Microsoft on a roll for terrible rebranding with Windows App

Microsoft’s breathtaking ability to rename things badly carries on with the Windows App, a hub to stream Windows from a variety of sources.

Users might know the product better as the Remote Desktop client, but rebranding a product with a tag that makes sense would never do, so we have the Windows App. A one-stop shop for everything Windows.

The Windows App has been in preview for a while and users of the Remote Desktop client were given a heads-up that the rebrand was coming. It is designed to be a “unified experience,” according to Microsoft. It’ll run on Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and web browsers, although the Android version remains in public preview for now.

“This unified app serves as your secure gateway to connect to Windows across Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, Remote Desktop, Remote Desktop Services, Microsoft Dev Box, and more,” Microsoft wrote.

There is device redirection, multi-monitor support, as well as dynamic display resolutions and scaling. Pretty much everything a user might have done with a Remote Desktop client. Microsoft said: “Users of Remote Desktop clients for Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and web will transition to Windows App.”

We took the Windows App for a spin and it works well with Microsoft’s services. It did not, however, replace the existing Remote Desktop Connection application that continues to ship with Windows 11, which will please administrators that may worry about having to train for yet another way of working.

The Windows App also requires a work or school account before it will start up, confirming that this is not aimed at consumers.

Microsoft has peppered its product lineup with the word “Copilot” lately. Replacing Bing Chat Enterprise with the Copilot moniker has caused some users to point at Microsoft 365 Copilot and wonder what the difference is. The former is grounded in the public Bing web index, while the latter draws from an enterprise customer’s data in its responses.

“Windows App” is likely also to cause some confusion as users become accustomed to it.

One commented: “This is the dumbest rebranding ever and has been extremely poorly communicated. They might as well have called it ‘Useful Program’ for all that ‘Windows App’ tells you about what it does.” ®