Nvidia CEO claims Windows Phone 7 apps will run on Windows 8

By Tom Warren, on 6th Sep 11 8:49 pm with 36 Comments

Microsoft's Metro design language in action

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang believes Windows Phone 7 apps will run on Windows 8.

Huang made the claims in an interview with CNET News.com on Tuesday. The Nvidia boss explained that his company is one of the only serious providers of chips to consumer electronics manufacturers. “We’re the only person actively on the dance floor with Qualcomm,” he said. Huang also discussed the importance of mobile. “If you don’t have a mobile strategy, you’re in deep turd,” Huang said. “If you’re not in mobile processors now, you’re seven years too late.”

CNET does not quote him directly but reveals that he believes Windows Phone 7 apps will run on Windows 8 as part of Microsoft’s mobile strategy. The brief revelation is the first admission by a senior figure with key insight into Microsoft’s Windows 8 plans. Microsoft is currently unifying the Windows 8, Xbox and Windows Phone user interface into a standard view that includes bright and colourful live tiles. Microsoft is believed to be working on a common development platform that will unite applications across the TV, desktop and phone.

Silverlight could be at the heart of Microsoft’s plans to unite all three screens across a cloud. Silverlight is the application development platform for Windows Phone 7. Developers use it to access the hardware aspects of Windows Phone devices and native phone functionality. Silverlight can also use the XNA framework and access Xbox LIVE. Microsoft previously revealed in November that it was planning to bring Silverlight to the Xbox as part of the next wave. The company has been suspiciously quiet about its Silverlight Xbox plans ever since.

Microsoft threw its weight behind HTML5 in Windows 8 by revealing that its new Start Screen will be powered by HTML5 and JavaScript based web apps. Microsoft failed to mention Silverlight but this has to be an important part of Windows 8. The software giant is believed to be readying a new application model codenamed “Jupiter” that will allow developers to create Silverlight based applications, deployed as AppX packages (.appx). The packages will be part of a new Windows application store, pre-installed with Windows 8. If Huang’s comments ring true then we’re about to witness a strong convergence of applications across the TV, desktop and phone. Stay tuned to BUILD at WinRumors next week to find out more.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris

Nothing new. For a unified ecosystem it should be really easy to build crossplatform apps.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris

Nothing new. For a unified ecosystem it should be really easy to build crossplatform apps.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris

Nothing new. For a unified ecosystem it should be really easy to build crossplatform apps.
Anonymous

WP7 apps on Windows 8 is going to be very appealing to businesses.
- http://twitter.com/TroyGates TroyGates
  
  And to consumers. Buy once, use on 3 OS’s.
- rsgx
  
  Cliche, but this sounds like “winning!” to me.
- Jinge
  
  Yep, but not sure it will be the same app exactly. The packaging may be different, so might be on a different marketplace…
  I think it is more like “you only need 1 hour of dev to port it to W8″… But sure, WP7 apps on W8 start screen could be awesome!
Anonymous

WP7 apps on Windows 8 is going to be very appealing to businesses.
FairObserver

if microsoft announces that Win8 wont run WP7 apps, its would be the lame thing one can do to turn away the developers from wp7 platform.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris
  
  Wont happen. Its like you are hoping they would do it, just to prove that your faith in them was wrong.
- http://twitter.com/oolong2 oolong2
  
  I’ve been saying all along it would be suicide if they went down the path of Silverlight and XNA for windows phone and then made the development experience completely different on Windows 8.
  
  However if this was the plan all along why even talk about HTML5 and Javascript? Then not even mention Silverlight or .Net as an option?
  
  It’s been nothing but a PR disaster for developer faith in Microsoft….
  
  My guess is that they are indeed working on another development platform for Windows 8 that will be announced at BUILD however they will continue to support Silverlight and .Net for compatability with WP7.
  
  What they should have done is announced support for WP7 apps so that developers know they can transfer what they are doing for WP7 to Windows 8 and then THATS IT… Instead of saying “hey we’re doing HTML5! learn more at BUILD!” which just confused everybody.
  
  My fear is that instead of having a consistent development experience Windows 8 will have way too many development options (HTML5/Javascript, Silverlight, .Net/WPF, Direct UI, C++, etc.) and developers won’t know where to start..
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Mitch-Foster/100000527225418 Mitch Foster
  
  Since there is (presumably) a year until the Win8 launch, I think developers will have enough time from BUILD, until then, to transfer their WP7 stuff
- http://twitter.com/oolong2 oolong2
  
  lol having enough time to tranfer isn’t a solution to the fact that any WP7 project from now until the foreseable future would have to go through a conversion process for Windows 8 (at least until a WP8)
  
  I just hope they aren’t muddying the water with too many development options. Android you have Java, iPhone objective C, then you turn to Windows and you have 5 different possibilities….
  
  It’s fine if someone wants to create their own framework in Java, Javascript, Ruby, Python, etc. for Windows 8. but Microsoft needs to focus on a single platform vision… They claimed that vision was Silverlight.
  
  Maybe Silverlight itself will be extended to support HTML5 (since Silverlight itself already supports Javascript) and Silverlight Xaml will be accelerated on Windows through Direct UI? Instead of the Xaml going through the .Net engine it goes directly to the OS with hooks into .Net and Javascript.
  
