Windows 11 lets users sideload Android apps

Windows is today the only operating system that cannot run mobile apps. The arrival of Windows 11 will change that with the introduction of Amazon Appstore. In addition, Windows 11 users will be able to install Android apps by sideloading them onto the operating system, which was announced Friday evening.

Android apps on Windows 11

Not Google, but Amazon is leading the way in partnering with Microsoft to bring Android apps to Windows 11, the software giant announced during the Windows 11 launch. As soon as the first Windows 11 laptops and desktops are in stores and the upgrade to the operating system starts rolling out, you can search for Android apps via the Amazon App Store.

Amazon’s App Store Restrictions

Taking credit for Amazon to provide apps for the Microsoft Store is a striking choice given its limitations. Google’s Play Store has many times more apps. Obviously all Google apps from the Amazon store are missing, but apps like Todoist, Slack, Asana and apps like LastPass are missing also in Amazon’s app store.

Being able to sideload Android apps would solve some of this problem; the unavailable applications could then still be installed with an APK file. Microsoft did not announce whether this will be a possibility during the launch of Windows 11.

Sideload Android apps on Windows 11

Although there is no official announcement from Microsoft, the answer to that question has since been published on Twitter by a renowned Microsoft developer, Miguel de Icaza. Without going into details, Icaza . gave reply to a tweet asking if sideloading apps via APKs was possible. An unequivocal “Yes!” was the answer.

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For now, this is just a rumor and Icaza’s answer should be taken with a grain of salt. It does offer perspective for the future of Android apps on Windows. At the moment it remains unknown how the sideload process will run on Windows 11.

Can you simply install an app’s APKs like you would any other Windows app, or open a separate menu to sideload the APK. Another question that arises is about security when installing external APKs. Will Microsoft check for malicious apps, or is that a task for the (end) user?

Running native Android apps

Microsoft’s partnership with Amazon to bring Android apps to Windows is a step in the right direction. Microsoft previously worked with Samsung on the Your Phone app for streaming Android apps to Windows, but that was a sub-optimal experience and was also only available to Samsung owners.

Running apps on Windows 11 without the intervention of phones provides several benefits. So you don’t always have to have your phone with you, and in addition, an Android app from Android 11 is ‘equivalent’ to regular Windows 11 applications so that you can place them in specific window configurations.

Is this the step Microsoft needed to contain the growth of Chrome OS, or is the arrival of Android apps to Windows 11 via the Amazon App Store too little, too late? That will be revealed later this year. What do you think of the arrival of Android apps to Windows? Are you also planning to sideload Android apps if that becomes possible? Be sure to let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.