The new build of Windows 11 adds support for Android applications. There are two “but”

At the presentation of Windows 11, the developers announced support for the Android application system, but it only appeared now – in the latest build for insiders. At the moment, there are significant limitations: firstly, only testers from the United States can evaluate the innovation; second, there are currently only 50 applications available from the Microsoft Store (via the Amazon Appstore). Whether it will be possible to bypass the first limitation by simply changing the region in the settings of your account is unknown.

Android apps are displayed in Windows 11 in the same way as native programs – they can be launched next to regular windows, pinned to the Start menu or the taskbar, positioned on the screen using Snap Layouts and interact with them with the mouse. What’s more, Android apps even integrate into Alt + Tab menus and Task View, and notifications from mobile games and apps appear in the Windows Notification Center. The clipboard between the operating system and applications for the “green robot” is shared.

Four applications for different systems run side by side on Windows 11: Matchington Mansion (Windows Subsystem for Android), Word (Win32), Pinterest (PWA), and Gimp (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Support for Android applications in Windows 11 was introduced thanks to the Windows Subsystem for Android. It includes the Linux kernel and Android system based on AOSP version 11, and runs on Hyper-V virtualization (just like Windows Subsystem for Linux). The subsystem ties together the runtime and application APIs in AOSP with Windows graphics, as well as memory buffers, input sources, sensors, physical and virtual devices.

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