One of the genuinely cool features of Windows 11 is the ability to emulate Android apps without having to rely on potentially dodgy emulators. Sadly, you won’t get that feature when Windows 11 launches this October.
Despite being one of the major new features of Windows 11 initially, Microsoft has confirmed that they’ll only start offering native Android app support via Windows Insider builds initially. “We look forward to continuing our journey to bring Android apps to Windows 11 and the Microsoft Store through our collaboration with Amazon and Intel; this will start with a preview for Windows Insiders over the coming months,” Microsoft announced in a blog post.
And it’s worth remembering that when it does launch, Microsoft’s Android offering will be pretty selective. You’ll only be able to access apps that are available through the Amazon App Store, so while that includes things like Minecraft and Sonic the Hedgehog, don’t expect to be firing up Pokemon Unite through Windows 11. (Amazon also noted they will “have more to share” later on about how developers can make their apps available through the Windows Store, indicating that devs may have to take a few steps to gain visibility to the CP market.)
The general testing cadence of Windows means support probably won’t be available to non-Insider users until 2022 sometime. That at least tracks with the free upgrade process for all eligible Windows 10 PCs, which Microsoft said will be made available to users on a staggered basis until mid-2022. If your PC isn’t deemed eligible, you can still install Windows 11 forcibly via an ISO. Alternatively, you can also stick with Windows 10 until 2025, so there’s no rush.
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