In a week that briefly silenced critics of the app gap, Windows 10 Mobile gained long-awaited heavyweights including Microsoft Wallet, the endless runner Subway Surfers, and a refreshed Windows Maps. Between June 20 and June 26, 2016, the Windows Store saw a flurry of high-profile arrivals and updates that gave die-hard fans something to celebrate—and gave the platform a fleeting sense of momentum.
The standout release was Microsoft Wallet, which brought tap-to-pay capability to Windows 10 Mobile handsets for the first time. Long promised and repeatedly delayed, the NFC-based payment system arrived as part of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update preview (build 14360), allowing eligible users in the United States to add credit and debit cards from a handful of supporting banks. For a platform that had spent years lagging behind iOS and Android in mobile payments, Wallet felt like a foundational piece finally clicking into place.
Microsoft Wallet Brings Mobile Payments to Windows 10 Mobile
Microsoft had been quietly laying the groundwork for mobile payments since the launch of Windows 10. The Wallet app initially served as a digital locker for loyalty cards, coupons, and boarding passes, but the June 2016 update transformed it into a full-fledged payment tool. After installing the latest Insider build, users could launch Wallet, tap the ‘+’ sign, and take a photo of their card to add it. Supported issuers at launch included Bank of America, US Bank, Chase, and a few regional credit unions, covering a modest slice of the US market.
What set Microsoft Wallet apart was its tight integration with the operating system. When users approached an NFC payment terminal, a tap-to-pay prompt surfaced automatically from the lock screen or the Wallet app itself. The transaction required Windows Hello authentication—on compatible hardware, an iris scan or fingerprint sufficed—making it more secure than traditional plastic. For the first time, Lumia 950 and 950 XL owners could pay with their phones at Walgreens, McDonald’s, and countless other retailers that accepted contactless payments.
Yet the launch came with asterisks. Only a handful of devices possessed the requisite NFC chip and received the build. The bank list was sparse compared to Apple Pay or Android Pay, and international expansion wasn’t on the immediate roadmap. Still, Wallet arriving during the App Week signaled that Microsoft was serious about closing the feature gap—and that it was willing to use Windows 10 Mobile as its own guinea pig.
Subway Surfers Finally Slides onto Windows 10 Mobile
If Wallet was the utility giant of the week, Subway Surfers was the entertainment heavyweight. Kiloo’s endless runner had amassed over a billion downloads on other platforms, yet Windows Phone users were left to watch from the sidelines for years. That changed when a polished Universal Windows Platform (UWP) version appeared in the Windows Store mid-week.
The game needed little introduction. Players swipe to dodge trains, leap over barriers, and collect coins while graffiti-tagging their way through vibrant, worldwide locales. The Windows release included all the familiar bells and whistles: hoverboard power-ups, unlockable characters, and weekly Hunt events. Because it was a UWP app, Subway Surfers ran seamlessly across Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 PCs, and even HoloLens, with Xbox Live achievements on board for cross-device bragging rights.
Early reviews praised the optimization; even on lower-end devices like the Lumia 550, the game maintained a steady frame rate without overheating. The release proved that a popular, third-party title could find a home on Windows when developers embraced the UWP model. For many users, Subway Surfers became the poster child for why the App Week mattered—it was fun, fluid, and finally, here.
Indian Market Gets a Boost with FreeCharge
While Wallet and Subway Surfers dominated headlines in the West, another significant drop took place for the Indian subcontinent. FreeCharge, one of India’s leading mobile wallet and recharge platforms, landed on Windows 10 Mobile. The app allowed users to top up prepaid mobile accounts, pay utility bills, and shop at partner merchants—all crucial functions in a market where Windows Phone had historically punched above its weight.
The timing was strategic. India was Microsoft’s strongest remaining territory for smartphone market share, and local services like FreeCharge helped differentiate the platform from Android, where the app already thrived. The UWP version offered live tile notifications for upcoming bill payments, a clean interface optimized for Continuum, and support for all major Indian banks. It lacked some advanced features like the Android version’s chat-based payments, but the core recharge engine worked flawlessly, earning a respectable rating within days of launch.
Windows Maps Receives Meaningful Upgrades
No App Week would be complete without a boost to the built-in tools, and Windows Maps received a substantial under-the-hood overhaul. The update, distributed via the Store on June 22, brought improved turn-by-turn navigation, lane guidance, and real-time traffic data to users in dozens of countries. Microsoft had been steadily migrating its HERE-based mapping data to an in-house stack, and the new Maps app flaunted better vector rendering, faster zooming, and more accurate search results.
