Microsoft’s Case Study Helps iPad Developers Understand Windows 8 Metro and Shows How Windows 8 Shines

Whether you’re a developer or just looking to understand the design and aesthetic differences between the iPad and Windows 8 I think you should take a look at this case study from Microsoft. It’s pretty interesting as they are not trying to sell Windows 8 here. They’re actually showing off how Metro works and the design principals to consider as a developer but the results speak for themselves. In the study they building an iPad app and the same app for Windows 8 and go page by page on how the apps differ and the choices developers and users have on each platform.

In this case study we want to help designers and developers who are familiar with iOS to reimagine their apps using Metro style design principles. We show you how to translate common user interface and experience patterns found in iPad apps to Windows 8 Metro style apps. We draw on our experience building the same app for the iPad and for Windows 8. We use common design and development scenarios to show how to leverage the Windows 8 platform and incorporate Metro style design principles.

This is a methodical walk through that I think is really interesting and a lot of the design features show why Microsoft made the design choices they did to move to an immersive full screen approach.  It’s also a great walk through on the Metro user interface and how users will interact with it for those who are unfamiliar and it’s put together in a really clean format. Of course, the ultimate goal is to tap those developers with iPad apps to join the Windows 8 team and you can expect Microsoft to go after these developers more and more as Windows 8 gets closer to the finish line.