Android on Windows is going away, but iOS apps on macOS are great

Key operations

• The lack of support from Google condemned the Windows subsystem for Android due to its reliance on the open source version of Android and the Amazon Appstore.
• Apple’s robust ecosystem enables seamless integration of iOS apps on macOS without additional work for developers.
• iOS apps run only on macOS, offering users familiar apps without the need for emulation or clumsy workarounds.

Microsoft announced this month that it will retire the Windows Subsystem for Android — the thing that allows Android apps to run on Windows PCs — in a year. Not many people used this feature, but that’s not the fault of Windows users. Android apps were irrelevant on Windows because their implementation was fundamentally unintuitive. A feature that allows phone apps to run on a desktop operating system is something that only Apple can do well thanks to its unparalleled cross-platform integration.

It’s not just a guess either. All the best Macs can run iOS apps right out of the box, with almost no extra work required. They appear in the native macOS App Store, directly in search results. While the Windows subsystem for Android was a real failure, iOS apps on macOS are alive and well. Microsoft’s idea it wasn’t bad, but it was execution he was.

Lack of support doomed Android apps on Windows

It felt more like a bad solution than a natural first party solution

It’s hard for Microsoft to do anything because it depends on third-party companies and developers to make it happen. This is a consequence of operating as a horizontally integrated company, because Microsoft cannot control the same things as Apple. For example, Microsoft needed Google’s support to make Android apps on Windows successful for two main reasons. The first is that the Google Play Store is by far the most popular marketplace for Android apps, and having the Play Store on Windows would immediately increase the use of the Windows subsystem for Android. But the more obvious reason is that Google’s first-party apps — I mean Google Search, Drive, and Maps — aren’t hosted anywhere else.

If there’s one constant in the tech industry over the past decade or two, it’s that platforms that can’t use Google services don’t last long. Without support from Google, Microsoft had to create a Windows subsystem for Android using an open source version of Android. It also used the Amazon Appstore for its default app market, which is bad for a number of reasons other than not having Google apps. Of course, you can sideload apps using the Windows for Android subsystem and real APKs. The problem is that even for advanced users, using an emulator like Bluestacks is a much better and more affordable way to get Android apps on Windows. In essence, the Windows subsystem for Android was doomed from the start.

Running iOS apps on macOS is almost seamless

They “just work” and casual users might come across them in the App Store

Apple has an advantage that Microsoft does not: complete control over its platforms. It has been proven time and time again that Apple can leverage its user base of basically billions force developers to abide by the will of the company. Of course he can’t actually force developers to support its platforms. But only a few developers – like Epic Games – are willing to lose access to billions of users by going to war with Apple. As a result, when Apple decided to put iPhone apps on the Mac, it simply didn’t give app developers much of a choice.

Everyone probably already knows that Apple ditched Intel for its own Apple Silicon chips in the 2020 Mac, and they’re based on the same silicon that powers the iPhone and iPad. Basically, this allows Apple to let iOS and iPadOS apps run on macOS without the need for any translation layer. To go one step further, Apple automatically makes every single iOS and iPadOS app available in the macOS App Store for Apple Silicon Macs. There is a way to disable the developer, but the developer is not asked to do anything manually. If you want to make the app available on iOS or iPadOS, please do so want also be available on macOS by default. A few notable apps, like Instagram, shut down. However, generally speaking, most iOS and iPadOS apps are available on macOS.

This is exactly why iPhone apps are great on macOS. If you search for an app in the macOS App Store that doesn’t have an official Mac app, the iOS and iPadOS versions will appear. You can download them like any other macOS app, and they work like their iOS and iPadOS windowed apps. The term is often used when talking about Apple features, but iPhone apps “just work” on the Mac. That’s why they’re still here, and the Windows for Android subsystem is leaving.

Why you should use iOS apps on macOS

For one thing, iPhone apps are on average cheaper than Mac apps

There are several very good reasons to use iPhone apps on your Mac, including the obvious one: not every iOS app is a native macOS app. For example, I use LumaFusion for video editing because it has the right amount of features for my needs and is not subscription-based. Instead of going out and buying Final Cut Pro X or subscribing to Adobe Premier Pro, the same LumaFusion app is available on macOS that I originally purchased for iOS and iPadOS. LumaFusion doesn’t have a Mac app at all, and if it did, I’d have to buy it separately. Instead, the iPad app for LumaFusion runs on Apple Silicon Macs automatically without any problems.

Whether you like Apple’s business practices or hate them, the company’s tight-knit ecosystem allows it to offer features that no one else can. Microsoft had a good idea with a Windows subsystem for Android that failed because it couldn’t partner with Google. Apple, on the other hand, did it all by itself.