Using the Microsoft Store

Before we get onto the headline act, let’s have a look around the Microsoft Store and how you use it. You’ll find it in the Start Menu, and it will be pinned there when you start using Windows 11, see Figure 4-1.

When you open the store, you will find it’s a fairly straightforward affair. Down the left side are category icons helping you quickly find Apps, Games, and Movies and TV Shows (note Microsoft have made noises about removing movies and TV from their library).

At the bottom of this panel is a Library icon that you can click to see all of the apps you have previously purchased or installed. This makes it very easy to reinstall them, or to install them on a different Windows 11 PC (and Windows 10 PC).

At the top of the Microsoft Store window, you will see a search box that you can use to find apps and games, and your avatar icon, see Figure 4-2. You can click this display a menu of options such as managing your store payment methods, the different devices you have apps installed and activated on (as some apps limit the number of PCs you can run them on), redeem gift cards or codes, and to get further settings for app updating and privacy.

When you click an app, game, or video, you will see a button labeled either Get, if the item is free or if you have previously purchased it, or that displays the price of the item, see Figure 4-3. If you scroll down the page, you will also see screenshots, a text description, and any ratings that have been left by other people.

Installing Xbox Games

When you buy Xbox console games, you will see that some are labeled as also being playable on PC, and you might also have purchased an Xbox Game Pass which allows access to a wide range of different free games each month. You can access these through the Xbox app which you can find in the Start Menu.

The Xbox app works in a similar way to the Microsoft Store, with category icons down the left side, and both a search box and your avatar picture, to access additional and account settings, at the top of the window, see Figure 4-4.

Just as with the Microsoft Store, the Xbox app displays an install button when you click a game or will tell you how much the game costs to purchase. Helpfully, just below the name of the game, it also tells you how large the game download will be, which can help you determine if it’s best left to download overnight, see Figure 4-5.

A Store Within a Store

One of the things Microsoft have added to Windows 11 is the concept of a store within a store, as third parties can now add their own store to Windows 11 and sell their apps and games through it. These third parties include the gaming library Epic and Amazon which we will come to later in this chapter.

If you search in the Microsoft Store for store, you will see available third-party stores listed in the search results. Clicking a store will allow you to download and install it on your PC, see Figure 4-6.

When you have installed the third-party store, you will see it appear in the Start Menu, and you can open and use it from there. Each store will be different as each company has its own unique identity and way of working, but you will very likely already be used to using their own separate store app, or website to purchase apps and games, see Figure 4-7.

Installing Android Apps on Your PC

Now we come to the headline act, being able to install Android apps on your PC. Sadly, this doesn’t mean you have access to the full contents of the Google Play Store (though it is possible this may come at a later date) as Android apps are provided in Windows 11 from the Amazon Appstore.

Some Windows 11 PCs will come with the Amazon Appstore preinstalled, in which case you will see it pinned to your Start Menu, but everybody else can install it through the Microsoft Store, see Figure 4-8.

While the Amazon Appstore doesn’t carry the full range of apps and games in the Google Play Store, it does carry a wide selection including many of the most popular apps you use on a daily basis on your smartphone or tablet. Having the store now available in Windows 11 has also widened its appeal, with new apps being added to the Appstore every week.

When the Amazon Appstore is installed, it will appear in your Start Menu, and you can open it from there. It looks very similar to the Microsoft Store with categories for apps and games down the left side, and a search box at the top, see Figure 4-9.

Near the bottom-left corner of the Amazon Appstore is a Settings link . If you click this, you will see options for allowing in-app purchasing (note this is not controlled by Windows’ Family Safety features), and to enable Parental Controls which you will need to configure separately, see Figure 4-10. From this screen, you can also set Android apps to be updated on your PC automatically.

Uninstalling Apps from Your PC

Apps can be uninstalled from the Start Menu All apps list or directly from the main Start Menu if the app appears there or is pinned there. To uninstall an app from your PC, right-click (touch and hold) its icon, and a menu will appear with an uninstall option, see Figure 4-11.

When you uninstall a traditional desktop app, it is likely you will be shown the older Control Panel interface where you must find the app, click it, and then click the Uninstall/Change button on the toolbar to remove the app from your PC, see Figure 4-12.

Introducing the Xbox Game Bar

If you are a keen gamer, and perhaps stream your gaming sessions to an online gaming social network, you will appreciate the Xbox Game Bar in Windows 11. Activated by pressing the Windows key + G at any time, it displays overlays you can use to capture and stream video, use voice, or text chat with friends and other gamers, monitor the performance of your PC, and capture screen grabs of important game moments, see Figure 4-13. You can activate the Xbox Game Bar at any time on your PC while gaming.

Summary

Microsoft have made it really easy to install and uninstall apps from your PC; indeed, even many traditional desktop apps can now be uninstalled directly from the Start Menu without ever needing to see the older Control Panel interface.

The addition of Android apps and third-party stores only adds to the appeal of Windows 11. New stores are added on a semi-regular basis, so it’s always worth revisiting the store from time to time and searching for store to see if there’s anything new. Who knows, maybe the Google Play Store will someday come to Windows 11.

While we all like to enjoy ourselves, watch movies and TV, and maybe play games, the primary reason for having a Windows 11 PC is to “get stuff done,” so in the next chapter, I’ll show you how to manage, organize, and search for your files and documents on your PC and how to use Microsoft’s OneDrive, cloud backup, and sync service.