Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11 via Amazon's app store

[Shawn Knight]

The big picture: During Microsoft’s reveal, Chief Product Officer Panos Panay said users will be able to integrate Android apps into Start and the taskbar. Conventional wisdom suggests that Microsoft would have spent more time talking about the integration but in reality, Panay only briefly touched on it.

Microsoft as part of its Windows 11 presentation revealed that Android apps will run natively on the new operating system.

The surprise feature is being powered by Intel Bridge Technology, which allows mobile applications to run on the PC. Rather than teaming with Google, Microsoft partnered with Amazon and will use the Amazon Appstore to populate the Android section of the new Windows Store.

Android apps run as regular apps thanks to Amazon. Though this download process sounds a bit wonky, at least at first: pic.twitter.com/qELV0fhRMc

— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) June 24, 2021

A tweet from Joanna Stern with The Wall Street Journal sheds a bit more light on the integration, and it sounds a bit convoluted. According to Stern, if you search for an app and it happens to be an Android app, you’ll need to sign into your Amazon account to download it. And if it’s the first time you’re downloading an Android app in Windows, you’ll first have to download the Amazon Appstore as a standalone app.

Microsoft is planning to launch Windows 11 as a free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 PCs this holiday season. Members of the Windows Insider program will be able to take an early build for a spin starting next week.

Thumbnail courtesy quietbits

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90192-microsoft-bringing-android-apps-windows-11-amazon-app.html

 

[Dimitriid]

The amazon store is so limited this is almost not worth it. I hope there's some way to use this tech to just sideload the play store but I doubt Nadella was serious enough about his closing remarks full of empty jabs at Apple to mean it and support such feature but hey, maybe?

 

[psycros]

The whole presentation was some of the saddest Apple and Google wannabe-ism I've seen in ages. The return of widgets is a nice admission that keeping live tiles trapped on the start menu was a massive mistake. Now we just need a sidebar for the widgets and we're golden. Ultimately, all Microsoft needs to do with Windows is provide a highly intuitive, usable and customizable UI. The cherry on top would be attracting major application vendors to their store and actually giving us a good experience (finally). They could start by losing the awful Coverflow layout.

 

[ZedRM]

The whole presentation was some of the saddest Apple and Google wannabe-ism I've seen in ages.

True. That's what Windows 8 & 8.1 were, sad and pathetic attempts at playing catch-up with the mobile side of computing. Microsoft has seemingly forgotten how to build a proper desktop OS.

 

[Myflag]

The whole presentation was some of the saddest Apple and Google wannabe-ism I've seen in ages. The return of widgets is a nice admission that keeping live tiles trapped on the start menu was a massive mistake. Now we just need a sidebar for the widgets and we're golden. Ultimately, all Microsoft needs to do with Windows is provide a highly intuitive, usable and customizable UI. The cherry on top would be attracting major application vendors to their store and actually giving us a good experience (finally). They could start by losing the awful Coverflow layout.

I enjoyed my widgets on the sidebar in Vista. Some of them were very useful.

 

[Lounds]

I enjoyed my widgets on the sidebar in Vista. Some of them were very useful.

I remember having a weather app that would show local cloud coverage and potential rain clouds. Vista was ahead of the time but it was plagued with high memory usage and BSOD errors.

 

[duckofdeath]

True. That's what Windows 8 & 8.1 were, sad and pathetic attempts at playing catch-up with the mobile side of computing. Microsoft has seemingly forgotten how to build a proper desktop OS.

Funny how narratives change over the years through selective amnesia.

When Windows 8 launched the narrative was that Microsoft was creating convergence no one asked for. Ten years later, when the fruity toy brand have copied most of that, Microsoft is now playing catchup to what they created themselves? Oookay?

 

[punctualturn]

The amazon store is so limited this is almost not worth it.

Its simply not worth at all, just the lates dirty tactic on MS part to steal or destroy Android from within.

Its interesting how Amazon, Samsung and now MS are trying to steal Android from Google like this.

The whole presentation was some of the saddest Apple and Google wannabe-ism I've seen in ages.

I never saw anything like this before.

At times I honestly thought that Panay was going to start crying!

The buffering that I experienced and his presence made me drop the whole thing and wait until it finished.

 

[punctualturn]

I remember having a weather app that would show local cloud coverage and potential rain clouds. Vista was ahead of the time but it was plagued with high memory usage and BSOD errors.

I might be the only one, but Vista worked great for me. But the damned UAC drove me nuts!

 

[nismo91]

What I'm curious about: will Win11 allow .apk installation semi-natively or not. if it is, then there's always 3rd party apk repository such as apkpure, uptodown etc anyway. I'm not from the US so I don't have Amazon account and I'm not going to create one.

needless to say, I've been using Android ecosystem for years and until today there's never been a moment where I told myself "I wish I could install these apks in my windows 10 PCs".

 

[ZedRM]

Funny how narratives change over the years through selective amnesia.

How so? I have always been a severe critic of 8, 8.1 and 10. Stop acting like you know me.

When Windows 8 launched the narrative was that Microsoft was creating convergence no one asked for. Ten years later, when the fruity toy brand have copied most of that, Microsoft is now playing catchup to what they created themselves? Oookay?

Apple did not copy Microsoft, it was the other way around, and it was NOT a good thing. Microsoft trying to "mobilize" everything is a mentally lacking effort.

Microsoft needs to stop trying to play catch-up with the mobile market and build DESKTOP software.

I've been using Android ecosystem for years and until today there's never been a moment where I told myself "I wish I could install these apks in my windows 10 PCs".

There still isn't. This is nothing and nothing will come of it. This is just one more example of Microsoft sad attempt to break into the mobile market.

 

[seeprime]

I can think of no other reason for this "feature", that no one asked for, than "third party" data sharing between Amazon and Microsoft, for advertising purposes.

