Windows 10 System Apps Review: Conclusion

Note: This page forms part of the post Windows 10 System Apps Review

And so my review of all 29 system apps available in Windows 10 v1511 comes to an end. This means it’s time for some conclusions.

When one tots up the ratings I gave for each app we end up with:

HIT         13

MAYBE 12

MISS      4

This at first appears as if the vast majority of the apps performed excellently, although it’s worth remembering that “Do they do the job they were primarily designed for?” was the main criteria, which for a lot of the apps was fulfilled either because they couldn’t fail (e.g. ‘Get Skype’ app is just a link) or because, love them or loath them, they do actually do a basic job (e.g. People app).

Being a ‘Hit’ doesn’t mean they are the pinnacle of their genre, or that there isn’t room for some improvement, or lots of improvement. But when an app does do a decent job on its basic functionality, it’ll be all too easy to knock them down. I tried to come at the reviews from the angle where I imagined the vast majority of desktop users looking at each app to deliver on their own basic expectations in terms of functionality and usability.

Sure, most UWP apps look bland and lack sophistication but does that make them useless? As I found, most of the apps deliver something to the user, although whether anyone would actually notice the apps in the first place, or use them as a first choice to do a specific function … well, that’s another story altogether. Easily you can get better functionality and usability elsewhere for all but a few of the apps Microsoft offers for free. If you look at alternatives you can use on Windows 10 to any of the 29 system apps, it’s most likely only perhaps Alarms and Clocks, Calculator, Contact Support, OneNote, Store, Sway & Voice Recorder would be those you would be highly tempted to use in the first instance rather than going elsewhere. On the desktop the alternatives are vast and thus the system apps for most people are not the first choice. On Windows 10 mobile it’s most likely a totally different issue because there aren’t a lot of high quality alternatives.

From a Windows 10 desktop perspective the end conclusion is:

• Could the offering of system apps be better? Hell yeah. They could be considerably better.
• Are the offerings of system apps poor? No. There’s some usefulness in most apps and a decent ‘stab’ at basic functionality.
• Could you do without most of the system apps? Yes. Easily. And therein lies the problem at this juncture for Microsoft and their crusade to promote UWP as a big deal

	MY RATING	ARE THERE BETTER ALTERNATIVES?
3D Builder	MISS	MAYBE
Alarms and Clocks	HIT	NO
Calculator	HIT	NO
Calendar	MAYBE	YES
Camera	MAYBE	MAYBE
Contact Support	HIT	NO
Films & TV	MAYBE	YES
Get Skype	HIT	NA
Get Office	HIT	NA
Get Started	HIT	MAYBE
Groove Music	MAYBE	YES
Mail	MAYBE	YES
Maps	MAYBE	YES
Messaging	MISS	YES
Microsoft Solitaire Collection	HIT	MAYBE
Microsoft Wi-Fi	HIT	MAYBE
Money	HIT	MAYBE
News	MAYBE	YES
OneNote	HIT	NO
People	HIT	YES
Phone	MISS	NA
Phone Companion	HIT	YES
Photos	MAYBE	YES
Sport	MISS	YES
Store	HIT	NA
Sway	MAYBE	NO
Voice Recorder	MAYBE	NO
Weather	MAYBE	YES
Xbox	MAYBE	NA