If you’re running Windows 10 version 1703 (Creators Update) or newer, here’s a nice surprise: You can unlock a hidden UWP version of File Explorer!
Note: Tip of the hat to Pravin Vibhute for finding this. I discovered it via Neowin which, in turn, found out about it from OnMSFT.
To enable the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) File Explorer, create a new shortcut (on your desktop, typically).
Then, enter the following into the Create Shortcut window that appears:
explorer shell:AppsFolderc5e2524a-ea46-4f67-841f-6a9465d9d515_cw5n1h2txyewy!App
Then, name as desired and you’re good to go: You can launch the app from there, or pin it to your taskbar and Start menu.
As to Microsoft’s intentions here, we can only guess. This File Explorer app has been shipping in Windows 10 Mobile for some time, but of course, so few people use that platform that I assume most readers are unfamiliar with it. But the app makes a lot more sense in Windows 10 for PCs, and seems to work well.
That said, it is a simple app. I haven’t figured out how to launch multiple instances for multitasking, for example. Nor can you drag and drop files or folders to/from this app.