 

[Amamoh]

Ultimately, all Microsoft needs to do with Windows is provide a highly intuitive, usable and customizable UI.

Instead you can't even move the systray to the left on wide screens.

 

[Irata]

True. That's what Windows 8 & 8.1 were, sad and pathetic attempts at playing catch-up with the mobile side of computing. Microsoft has seemingly forgotten how to build a proper desktop OS.

Still have 8.1 on an older laptop. It actually works pretty well but some of the UI choices….I mean, who thought removing the start button was a good idea, same as for adapting the UI to touch screen use which stank when you did not have one.

With the help of third party apps like „bring start back“ you could make Win 8.1 useable. Not sure about 8.0 as the thought of it just makes me shudder.

 

[bazz2004]

The task bar can be put on the left hand side, Amamoh. On one of my PCs I have it like that - W10 64 bit connected up to a widescreen LG TV
Microsoft stopped working on a mobile system just when I was about to buy a Windows smartphone. By all accounts it was a good system but they left things too late and hadn't got the app support needed. That would have been OK for me because this year I finally bought a smartphone but minimise its use. Unfortunately, it's now necessary to have a smart phone to function in a fast moving tech world. I'm all in favour of Microsoft working in this field. Apart from the dogs' breakfast of Windows 8.0 for which I've forgiven them long ago they are to be commended for what they have brought to the table.

 

[orbital]

I remember having a weather app that would show local cloud coverage and potential rain clouds. Vista was ahead of the time but it was plagued with high memory usage and BSOD errors.

I have a few fully working desktop widgets on some of my PCs running Windows 10 including two weather apps simultaneously. These have been available and are not only fully supported but keep getting updates from developers from before Windows 7 times. You just need a simple 20 seconds search, another 3 for download, and 40 more for quick set-up (per app). Windows Store? Does such thing even exist? Oh I forgot, we need another Google Play/App Store because free Internet is not out there and we don't have keyboards to type a few symbols and find everything Under the Sun in milliseconds...

Microsoft are not reinventing hot water with their 11 edition and I hate reading comments above like widgets never existed past Vista so M$ are sending space shuttles through some kind of multidimensional Star Gate portals and deserve admiration for their 11-version return, haha...

Not really certain if many people realize but logging into any ecosystem or a mere app just to get simple access to (extra) features is returning to Nazi times on a personal level or an Orwellian-type of 1984 network where your every click or action is being recorded under your full name, precise address, is linked to your full bank card details with mobile phone number and what not. This data is and will be sold (to whoever pays) and if needed - used against you in the future. Can you tell by whom? No because even those on which servers your are logging to don't know. They simply are the initial portal where data goes to.

I WILL keep using Android simulators that are not only free and perform great but are million times more anonymized. If I wanted to hand over every single website that I visit, or an app that I use, or when I have had breakfast and then returned, or anything else, I'd probably just have contacted Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google and all government agencies directly citing also how much time I spent in the bathroom, when exactly and what not. No thanks. Keep your FREE "features" for yourselves...

 

[duckofdeath]

How so? I have always been a severe critic of 8, 8.1 and 10. Stop acting like you know me.

Apple did not copy Microsoft, it was the other way around, and it was NOT a good thing. Microsoft trying to "mobilize" everything is a mentally lacking effort.

Microsoft needs to stop trying to play catch-up with the mobile market and build DESKTOP software.


There still isn't. This is nothing and nothing will come of it. This is just one more example of Microsoft sad attempt to break into the mobile market.

You don't have to explain that you've always been severely critical of Windows.

 

[Bamda]

Man, there are a lot of scared people out there. LOL

 

[Shaitan]

I have a few fully working desktop widgets on some of my PCs running Windows 10 including two weather apps simultaneously. These have been available and are not only fully supported but keep getting updates from developers from before Windows 7 times. You just need a simple 20 seconds search, another 3 for download, and 40 more for quick set-up (per app). Windows Store? Does such thing even exist? Oh I forgot, we need another Google Play/App Store because free Internet is not out there and we don't have keyboards to type a few symbols and find everything Under the Sun in milliseconds...

Microsoft are not reinventing hot water with their 11 edition and I hate reading comments above like widgets never existed past Vista so M$ are sending space shuttles through some kind of multidimensional Star Gate portals and deserve admiration for their 11-version return, haha...

Not really certain if many people realize but logging into any ecosystem or a mere app just to get simple access to (extra) features is returning to Nazi times on a personal level or an Orwellian-type of 1984 network where your every click or action is being recorded under your full name, precise address, is linked to your full bank card details with mobile phone number and what not. This data is and will be sold (to whoever pays) and if needed - used against you in the future. Can you tell by whom? No because even those on which servers your are logging to don't know. They simply are the initial portal where data goes to.

I WILL keep using Android simulators that are not only free and perform great but are million times more anonymized. If I wanted to hand over every single website that I visit, or an app that I use, or when I have had breakfast and then returned, or anything else, I'd probably just have contacted Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google and all government agencies directly citing also how much time I spent in the bathroom, when exactly and what not. No thanks. Keep your FREE "features" for yourselves...

Admirable comment. And 100 percent real.
No thanks, windows 10 steals enough data as it is.

 

[Shaitan]

Man, there are a lot of scared people out there. LOL

Yeah. My privacy. Worth more than pandering to NSA's spies.

 

[JohnCN]

I just updated to Windows 11, but can't find the Amazon Appstore resource in the Microsoft Store.
Do you have any idea what is the problem?

 

[ZedRM]

You don't have to explain that you've always been severely critical of Windows.

YOU need to stop acting like you know me. I have been critical of MICROSOFT and their many, many mistakes. For the record, I love Windows 7. Best version of Windows ever.