The ability to run Android applications on Windows 11 was one of the great novelties announced by Microsoft for its new operating system. Finally, its implementation did not arrive on time for the release of the final version and users we are left with the honey on the lips. But it is aiming very well when it arrives in 2022 and we wait sooner for the Insiders testers.
From Chinese blogs, some screenshots have arrived that serve as a first look at this Android in Windows 11 or the ability to run (almost) natively apps and games from the Google platform directly in Windows. If that sounds familiar, you are correct, Microsoft follows the same strategy and objective as with the Linux Subsystem for Windows.
Of course, if the WSL is intended for developers and a handful of enthusiasts, this WSA has a much greater impact for the potential of use of any user. Microsoft has been at it for a long time once “Adopted” Android as if it were its own operating system, created a launcher, ported all kinds of apps and signed strategic agreements with Android greats like Samsung to include them by default in their terminals.
Android on Windows 11
We have seen part of the development work of this subsystem in the latest versions of the «Your Phone» application, with which we have been able to connect our Android mobile, make a transparent transition of content and functions and achieve the intended convergence.
WSA will go much further. For starters, Microsoft has partnered with Amazon so that the e-commerce giant’s Appstore, along with the revamped Microsoft Store, serve mobile applications directly on Windows.
The idea is to offer an experience similar to running a native application between Android and Windows using a proxy. Microsoft will also use its own virtual machine for compatibility with the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), required when Play Store services are not available.
The leaked screenshots confirm the features that have been rumored such as integration with the notification center and the multi-window support. Users will be able to run Android applications in different windows such as native Windows.
In the same way, these apps will work at the interface level like those of Windows, that is, can be pinned to the start menu or taskbar, resize windows, minimize them, change virtual desktop, etc.
There is no release date except a «for the next few months»What Microsoft executives said at the launch of Windows 11. It is certain that it will reach the Insiders channel first. And it shouldn’t take too long. The Amazon App Store, absent in the first test versions of the system, was recently seen in the Microsoft Store.
It will be supported on ARM and x64 hardware architectures with a minimum of 8 Gbyte RAM. We wait for it with expectation because this will be a great novelty. Very interesting for the tens of millions of users who use Windows and Android on a daily basis.
