Microsoft wants users to test Windows apps for 3 minutes without download

Microsoft has announced a preview of playable ads for its Dev Center. Allows developers to show ads for apps to Windows 10 users. If a user clicks on such an ad, he can use the app for three minutes without downloading it.

According to Microsoft, in that case, the application must be usable “as if it were actually installed on the system”. This new method would offer advantages over the current model, where users leave the original app when they click on an ad. Microsoft calls the technique , where leaving the original app is no longer necessary, ‘inline expandable app streaming’.

In addition, the app is available to the user from an App Streaming server. If it chooses to download the application after three minutes, it will immediately connect to the Windows Store. The function seems to be mainly suitable for playing very short game demos; this application is therefore mentioned by Microsoft in its announcement. Users should be able to leave the stream at any time, the company said.

Whether and when such ads will appear on a large scale in Windows 10 is unclear. Microsoft recently started showing OneDrive advertisements in Windows 10’s explorer. Several users reacted with annoyance to this.