Lost in touch: Windows loses Android support

Android ended up being part of Windows. Microsoft recently announced that it will end support for Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in 2025. Long before that, neither Android apps nor the Amazon Appstore will be available from the Microsoft Store.

WSA’s story began with the iPad, a product that upset both Windows and Android when it was introduced. Apple’s tablets got off to a promising start on the market, but there were fears that they would be replaced by laptops after netbooks died out. Microsoft’s response (adding touchscreen support to Windows 8 through Tiled Theme mode, which was eventually replaced by Tablet mode) never seriously challenged Apple’s tablets, and Windows Phone has a touch screen that can also run on the desktop. Could not attract app. When it comes to Google, optimizing the iPad app compared to the phone-based version was something that could never be achieved on Android. Android will continue to thrive as a phone OS, but only a few major companies continue to push the limits of Android tablets.

However, in more recent history, WSA was the successor to WSL, the Windows Subsystem for Linux that was adopted by developers using Linux-based tools. But WSA had a broader promise to bring a vast library of touch-enabled Android apps to Windows PCs that had previously eluded them. Momentum for Microsoft was further strengthened when Apple announced the first Macs based on Apple silicon and the new ability to run iPad and iPhone apps on those Macs (albeit typically without touch). . As Microsoft pursues its own ARM-based PC strategy with Qualcomm, Android apps now perform well on the chip architecture that the company has always called home. Finally, Microsoft’s embrace of Android on the Surface Duo and support for Android on Windows opens up opportunities for PC-phone integration beyond what Microsoft has offered on its own phones and Samsung’s Galaxy S series. It was opened.

However, a major drawback to WSA was the lack of Google Play and, therefore, the lack of access to many of Google’s most popular apps, including Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube. The Amazon Appstore that Microsoft included had a much smaller number of apps than some of Android’s more advanced productivity applications, as well as a larger library for kids and entertainment. There are several reasons why Google didn’t want Google Play on Windows, but the main reason is that such support could make Windows PCs more competitive with Chromebooks. After all, Google doesn’t even allow devices running ChromeOS Flex, the option for running ChromeOS on PCs and Macs, to access the Google Play Store and run Android apps. Finally, Google has made its own plans to run his Android apps on Windows and announced Google Play Games for the platform. This expanded the market for Android game developers, but not for non-game app developers.

As for timing, Microsoft’s embrace of AI marks a return to focus on Windows after a platform-independent run that saw it rise to the top of the cloud. Copilot is easy to find on Windows, but we’re just beginning to see how integrated it will be into the operating system. This reignited a long-standing rivalry with Google, which positions Gemini’s AI efforts to compete with Microsoft. Additionally, Amazon may be moving away from promoting his Android app store. The code name for the new operating system is Vega Also on many other devices.