Facebook rolls out Messenger, Instagram for Windows 10
Fresh off its stellar earnings report, which owed much to its remarkable mobile performance, Facebook is giving a little focus back to the desktop.
On Thursday, Facebook unveiled its first Facebook Messenger app for Windows 10 desktop, along with an updated Facebook app for Windows 10 and, yes, in a nod to Microsoft's struggling mobile efforts, a fresh Instagram for Windows 10 Mobile.
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The arrival of the apps, which should happen sometime Thursday, is not a surprise. Facebook promised during its most recent F8 Developer conferences that it would be building Universal Windows 10 apps.
Now they're delivering them.
The new Facebook for Windows 10 App can live in your start menu and in a pinned Live Tile. Because it's a Universal Windows app, it will offer deeper integration with other Windows 10 apps and systems, including File Explorer.
According to a Facebook blog post, you'll be able to share photos directly from File Explorer to Facebook.
Messenger, which is new to the Windows 10 desktop world, will use its native integration to deliver message notifications on your desktop and inside the Messenger Live Tile.
When Instagram first arrived on Windows Phones in 2013, it was a somewhat pale imitation of the experience you get on Android and iOS. Facebook says in its blog post that, at the time, "we were focused on bringing the app’s core features to the Windows Phone community as quickly as possible."
The new version promises to include key Instagram features like Explore and video.
With Windows Phone market share now at a reported 2.8%, the rationale for bothering to build a Windows 10 Mobile app is questionable, at best. However, Facebook has already invested in building Facebook Messenger for Windows Phone and the Windows 10 Universal app subsystem ostensibly makes it easier to build apps for desktop and mobile at the same time.
The core Facebook app and Messenger for Windows 10 arrive on Thursday in the Windows App Store. Instagram for Windows 10 Mobile will be in the Windows Phone Store.
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Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
