What you need to know
- Microsoft has announced that it is deprecating the Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11.
- This means that support for installing and running Android apps is removed from the OS.
- The feature will be discontinued on March 5, 2025.
In a shock move, Microsoft has announced that it is discontinuing the Windows Subsystem for Android, a feature that allowed Windows 11 users to run Android apps directly on their PCs. Tied to the Amazon Appstore, users have been able to browse and download Android apps since the launch of Windows 11 in 2021.
The death of the Windows subsystem for Android was announced in a developer document:
“Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android™️ (WSA). As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all apps and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported from the start March 5, 2025. Until then, technical support will remain available to users. Users who installed Amazon Appstore or Android apps before March 5, 2024 will continue to have access to those apps until the termination date of March 5, 2025.”
The company told me that Android apps on Windows 11 will stop working after March 5, 2025. Users should migrate any data they may have on their instance of the Windows subsystem to Android before that date to avoid data loss. The company has already removed the ability to download new apps from the Microsoft Store.
Probably Microsoft is killing the Windows subsystem for Android because not enough people are using it. There isn’t much use for Android apps on Windows, especially with the lack of Windows tablet hardware on the market these days.