The Windows subsystem for Android was one of the great innovations in the launch of Windows 11 and Microsoft has put it in the spotlight as a preferred development that continues its “idyll” with Android, once adopted as its own system operational.
If the work on mobile phones has been abundant, with its own launcher, all kinds of apps, strategic agreements with large firms such as Samsung and even the use of Android in its return to mobile hardware with the Surface Duo, the icing on the cake has been this WSA that once Declared “stable” at the end of October, now comes a new version with important changes among which can be cited:
- Updated to Android 13 features.
- 50% improvement in boot performance.
- Application resizing improvements.
- Mouse click input improvements.
- Clipboard stability improvements.
- Improvements to the reliability of media files being opened in Windows.
- New command that turns off WSA for automation.
The new version of WSA is carried by build number, it is available on GitHub in preview as a tester preview. Microsoft is expected to release it in the general channel soon. Although compatibility with Android 13 is the highlight (curious that Microsoft supports the latest version of Android before many mobile manufacturers), the WSA roadmap contemplates general improvements in support for file transfers, shortcuts, picture-in-picture mode, and local network access by default.
What can be done with the Windows Subsystem for Android
In case you haven’t tried it yet, say that WSA is similar in its conception to WSL for Linux, although it has a much greater impact due to the greater potential for use, that of hundreds of millions of mobile users, who in turn use Windows. The general objective is known: to deploy the capacity of run Android apps on Windows.
And, once enabled, WSA allows you to install and run Android applications as if they were native Windows applications. App icons appear on the Start menu, taskbar, and other locations, and apps launch in windows that can be resized or moved. It supports personal computers with ARM and x64 hardware architectures with a minimum of 8 Gbytes of RAM.
This does not mean that all Android applications can be run. Microsoft has partnered with Amazon to make the e-commerce giant’s Appstore, along with the revamped Microsoft Store, serve mobile apps directly on Windows. The big problem here is that WSA does not officially support the Google Play Store or other Google services where the bulk of Android apps are. Google Play can be used unofficially, yes, and news is expected in this section in the future.
