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Microsoft Removes Google's Chrome Installer From the Windows Store (theverge.com)
Not too long after Google published a Chrome app in the Windows Store, Microsoft removed it, claiming it "violates our Microsoft Store policies." The Verge reports: Citing the need to ensure apps "provide unique and distinct value," Microsoft says "we welcome Google to build a Microsoft Store browser app compliant with our Microsoft Store policies." That's an invitation that Google is unlikely to accept. There are many reasons Google won't likely bring Chrome to the Windows Store, but the primary reason is probably related to Microsoft's Windows 10 S restrictions. Windows Store apps that browse the web must use HTML and JavaScript engines provided by Windows 10, and Google's Chrome browser uses its own Blink rendering engine. Google would have to create a special Chrome app that would adhere to Microsoft's Store policies. Most Windows 10 machines don't run Windows 10 S, so Google probably won't create a special version just to get its browser listed in the Windows Store. Google can't just package its existing desktop app into a Centennial Windows Store app, either. Microsoft is explicit about any store apps having to use the Edge rendering engine.
First, UWP browsers have to use the same broke ass HTML/javascript engine that Edge uses. Second, iOS has a viable market of users, UWP does not. Likewise, it doesn't make any sense to bend over backwards for Microsoft. Notice Mozilla doesn't port firefox there either, and it wouldn't make any economic sense for them to do so. Third, this doesn't make any sense on Microsoft's part, because they already do exactly what Google did for some of their own products, like Skype for example.
Besides, UWP is total shit anyways. Ever notice how every app on there is stripped down to shit compared to their Android and iOS counterparts? It's because Microsoft is completely unresponsive to developers when they ask for features to be added. Android and iOS meanwhile have a very rich feature set in comparison. This is a problem across Microsoft's entire platform. Notice how there are hardly any webextensions available for Edge? It's very common for Microsoft to not respond -- at all -- to developers who ask to have their addon whitelisted.
If Microsoft wants UWP to go anywhere, they should at least give it feature parity to its competition, because right now it's not even halfway there, and developers basically can't implement anything that Microsoft hasn't already thought of. As it is right now, developers are much better off creating webapps.
To be entirely honest, after using Windows 10 for an entire year at work, I've gone and acquired an app from the Windows Store exactly once only. That app? Ubuntu for the Windows Subsystem for Linux. I think this about sums up how relevant the Windows Store is.