Leaked screenshots give a first glimpse of Android apps running on Windows 11

Microsoft announced back in June that Windows 11 will support direct installation of Android apps via the Amazon App Store. This would be facilitated by the Windows Subsystem for Android component much like how the Windows Subsystem for Linux enables running Linux binaries. However, the official release of Windows 11 launched on October 5 without this feature.

Microsoft is expected to test Android apps on Windows in future builds of Nickel in the Dev channel of the Windows Insider Program. It looks like Microsoft may have already started piloting such builds internally. A user on Chinese site Bilibili has leaked screenshots of how Android apps on Windows 11 will look like. 

From these screenshots, we gather that the Windows Subsystem for Android will be an optional component that can be installed from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft recently made the Windows Subsystem for Linux available on the Microsoft Store as well to enable a more rapid update cycle independent of OS updates.

Apart from the Store page, we see the WeChat Android app and a Chinese social media app running on Windows 11 with icons on the taskbar just like regular desktop apps. The images also hint at the possibility of opening multiple instances and windows of the apps along with the ability to pin the apps to the taskbar, notification center support, window resizing, and other native window controls.

The Windows Subsystem for Android will use Intel Bridge technology to translate ARM code to x86. Early leaks have indicated that Microsoft and Intel have a lot of optimization to do. The feature is expected to arrive only some time early next year, so hopefully Microsoft will be able to iron out any performance deficits by then.

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