Android Apps on Windows 11 Could Bring Apple’s Seamlessness to the PC

Windows is my desktop working system. It’s what I’ve been utilizing all my life. I really feel simply as married to it as my Android smartphone, which has been my cell OS because the daybreak of smartphones (or simply shortly thereafter). But regardless of the completely different ways in which I can sync the 2 platforms by way of apps and browsers, I discover myself eager for the sort of interoperability that Apple customers have with Macs and iPhones.

With its announcement in the present day that Android apps are coming to Windows 11, Microsoft may assist bridge that hole a bit. Granted, the apps come by the use of Amazon’s Appstore (more on why that’s an issue in a minute), but this is welcome news. It adds a layer of interoperability to the desktop platform that Apple doesn’t offer outside of its walled garden. And it’s especially enticing for Android users who aren’t sold on Chrome OS.

How Android Apps Will Work

Microsoft and Amazon have partnered to bring Amazon’s catalog of Android apps and games to Windows 11. Apps will be listed in the revamped Microsoft Store, though you’ll need an Amazon account to log in and download them. Once an Android app is running, you’ll be able to use it alongside any Windows app. You can even snap it alongside the screen or pin it to the taskbar as you need.

Microsoft is employing Intel Bridge expertise to make the emulation magic occur. It’s a runtime post-compiler that enables apps designed for different {hardware} platforms to run natively on x86 units, together with desktop processors from Intel and AMD. They’re completely different architectures than these Android sometimes runs on, and it’ll be fascinating to see the emulation in motion.

Folks with 2-in-1 Windows units can have extra entry to apps developed to be used with touchscreens. Tapping round a browser and the remainder of the Windows interface is okay, however generally it’s simpler to fireside up an app that’s optimized for the pill mode.

How This Could Go Awry

Microsoft demonstrated how TikTok will work in Windows 11 throughout its announcement occasion, and talked about Kindle and Ring as Android apps you need to use proper from a Windows 11 desktop. But these apps are already usable within the browser and wouldn’t essentially require a cell app to realize entry.

I appeared for about 5 apps that I log into day by day that I figured I would prefer to entry whereas working in Windows. Unfortunately, none of them have been out there by way of Amazon’s search on the browser. They included the Dyson app that I exploit to regulate my room fan, the Lumi by Pampers app that I exploit to observe my child, and the Philips Hue app for my good bulbs. I additionally appeared for video games, together with Pokémon Go and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Even if you happen to don’t take into account any of the Google apps, since they have already got completely usable browser variations, you’ll discover that even the unbiased apps you depend on simply aren’t out there in Amazon’s Appstore.

We’re nonetheless unclear if there will likely be any sideloading capacity in Windows 11. The Amazon Appstore is simply not as well-stocked as Google’s, and the power to put in an APK may assist fill within the gaps as extra apps develop into out there. In addition, it will enable for customizing the app expertise on Windows moderately than stay restricted to what Amazon and collaborating builders push by way of.

It’s Not Chrome OS

If you’re an Android consumer, you’ll understand that the Amazon Appstore is hardly a alternative for the Google Play Store expertise. That’s why it’s onerous to think about true seamlessness between Windows and Android units in the identical means macOS and iOS have. If you’re looking for that sort of ecosystem by way of your Google account, there’s Chrome OS, which originated the concept of Android apps on the desktop.

Android apps will most likely work nice on Windows machines, offered they don’t undergo from the identical idiosyncrasies they do on Chrome OS. The new Windows 11 pill interface will hopefully prolong throughout all apps. Windows can be a full-fledged working system, with entry to the applications needed for getting work accomplished. Compare that to Chrome OS, based mostly round Google’s cloud companies, which has its limitations. At least in Microsoft’s case, Android apps are merely an add-on and never a function with which it’s hedging bets.

Windows 11’s new Android app integration will not be the quick reply to my desires of seamlessness throughout desktop and cell units. But it’s actually a superb begin from Microsoft, and it is smart that the corporate selected to work with Amazon, as a result of, not like Google, it’s not a direct competitor. Microsoft has Chromebooks to fret about, which have been promoting like hotcakes all through the pandemic. Depending on how straightforward Amazon’s Appstore is to make use of on Windows, this may very well be the way forward for a (hopefully) seamless cross-platform PC/Android expertise.