Thanks to the Universal Windows Platform, many of the biggest and best apps on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile can now make their way across to Xbox One. Baconit is one of the most popular apps on Windows for phones, having supported the platform from as long ago as Windows Phone 7.
Baconit made its way to UWP around a year ago, having been completely re-written for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. With the Xbox One's Summer Update, Baconit is now available to Xbox One owners in the preview program.
Baconit works pretty much as you would expect. It's a direct port of its PC interface, utilizing mouse-like Xbox One controller functions. If you have used Microsoft Edge on Xbox One before you will already be familiar with the controls. The left stick moves the cursor, the right stick lets you scroll, and the triggers allow you to zoom. The 'A' button acts as a left click, the menu button works as a right click, and the 'B' button cycles backward through the app, similarly to the back key on Windows Phone.
You can use the on-screen keyboard to reply to comments, and you'll receive notifications on-screen and via the Xbox One's notification list. As a direct port, Baconit retains some of its non-functional menu items like copying links to the clipboard and saving images — neither of which are possible on Xbox, at least for now.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Baconit is the fact that it all just works with minimal code changes. Gifs, YouTube videos, image galleries and even websites inside the in-app browser all function properly. The app's developer, Quinn Damerell, praised the minimum amount of work required to get Baconit functional on Xbox One.
"I must say I'm really impressed with the Universal App technology - I only had to make 3 code changes and 2 or 3 manifest changes to make this happen. 99% of the code is Baconit is common to all 5 platforms it runs on, phone, tablet, desktop, HoloLens, and now Xbox. Most other cross-platform tools for developers allow devs to share some code, but no other toolkit allow developers to write cross plat UI that dynamically fills the device and feels like native. THE UNIVERSAL APP DREAM IS HAPPENING!!!"
The Universal app dream really is here. With the Xbox One Summer Update, developers are finally able to send their Universal apps across the entire Windows 10 device family — from Xbox One, to Windows 10, and even HoloLens. There's no telling what new functionality the Xbox One will gain in the coming months as developers begin leveraging UWP and Cortana to power their app experiences. There are certainly exciting times ahead.
If you haven't already, make sure you check out Baconit on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile using the link below. If you're in the Xbox One Preview, you should be able to find Baconit in the app store with a simple search. If you've downloaded it on other platforms previously, it will appear in your 'Ready to Install' list in your Games & Apps section.
Download Baconit from the Windows Store