  The more I think about that scenario the more that makes sense…. Direct native compiling of Xaml on Windows that combines WPF and Silverlight into a single framework instead of 2.
- Anonymous
  
  I agree that this is weird, but my guess is that Microsoft is promoting HTML5 to attract more developers, but they’ll also offer Silverlight/XNA for more advanced apps, and then traditional .no with C# for those that want “complete freedom”.
  
  I’m also guessing that to get your app in the store it’ll have to be HTML5 or Silverlight/XNA though.
- http://twitter.com/oolong2 oolong2
  
  I’ve been saying all along it would be suicide if they went down the path of Silverlight and XNA for windows phone and then made the development experience completely different on Windows 8.
  
  However if this was the plan all along why even talk about HTML5 and Javascript? Then not even mention Silverlight or .Net as an option?
  
  It’s been nothing but a PR disaster for developer faith in Microsoft….
  
  My guess is that they are indeed working on another development platform for Windows 8 that will be announced at BUILD however they will continue to support Silverlight and .Net for compatability with WP7.
  
  What they should have done is announced support for WP7 apps so that developers know they can transfer what they are doing for WP7 to Windows 8 and then THATS IT… Instead of saying “hey we’re doing HTML5! learn more at BUILD!” which just confused everybody.
  
  My fear is that instead of having a consistent development experience Windows 8 will have way too many development options (HTML5/Javascript, Silverlight, .Net/WPF, Direct UI, C++, etc.) and developers won’t know where to start..
Anonymous

I really hope MS use the new Xbox Media Hub UI instead of the old Windows Media Center UI….that way we will be able to use the apps/marketplace with ease. Currently, the add-ins for 7MC are very limited.

http://s102.photobucket.com/albums/m90/PRINCEGRINCH/Xbox%20360%20Media%20Hub%20UI/
- Aaron
  
  What I don’t understand is why the Netflix interface is different for xbox and MC considering they are both meant for TV. The xbox interface feels much smoother in my opinion and they should just use that interface on both products. I love MS but this is another example of their problems with consistency.
Anonymous

It all depends on the final implementation. I absolutely hate running iPhone apps on my iPad, because the experiences are so disparate. If they go the lazy route like that, it’ll be a useless feature.
- Anonymous
  
  I don’t think that is the way they are going to address compatability. Did you notice the layout of the smaller screen in the split screen immersive mode, that is how windows phone will be compatable.
Anonymous

believes ≠ claims
http://twitter.com/Joelleigh Joel leigh

I hope they don’t allow straight up ports. I don’t want to see scaled up app in Win 8.
- port
  
  Well it won’t be as bad as Android.
Anonymous

Nvidia is horribly wrong. I think most Windows tablets that are sold will be ether Intel or (Hopefully) AMD’s new Bulldozer. Samsung just proved that you can make X86 thin, light, and good battery life. People who will buy these will be looking at it as a laptop alternative, not just another device. which means they will want the More powerful option. Tegra 3 does look nice but i cant even touch a 5 year old Core 2 duo. If Nvidia thinks they are the olny option thier wrong, Microsoft is in love with TI and everyone else uses Qualcomm. Modern phones arnt coming out with Tegra anymore. Just the Atrix and G2X.

Good luck Nvidia, You’ll need every bit.
- Anonymous
  
  If they did like Apple with its Universal apps, but in this case have different executables for different platforms compiled from one code base, it could work. Build for one, run on many, and tweak for interface differences like iOS universal apps.
- Anonymous
  
  If they did like Apple with its Universal apps, but in this case have different executables for different platforms compiled from one code base, it could work. Build for one, run on many, and tweak for interface differences like iOS universal apps.
- Anonymous
  
  I think it will be a mix of ARM and x86, I think the $400 to $800 range slates will be ARM the more expensive ones will be x86 with wacom digitizers. So I think there will be a healthy mix of the two. The market place will make it invisible to the owners which version they have. Visual Studio will make it mostly invisable to the developer which version to target, so I don’t think it will be an issue.
Anonymous

Now this would be a great idea if it’s true… Buy an app and use it everywhere. If MS can deal with the interface differences effectively, it will be a great tool to push both WP7 and W8.
Anonymous

Now this would be a great idea if it’s true… Buy an app and use it everywhere. If MS can deal with the interface differences effectively, it will be a great tool to push both WP7 and W8.
Anonymous

Microsoft is starting to put the puzzle together. The first important one was IE9 on the Windows Phone 7. Not a mobile downgraded version but the actual version. So, having Windows 8 using HTML5, it is going to be quite easy to even bring Windows 8 apps to WP7 but scaled down of course. This will result in an explosion of apps for the WP7!…

Quite possibly right after the BUILD conference.
Anonymous

More Apple copying. Apple is already unifying OS X and iOS.
- http://www.facebook.com/lordadamwalker Adam The-Bicep Walker
  
  It’s not copying, its just common sense. It’s the way all technology is moving and any company would be stupid not to follow suit.
- rsgx
  
  Apple is unifying them by making OS X look like iOS. Doesn’t sound like a great idea.
- mouse
  
  You missed the fact that MS already planned this, before Apple did it (and it was publicly known) just like Touch Mouse Vs Magic Mouse.
- Jinge
  
  MS was already doing it with Windows Mobile (you could run WM apps on desktop just by modifying references & project settings), so nothing new from apple
- Anonymous
  
  What Microsoft seems to be doing is way ahead of what Apple is doing.
http://twitter.com/inkatechnology InkaTechnology UK

The real question is how do you simulate multi-touch figure inputs with your mouse? Actually desktop apps which sync data with mobile apps are the proper solution to this problem.