Microsoft’s Paint 3D app is a rather obscure piece (though pretty useful) of software that was introduced with little fanfare – and it’s going the way of dodo later this year. Starting November 4, 2024, the app will no longer be available for download from the Microsoft Store, and it will no longer receive updates, the company confirms.
Farewell, Paint 3D
Paint 3D was introduced in 2017 with the Windows 10 Creators Update (that was 7 years ago, mind you), which originally aimed to replace the classic Paint app by offering a modern interface and advanced 2D and 3D features. However, most users preferred the simplicity of the classic Paint app, leading Microsoft to eventually scrap plans to retire it – hence both versions of the app have co-existed up until this point.
However, the classic Paint app did get a major upgrade since Windows 11’s introduction, and has even gained AI capabilities for qualified laptops that can tap into NPUs, among other feature improvements that includes layers, transparency, and automatic background removal. All these new features meant Paint 3D is effectively redundant, especially as Microsoft’s vision for AR has largely failed to materialize to really make the ‘3D’ part of the app shine.
Source: Windows Central
Pokdepinion: For all these years I’ve actually never touched Paint 3D, ever – only because I’m already familiar with more advanced tools, though.
