One of the most important announcements Microsoft made was support for Android apps on Windows 11, but the company quickly confirmed it wouldn't be available at launch. However, the preview has already reached some builds in the Insider program, and as expected, users began testing everything, including sideloading, benchmarks, and of course, high-profile games.
And one day, Microsoft decided that Windows users should have access to Android apps on their computers. The novelty arrives a little late considering we've filled that gap thanks to BlueStacks, but it also comes with the extra of being exclusive to Windows 11. Another important detail is that there's no collaboration with Google here, and the “official store” is the one offered by Amazon. The alternative is to manually install each APK via sideloading, which in turn opens access to secondary stores like F-Droid and Aurora Store.
If you want access to the Windows Subsystem for Android preview, you'll need a Windows 11 installation configured to be part of the Insider program. In essence, apps run inside a virtual machine, but they create their own entries in the Start menu, and can use all the multitasking and window management resources available to desktop applications. However, there's a giant question in the background: How well do Android apps work on Windows 11?
Android Apps on Windows 11
One of those who jumped headfirst into this storm was Mishaal Rahman, current technical editor at Esper, but better known for his work as editor-in-chief of XDA Developers. The Android environment automatically installs the Amazon store, and many of the original Android apps (Mail, Clock, Calendar, etc.) were replaced by their Microsoft equivalents. The complete build is based on Android version 11, and they even decided to keep some Easter eggs...
Mishaal discovered that manually loading APKs via Package Manager doesn't work, but he managed to get around that problem by installing Aurora Store. Firefox and Apple Music installed correctly, and he also managed to run some benchmarks using Geekbench. Comparing the numbers with the native Windows edition, we noticed that the performance loss in the virtual machine is not that big (the base processor is an Intel Core i5-1135G7, 4C/8T at 2.4 GHz).
Games and the Future
After installing Nova Launcher and verifying that the battery reading was correct, Mishaal tried to install Robinhood (it didn't work, requires Google Play Services), and YouTube Vanced (it worked without issues thanks to its MicroG module). The final phase of his tests focused on games. PUBG Mobile Lite presented permission problems, but PUBG Mobile “normal” installed correctly, though its performance was very poor. The same happened with Genshin Impact: The APK installs, but downloading 13 GB is a real torture, and the game has all kinds of errors.
Support for Android apps on Windows 11 seems to be heading in the right direction, but no one denies that it has a huge amount of work ahead. Its main competitors have already solved several performance details, and the absence of the Google Play Store is something many users won't be willing to negotiate. I imagine that in the future someone will manage to adapt all of Google's store dependencies to the Windows Subsystem for Android, but it won't be officially. Patience.
Source: Mishaal Rahman on Twitter
