Take the 2-minute tour ×

Looking over technical(performance, stability and resources consumption) and not just over functional view, what are the main differences and benefits on using a Modern UI (Metro) Application instead of it's Desktop mode respective Application (Skype for example have both versions)?

share|improve this question

3 Answers 3

up vote 3 down vote accepted

It introduces a new way of using multiple applications with a more intuitive interface. The new tiles are "live" (or capable of being "live"), and instead of using their own look and feel, the tiles can look and act similar while moving as a group. This can be very generally approached by making similar windows on the desktop, but ignoring their unique presentations, it’s completely impractical to get them to behave in unison. So Skype on the desktop is just Skype, but in the Modern UI, it’s one of several simultaneous apps displaying new info.

share|improve this answer
Oh, that's cool! –  Alix Axel Oct 26 '12 at 17:56
Is there no way for an application to have a live tile but open in a desktop window? While live tiles give consistent UI, they also pigeonhole your status updates to the Start screen... while desktop applications have no trouble showing status changes in the corner of a screen even while another application is active. As far as behaving in unison, the desktop has technologies for sharing GUI between cooperating applications, for example the notification area, or ActiveDesktop, or desktop Widgets. –  Ben Voigt Oct 26 '12 at 18:05

WinRT applications run in a sandbox with restricted permissions. Nearly all the other differences follow from this design choice. (Example, no permission to resize your window, or display a popup above another application, or write to arbitrary locations on the disk)

share|improve this answer

I don't think there is a clear advantage, or disadvantage, I think it is more user preference. I for one prefer to work on the desktop, makes it easier to multitask. The full screen apps that you find on the "metro" screen are better suited for the tablet form factor.. But that doesn't mean some people won't find them useful.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer


