Like all smartphone operating systems, Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile need apps. While every smartphone comes with pre-installed apps, we all want to be able to add functionality to our devices via 3rd party apps. To download apps to your Windows Phone device is a straightforward process via the Windows 10 Mobile apps store, but there are other ways to get apps on your phone, just in case something goes wrong. Here are all the ways to go about it.
How do you download apps on a Windows Phone?
We start with the direct approach – how to download apps on a Windows phone via the app store Once the download completes, you are good to go.
How to download apps on a Windows Phone 8 device without using the app store
If you need to download apps to a smartphone running Windows Phone 8, or higher, and it has an SD card slot, you will be able to .xap files to install manually. XAP files are native Windows Phone app format. Here is how to go about it: This method is important because the Windows Phone 8.1 app store was shut down in December 2019, so this is perhaps the only way to get apps on them now. The limitation with this method is that you need a Developer Account for it to work.
How to download apps on a Windows 10 Mobile device using a Web browser
If you own a Windows 10 Mobile smartphone, you can also install apps to it using a Web browser. This one does not require a Developer Account, but you will need to sign in to your Microsoft account.. Once the installation is completed, you can launch the app to use it.
Windows 10 Mobile apps are on a life line
The Windows 10 Mobile app store is still alive, delivering updates to Microsoft’s own suite of productivity apps – Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. However, it will likely be shut down in January 2021, when support for those apps end. No new apps are being developed or accepted for Windows 10 Mobile any more, and all support for the platform, including security updates, hotfixes, ended in December 2019. Effectively, Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile are dead, and you should be looking to switch to an Android smartphone or iPhone at this point.
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