Microsoft announced native Android support in Windows 11 with great fanfare, but it was only recently did we learn that the new operating system would lack these capabilities at launch.
Redmond has confirmed that they will come at a later date, after a period of thorough testing.
It now looks like the company is now focused on getting this feature ready, as the engine that would power these Android apps on Windows 11 has made its way online. Its arrival on the Microsoft Store reveals a couple of interesting details, too.
First spotted by regular Microsoft watcher WalkingCat, the apps repository now contains a dedicated page for what is being called the “Windows Subsystem for Android”.
Not too different from the Linux implementation as far as nomenclature goes.
And although free to download, the app currently only pops up a blank window when you install and open it on Windows 11. On Windows 10, it does not even install — which makes sense as this is a feature native to the newer version of the operating system.
Speaking of operating systems, the listing details Xbox One as a supported OS too. That said, the minimum requirements have been listed as build 22000.0 or greater, the same branch we currently have on the Beta channel.
Supported architectures include ARM64 and x64, while the minimum amount of RAM required is 8GB. This gets bumped up to 16GB as recommended.
The store listing also cautions users of the app to not take screenshots or leak other content, which likely hint at this being a release for Microsoft employees for internal testing. It is also not clear why this has been released publicly in this fashion.
At this point in time, we have no ETA on when Android apps will make their way to Windows 11, or even when Insider testing actually begins.
But it should be soon.
