as dramatic as it may look like. In fact, it is necessary, because UWP was historically a fork of .NET Framework. Microsoft is making a great effort to unify development stacks with .NET 6, which means that UWP was merged with .NET 5 into Windows App SDK. XAML for UWP, originally created as a truncated version of WPF, will be called WinUI 3. This UI stack is completely decoupled form from the OS and Windows 10 SDKs. Those steps are logical, they make sense. On the other hand, Windows (Phone / Universal) development has experienced so many earthquakes I perfectly understand why Microsoft Store lacks behind others (like App Store and Google Play).
Technical details are too early to judge. On the first sight it looks like transformation of the UWP/XAML/C# app into Windows App SDK/WinUI 3/C# app will be relatively easy. But it doesn't matter at all. As always, dependences are what the whole process slows down. However, I’m a little optimistic because .NET 6 is a universal platform, the opposite of what Universal Windows Platform is. Marketing will never transform technologies behind it. Marketing is just a cover or polish, depending on how is used.
The future is bright, as always. The truth will show up later. But one question can be asked right away – what was the whole technological drill all about?