Microsoft has quietly begun to challenge Ninite with an interesting addition to the Microsoft Store: multi-app installations that are completed in just a few clicks. Interestingly, the new option doesn't seem to be available through the Microsoft Store app on Windows. Instead of, Windows Center found it hidden on Microsoft Store Website,
Ninite has been around almost forever: PCWorld reviewed Ninite years ago, in 2012, and We recently emphasized this again this year as an excellent tool for rebooting your computer and quickly getting it back up and running with normal applications after a fresh start.
In short, Ninite allows you to choose from a selection of third-party apps and bundle them into a single batch installer that steps you through installing them all in one go. winget command in Windows vaguely similar, although it's more for users who want to avoid the Microsoft Store entirely and get an accessible app via the command line.
Installing several Microsoft apps challenges Ninite in its format, although they still serve the Store's suite of apps. Microsoft identifies six categories of eight apps each, divided into “personalization”, “social”, “creative” and the like. Apps include everything from Adobe Acrobat to EarTrumpet to Lively Wallpaper, with a focus on apps (not games) you'd probably want to add to your PC.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
multiple application installation page allows you to select applications using checkboxes, where they will be collected in the “Selected Applications” column on the right. Once you're happy with your choice, you can download the installer, which will appear in the Downloads section of File Explorer.
Oddly enough, there's no way to view what each app actually does or how much space it will take up on your computer.
Don't expect too much magic here. The “installer” is essentially a macro that tells the Microsoft Store to download the apps you select. It's not much different than going to the Microsoft Store, searching for an app, and then clicking the “Download” button several times. As you can see in the screenshot below, the Microsoft Store checks dependencies this way, but it always does this anyway:
However, the multi-app install page lets you choose quality apps that Microsoft thinks you'll like, which is always helpful.
I'm told that Microsoft is sensitive to users abandoning Windows in favor of the Apple Mac ecosystem, especially in the final days of support for Windows 10. This is one of the reasons why Microsoft is promoting its Windows Backup and Restore a very complex strategy: backing up your files to the cloud helps you stay in the Windows ecosystem. (Backing up your files also gives you an extra year of Windows 10 support..)
At the moment, Microsoft doesn't have the ability to “save” your multi-app package to the Store itself. Microsoft's restore feature automatically “restores” apps on your computer that you downloaded from the Store, but doesn't offer the same third-party capabilities that Ninite does. It seems unlikely that Microsoft will point you to “untrusted” third-party apps that it can't verify, meaning Ninite could maintain an advantage there.
