Coming soon: Run Android applications on Windows 10
Come 2021 and chances are your Windows 10 computer will have access to the vast library of Android apps. Microsoft, reportedly, is working on a software solution that will let developers to ‘port’ their Android apps to Windows 10 with almost no changes to the code. While this new solution doesn’t have an official name yet, it is now known that internally, this is referred to as project ‘Latte’. Microsoft is likely to showcase Project Latte sometime in 2021.
Those familiar with Windows might be aware of a similar initiative for running Linux apps on Windows. From what is currently known, Project Latte will be powered by the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) which is slated to soon get support for GUI Linux apps as well as hardware acceleration. On its part, Microsoft will provide its own Android subsystem for the ported Android apps to run on Windows.
All things said, do note that Project Latte will NOT support Google Play Services. While not a huge downside, this could lead to issues with some apps that require Google Play Services API to act up. The developers of such apps might also have to remove Google Play dependencies before the ‘modified’ apps are submitted for Windows 10. You heard that right. The eventual plan seems to be making these Android apps available through the Microsoft Store.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Microsoft has worked on a project with similar intentions. Those well-versed with Microsoft’s history might be aware of another project codenamed ‘Astoria’ that never bore fruition. While we do not know the reasons for the abandonment of Project Astoria, prima facie, it seems Project Latte is unlikely to meet a similar fate.
While the idea of bringing Android apps to the Windows 10 platform does sound promising, it remains to be seen how these apps behave in within the Windows eco-system where developers will need to contend with myriad screen resolutions and hardware configurations.
What do you think about the prospects of having access to Android apps on your Windows 10 PC? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Windows Central
