Windows is my desktop operating scheme . It ’s what I ’ve been using all my aliveness . I feel just as married to it as my Android smartphone , which has been my mobile OS since the dawning of smartphones ( or just shortly thereafter ) . But despite the different way that I can sync the two platforms through apps and browsers , I find myself longing for the kind of interoperability that Apple users have with Macs and iPhones .
With its declaration today thatAndroid apps are come to Windows 11 , Microsoft could assist bridge that col a routine . accord , the apps number by way ofAmazon ’s Appstore(more on why that ’s an event in a minute ) , but this is welcome news . It add a bed of interoperability to the desktop platform that Apple does n’t offer outside of its walled garden . And it ’s especially lure for Android users who are n’t sold on Chrome OS .
How Android Apps Will Work
Microsoft and Amazon have partner to bring Amazon ’s catalogue of Android apps and games to Windows 11 . Apps will be listed in the vamp Microsoft Store , though you ’ll need an Amazon account to access and download them . Once an Android app is extend , you ’ll be able-bodied to employ it alongside any Windows app . you may even shoot it alongside the screen or immobilise it to the taskbar as you need .
Microsoft is employingIntel Bridgetechnology to make the emulation thaumaturgy happen . It ’s a runtime post - compiling program that earmark apps designed for other hardware platforms to run natively on x86 gadget , admit desktop processors from Intel and AMD . They ’re dissimilar architectures than those Android typically runs on , and it ’ll be interesting to see the emulation in action .
Folks with 2 - in-1 Windows gadget will have more access to apps developed for use with touchscreen . Tapping around a browser app and the residue of the Windows interface is fine , but sometimes it ’s loose to force out up an app that ’s optimize for the lozenge manner .
Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11 via the Amazon Appstore.Image: Microsoft
How This Could Go Awry
Microsoft demonstrated how TikTok will work in Windows 11 during its declaration event , and mentioned Kindle and Ring as Android apps you may habituate right from a Windows 11 screen background . But those apps are already usable in the web browser and would n’t necessarily demand a mobile app to gain ground access .
I look for about five apps that I log into daily that I figured I might like to access while play in Windows . Unfortunately , none of them were usable through Amazon ’s search on the web web browser . They included the Dyson app that I utilise to verify my room devotee , the Lumi by Pampers app that I use to supervise my shaver , and the Philips Hue app for my saucy bulbs . I also looked for game , including Pokémon Go and Animal Crossing : Pocket Camp . Even if you do n’t consider any of the Google apps , since they already have perfectly usable web web browser versions , you ’ll incur that even the independent apps you rely on just are n’t useable in Amazon ’s Appstore .
We ’re still ill-defined if there will be any sideloading ability in Windows 11 . The Amazon Appstore is just not as well - stocked as Google ’s , and the ability to install an APK could serve fill in the gaps as more apps become available . In addition , it would allow for customizing the app experience on Windows rather than persist limited to what Amazon and participating developers press through .
Android apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store should be as easy to use as any Windows apps you have installed.Gif: Microsoft
It’s Not Chrome OS
If you ’re an Android user , you ’ll realize that the Amazon Appstore is hardly a substitute for the Google Play Store experience . That ’s why it ’s gruelling to imagine true seamlessness between Windows and Android gadget in the same way macOS and iOS have . If you ’re assay that kind of ecosystem through your Google story , there is Chrome OS , which rise the theme of Android apps on the background .
Android apps will believably work fine on Windows automobile , provided they do n’t meet from the same idiosyncrasies they do on Chrome OS . The new Windows 11 pill interface will hopefully put out across all apps . Windows is also a full - fledged operating system , with access to the course of study necessary for stimulate work done . equate that to Chrome OS , establish around Google ’s swarm avail , which has its limitation . At least in Microsoft ’s pillowcase , Android apps are merely an supply - on and not a feature with which it ’s hedge wager .
Windows 11 ’s new Android app integrating may not be the prompt answer to my dreaming of seamlessness across desktop and nomadic devices . But it ’s certainly an excellent start from Microsoft , and it cause sense that the company chose to cultivate with Amazon , because , unlike Google , it ’s not a lineal challenger . Microsoft has Chromebooks to worry about , which have been selling like hotcakes throughout the pandemic . Depending on how well-situated Amazon ’s Appstore is to use on Windows , this could be the future of a ( hopefully ) seamless crabby - platform PC / Android experience .
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