In June 2021, Microsoft announced that Android apps are officially coming to Windows 11. This Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) is now being discontinued.
This leveraged the Amazon Appstore, with Android apps integrated into the Windows experience, including the Start menu, taskbar and window options. After a long period of testing and review, it was officially launched in October 2022 in 31 markets with more than 50,000 Android apps advertised.
Since then, WSA has received updates to Android 12.1 and Android 13, as well as more features for apps to take advantage of. However, the last major update was in June 2023.
Starting tomorrow (March 6), Windows 11 users “will not be able to search the Amazon Appstore or related apps from the Microsoft Store.” Developers can still update their apps, but they won’t be able to submit new ones.
Existing apps already on your computer will continue to work until March 5, 2024.
Meanwhile, Amazon said today that its “Appstore will continue to be available and supported on other surfaces, including Fire TV, Fire Tablet and Android devices.” Looking at the landscape, ChromeOS offers more Android apps through the Play Store on Chromebooks, while iOS apps can run on a Mac.
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