What caught power users’ attention was the revamped offline maps experience. Users could now download entire countries for offline navigation with a single tap, and the app intelligently suggested regions based on home location and recent travel. Combined with Cortana’s proactive suggestions—like reminding you when to leave for an appointment based on live traffic—Maps felt less like a Google Maps clone and more like a genuinely smart companion. The improvements rolled out to both mobile and PC, underscoring the UWP promise of write once, run everywhere.
Crunchyroll Lands as a Universal Windows App
Anime fans had reason to rejoice mid-week when Crunchyroll released its official UWP app. Previously, Windows users had to rely on the clunky mobile website or an outdated Silverlight-based player. The new app delivered the full catalog of subtitled and dubbed shows, simulcasts that aired the same day as Japan, and a queue system that synced across devices.
Performance was snappy, with video playback at up to 1080p on compatible phones and tablets. A clever picture-in-picture mode leveraged Windows 10’s multitasking capabilities, letting users keep an eye on One Piece while texting in WhatsApp. Offline downloads were missing at launch—a glaring omission—but Crunchyroll promised to add them in a future update. For the platform’s vocal anime community, the app was a long-overdue acknowledgment that they mattered.
Township Builds a Home on Windows
Gaming got another shot in the arm with the arrival of Township, Playrix’s city-building-meets-farming simulator. The game blended the mechanics of SimCity with the compulsive loop of FarmVille, asking players to plant crops, process goods in factories, and ship orders to neighboring towns by train, helicopter, and zeppelin. The Windows 10 Mobile version came with all the social features intact, including co-op challenges and Facebook-connected friend visits.
On the larger screens of tablets and 2-in-1s, Township shone brightly, making use of the entire real estate without feeling stretched. The touch-optimized controls translated perfectly to mouse-and-keyboard setups, a testament to the UWP’s adaptive input model. Within days, Township climbed the top-free charts in the Store, signaling an appetite for casual city-builders on Windows.
A Flurry of Other Updates: Spotify, Slack, and More
Beyond the headliners, the week delivered a steady drumbeat of smaller but meaningful updates. Spotify’s UWP app gained Gapless Playback and improved offline caching, solving a top user gripe. Slack’s beta client—still a hosted web wrapper—received notification syncing so that messages dismissed on the desktop wouldn’t re-ping the phone. Netflix trialed a new picture-in-picture mode on select devices, while the Microsoft News app refreshed its algorithm for better article recommendations.
Even holdouts like the Facebook and Instagram Betas got incremental performance patches, though their status as ported iOS apps remained a sore spot for the community. The cumulative effect was that checking the Store’s “Downloads and updates” list felt less like an exercise in disappointment and more like a glimpse of viability.
The Bigger Picture: Is the App Gap Closing?
One week of strong releases couldn’t reverse years of developer skepticism. Major holdouts like Snapchat, Pokémon Go (two weeks away from its global debut), banking apps from Chase, and a host of local services still refused to touch Windows 10 Mobile. Market share hovered below 1% in most regions, making it a hard sell for studios that needed a return on investment. Yet the App Week demonstrated that the UWP pitch—write one codebase, target phones, PCs, Xbox, and HoloLens—was starting to resonate with partners like Kiloo, Playrix, and Crunchyroll.
Microsoft’s own tools played a role. The Islandwood bridge for iOS apps, though still maturing, enabled quicker ports of ObjC code. Centennial, the Desktop Bridge for classic Win32 apps, had no direct mobile relevance but added to the perception of a store that welcomed everything. And the looming Windows 10 Anniversary Update, with its Ink improvements and better extensions, gave developers new APIs to exploit.
For users, the week felt like a turning point—not because it plugged every hole, but because it showed the trickle of UWP apps could become a stream. Enthusiasts on Reddit and Windows Central forums shared tips on which banks supported Wallet, debated whether Township or Subway Surfers was the better time-killer, and exhorted each other to rate apps favorably in the Store to attract more developers. The collective energy, for a few days at least, felt like the old days of Windows Phone 8, when the platform was a scrappy underdog with upward trajectory.
Looking Ahead: Anniversary Update and Beyond
As June 2016 waned, all eyes turned to August 2, when the Anniversary Update would officially roll out to all Windows 10 devices. Wallet would exit preview and, Microsoft hinted, gain more banking partners. Maps would integrate with Cortana’s cross-device location sharing. And the Store itself would receive a visual overhaul that made it easier to find UWP exclusives.
Windows 10 Mobile’s survival still hung in the balance. Within a year, the hardware would effectively vanish, and Microsoft would pivot to Android and iOS for its mobile ambitions. But for one week in late June, the platform enjoyed a rare moment in the sun—a reminder that with the right apps and a committed community, even a struggling OS could still surprise. For those who had stuck with Windows phones through the barren years, the six days between June 20 and 26 were more than just an App Week. They were a vindication.