Microsoft senior engineer David Fowler posted on the social platform that "Native apps are back (Native apps are back)", implies that Windows 11 is promoting the gradual replacement of applications with native implementations. This is the same signal released by another senior engineer after Microsoft Store and File Explorer architect Rudy Huyn confirmed earlier this year that "Microsoft plans to build 100% native applications for Windows 11."
Fowler has worked at Microsoft for more than ten years and has been deeply involved in the construction of core development platforms such as .NET and ASP.NET Core. His statements are regarded as an important benchmark for the direction of internal engineering.
A prominent controversy in Windows 11 in recent years is that a large number of system components use Web technology, that is, using web technology to implement desktop applications.
Currently, the applications in the Microsoft Store are mainly web applications, and core components such as the start menu at the system level are also built based on web frameworks such as React.
This approach reduces development costs, but at the cost of high startup latency, large memory usage, and lower interaction smoothness than traditional native applications.
According to previous reports, Microsoft has begun to migrate some key experiences from Web components to native technology. The Start menu is moving from React-based Shell components to the WinUI framework to reduce latency and improve response speed.
The key technical support to achieve this goal comes from the recently released .NET 10. This version introduces Native AOT (Ahead-of-Time) compilation technology, which can shorten application startup time and reduce memory usage.
Neither Fowler nor Huyn disclosed the specific timetable and migration scope, but judging from the successive statements of the two senior engineers, the "de-webpage" of Windows 11 has entered a substantial stage of advancement.