Microsoft is rolling out a new feature that enables users to update applications installed via the Microsoft Store, even if the Microsoft Store app is not present on their Windows 11 system. In the latest insider preview, Microsoft is testing this feature to ensure users can keep their apps up-to-date with the latest features and security updates, even without having a physical Microsoft Store front-end app. This is particularly important for Windows 11 users who might not have the Store app on their systems due to uninstalling it or because of a policy change by their IT department. Such policies might prohibit installing apps from the Microsoft Store to reduce maintenance complexity within the company.

In Settings > Apps, there's now a new "App Updates" option. You can click on it to check for updates for your installed apps, even if the original store you downloaded them from is no longer available on the system. Each app likely has an API that connects to the main server to check for updates, functioning independently of Microsoft's Store. In testing conducted by Windows Central (image below), this new feature doesn't appear to be fully functional, as pressing the "Check for updates" button doesn't trigger any action or app update. However, Microsoft is refining this feature before a wider release, so we can anticipate that these types of "bugs" will be resolved before the feature exits the preview stage.