starbucks-windows

Coffee-loving Windows 10 Mobile users just got a shot of good news, as the long-awaited new Windows version of the Starbucks app came out Wednesday.

The app lets users pay for drinks and other items at Starbucks’ 7,500 locations, tip their baristas, track rewards, send eGifts and find the nearest store. While customers with Windows-powered phones could still use Starbucks gift cards (or even their Microsoft Band) to earn rewards, managing them on the go could be hassle.

Initially, the app doesn’t include the popular Mobile Order & Pay feature available on the Starbucks app for iPhone and Android. However, Starbucks spokeswoman Maggie Jantzen tells GeekWire that the app includes core features, such as payment capabilities and a store locator, that will allow the company to add Mobile Order & Pay in a future version.

Some early users are complaining that it’s not a Universal Windows Platform app, which means it’s limited to Windows 10 Mobile devices and doesn’t run across other Windows devices like tablets and computers.

Starbucks announced it was 30 to 45 days away from releasing a Starbucks app for Windows back in March, but the app did not come out for more than four months. Since that initial announcement, the company redesigned its mobile apps for iOS and Android to coincide with the Starbucks Rewards program launch, Jantzen explained. The company waited until that redesign occurred to launch the Windows app to “make sure we were laying a foundation we could quickly build on to add additional features to the Starbucks App for Windows 10 moving forward.”

Post updated at 9:30 a.m. with additional information from Starbucks.

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