Store Apps for Windows 8.x – important EOL dates

[German]Just a brief information for users of Windows Phone 8.x and desktop systems with Windows 8.x. Microsoft has announced some important end of life (EOL) dates for app developers.

The announcement was made via the Windows Developer Blog by the Store Team and is entitled Important dates regarding apps with Windows Phone 8.x and earlier and Windows 8/8.1 packages submitted to Microsoft Store. Well, my first thought was, 'important' in combination with Windows 8.x and apps is an Oxymoron. Windows 8.x sails on raw about 5% of desktop machines (it only has a shadowy existence) and same is with Windows Phone 8.x. I postulate, we won't see new apps for these platforms. Nevertheless, here are the important dates:

• October 31, 2018: Microsoft will stop accepting new app submissions with Windows Phone 8.x or earlier or Windows 8/8.1 packages (XAP or APPX). This will not affect existing apps with packages targeting Windows Phone 8.x or earlier and/or Windows 8/8.1. You can continue to submit updates to these apps as described below.
• July 1, 2019: Microsoft will stop distributing app updates to Windows Phone 8.x or earlier devices. You'll still be able to publish updates to all apps (including those with Windows Phone 8.x or earlier packages). However, these updates will only be made available to Windows 10 devices.
•  July 1, 2023: Microsoft will stop distributing app updates to Windows 8/8.1 device. Developers are still be able to publish updates to all apps (including those with Windows 8/8.1 packages). However, these updates will only be made available to Windows 10 devices.

Concerning the last topic, developers are still be able to publish updates to all apps (also for Windows 8.x), but will only be made available to Windows 10 devices – are they kidding? The author of the Microsoft blog post has prepared also another joke for app developers, writing:

We encourage you to explore how you can port your existing app to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) where you can create a single Windows 10 app package that your customers can install onto all device families. You can learn more about UWP apps here.

I've addressed the beef only within my German blog post Windows 10 Apps: Können PWAs es reißen?. For you, as an English reader, I recommend, to read the Technet blog post Tip o' the Week 426 – You've been PWAned from Evan D. and draw your own conclusions.