ANDROID WINDOWS 11. Using Android applications on a PC will soon be possible thanks to the technology built into Windows 11. Microsoft has just started testing this amazing function which opens up new horizons.
Microsoft had promised it during the presentation of Windows 11 at the end of June: its new operating system will allow Android applications to run on PC. And the publisher kept his promise. Because if this function, to say the least astonishing, was absent from the first version of Windows 11 released in early October 2021, it would appear to be on the launch pad for a next update: Microsoft has indeed just launched full-scale tests. But for a privileged few only. In fact, Android mode is currently only available to members of the Windows Insider program (see our article for more on this topic), on the Beta channel. And again, only in the United States, for those who have an American Amazon account… “Today we are announcing the first look at our experience with Android apps in the Windows Insider program. We are proud to offer this experience with our partners – Amazon and Intel – to beta channel users in the United States on eligible devices running on Intel, AMD and Qualcomm platforms.“Microsoft explains in a press release. In short, a public beta testers limited, but sufficient to track down bugs and give advice before deployment on a planetary scale.
An Android virtual machine in Windows 11
To run Android and compatible applications under Windows 11, Microsoft simply uses virtualization: a technique widely used in the computer industry which consists of simulating a device with its operating system – a “virtual machine” or VM in the computer. jargon – in a “physical machine”, in this case a PC with Windows 11. As is also the case with Linux, Windows 11 uses a “Windows Subsystem for Android“in a Hyper-V virtual machine, an assembly that integrates the Linux kernel and the Android operating system based on version 11 of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). And in the absence of Google and its PlayStore, it is towards Amazon and its Appstore that Microsoft has turned to provide applications, which are accessible through the new Microsoft Store, completely redesigned for Windows 11.
In practice, to recover Android apps with Windows 11, you have to activate the Windows subsystem for Android and then browse the Microsoft Store. The applications appear there directly, as on the Google PlayStore. But they are downloaded directly – transparently – from the Amazon Appstore. Once an Android app is downloaded and installed, it will appear in its own window, just like any Windows app. You can pin it to taskbar or switch to another Android or Windows application as usual with the classic Alt + Tab keyboard shortcut. The Android application can switch to full screen mode and its window can take advantage of the Windows 11 docking system. The only notable difference is, as on a mobile device, a Back button is displayed at the top left of the window to return to it. at the click of a mouse. And, of course, on a PC with a touchscreen, all actions can be done directly by touching the screen.
A limited catalog of applications for the moment
For the time being, only about fifty Android applications have been selected by Microsoft in the Amazon Appstore for testing: mobile games (Lords Mobile, June’s Journey, Coin Master…), reading tools (Kindle, Comics) and some children’s content (Lego Duplo World, Khan Academy Kids). A small number, but which should be sufficient for this beta phase. As pointed out The verge, the Amazon Appstore offers far fewer applications than the Google PayStore: some 600,000 against around 3 million… In addition, applications that rely on Google services to function (Google Maps but also Mario Kart, for example). example) cannot be used under Windows 11, which will cause many disappointments. However, as several specialists have already verified, it is quite possible to download and install Android applications from other stores like F-Droid, an open source application store. It is even possible to manually install apps recovered as APKs! But the operation is quite complex: you have to download the Android SDK, activate Developer mode in the settings of the Windows subsystem for Android, and then type commands in the PowerShell. A manipulation to be reserved for the curious and the reckless, especially as the Android module for Windows 11, still under development, tends to crash. It seems wiser to wait for Microsoft to refine this promising new tool before tasting it. Especially when we know that the first official final version of Windows 11 came out bugged, and that the fixes are just starting to appear. Patience therefore.