Microsoft has announced plans to remove support for Android apps on Windows 11, after only introducing support in October 2021.
Within a year, Microsoft will stop maintaining the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) virtual machine by the end of 2024.
WSA enables users to run and install most Android applications through the Amazon Android Marketplace as a result of an agreement between the two industry leaders. The market will also become unavailable when support ends.
The tech giant outlined plans to end WSA via its Microsoft Learn platform:
From March 6thMicrosoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android.”
“As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all applications and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported starting March 5, 2025. Until then, technical support will remain available to customers.
“Customers who installed Amazon Appstore or Android apps before March 5, 2024 will continue to have access to those apps until the March 5, 2025 termination date.”
While the final date isn’t until March 5 next year, Microsoft says it has already begun the process of ending support for the Amazon Appstore and Android apps.
News publication Ars Technica revealed that for now, Microsoft is showing a warning message to users who try to install the new app, but the installation process itself appears to be still intact.
Furthermore, it claims that while WSA provides an easy way to run Android apps, it has never connected to Android’s central app market, the Google Play Store.
Compared to the Google Play Store, Amazon has a much smaller selection of apps, which is likely to be insufficient for a number of users, drawing them to alternative platforms and web-based versions of apps where they can access the apps they want to use.
Perhaps, then, the reason why Microsoft ended support for WSA is simply a lack of adoption, and so it may not be such a big loss to the Windows 11 community after all.
It’s not the end, not really
If Microsoft were to signal a complete move away from Android apps on Windows, it would potentially be a major step backwards for accessibility, productivity and user experience, but its actions elsewhere seem to confirm its continued commitment to integrating Android into Windows.
Microsoft recently launched a feature that allows Android users to turn their device’s camera into a webcam using Windows 11. Similarly, last month, Microsoft partnered with Samsung to transform smartphones into Teams webcams.
Moreover, TechCrunch points out that it will still be possible to run Android apps on Windows since various third-party vendors like Waydroid offer support for Android apps using Linux-based system containers and Android emulator BlueStacks.
Also, in February 2023, Microsoft announced that it will shut down the Windows 11 Mail and Calendar apps by the end of the year, and the apps should also be removed from Microsoft’s app store. The move appears to encourage users to switch to the Outlook app instead.