Running Android Applications inside Windows 11
Windows 11 introduced a feature to support to support installing Android app inside Windows. This feature is supported out of the box but does not support all Android applications and only support the one available in the Amazon app store and you will need Amazon account to download and install applications. Supporting Android in Windows is not a new topic. You would be able to install and run Android application in Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 using third-party programs called Android Emulators. There are several free emulators available and they support most of Android applications could be run inside such an environment. However, your device should support minimum hardware requirement. However, supporting Android application natively inside Windows is something new in Windows 11. You might notice like in case of Windows App, you are able to manage them using AppLocker and restrict their access. In case of Android apps in the Windows 11, you won’t be able to manage them using AppLocker. You may block the access to the Amazon Appstore in the AppLocker and it will prevent users from download Android Applications in the Windows 11. You should take a note that Android applications inside Windows will run in virtual environment and they are unable to damage the Windows. However, in case Windows Subsystem for Android get infected, it might affect other Android applications inside the environment. The same goes if you are using any third-party emulators. Amazon Appstore is also more stable in term of applications and security and privacy compare to Google Play and less likely you will find infected applications in the store. However, you don’t have much management power over applications inside the Amazon Appstore in Windows 11. In general, we recommend using Microsoft Apps in the Windows 11 where you have better management power and if you need to use Android applications, then try Amazon Appstore. This is a new capability in Windows 11 and I believe it is good for testing and evaluation and in the future, we might see more functionalities and capabilities or maybe we don’t see much improvements (depending on decisions from the Windows Engineers).
In case you are a software developer, I recommend you consider developing a responsive website. In this case, you don’t have to worry about publishing your websites and getting approval and updating. In addition, because users are using different devices and different version of operating systems, you will have to investigate errors and resolving and fixing issues. However, sometimes you have no choice but developing application for device. For example, you have requirement of collecting device id or interact with device interfaces which are not available when you have a website. In such a case, I recommend you to consider develop using .NET MAUI, the idea is you develop one peace of code and one project and your output will run on Windows, Android and iOS. In this case, you don’t have to look for two or three different teams one for Android, one for iOS and other one for Windows. You will have one team and working on single code but the output will run on Android, iOS and Windows. To learn more, have a look at .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) | .NET (microsoft.com).
As conclusion, new feature in Windows 11 which is supporting Android application doesn’t support all applications in the Google Play out of the box. It is good for testing and evaluation but there is not ready for IT Administrator and you don’t have much administrator power over applications.
References:
Install mobile apps and the Amazon Appstore (microsoft.com)
Windows Subsystem for Android™️ | Microsoft Docs
.NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) | .NET (microsoft.com)