Microsoft plans to make at least one more pre-release version of Windows 8 available before the company’s next operating system goes on sale later this year. And in advance of the upcoming Windows 8 Release Preview launch, Microsoft has updated some of the core Windows 8 apps.
There are new versions of several apps in the Windows Store, including:
All three of these apps note that they’ve been updated to support newer versions of Windows.
These are Metro style apps, which means they have full screen user interfaces and touch-friendly controls. They’re designed to be used on computers with x86, x64, or ARM-based processors.
While the release notes don’t really say much, the folks at The Verge noted that the user interfaces for the apps have been updated and they no longer say “app preview” when you run them.
Microsoft is reportedly charging ARM tablet manufacturers $90-$100 for a Win 8 license, which, when added to a hardware manufacturing cost
– for 7″ tablets of $150-$200, results in a cost of $240-$300
– for 10″ tablets of $300-$350, results in a cost of $390-450
 which could make Win 8 RT tablets too costly in the marketplace. Note that these license costs are a far cry from the supposed $15 per XP license (admittedly for an obsolete at-the-time OS) Microsoft initially charged for netbooks
.
How did you get these updates? I removed the mentioned apps and installed them again, but I still have the “App preview” version.
 Read the Verge Article…
“According to one source, a number of the apps are available internally
at Microsoft, but not to Consumer Preview users. The updated
applications will be released alongside the Windows 8 Release Preview in
early June.”
Ah okay. Thanks! I thought they were released to the consumer preview AHEAD of the release of the Release Preview.