Android App Support on Windows 11 Comes to End After This Date

Back in 2021, Windows 11 arrived with Subsystem for Android (WSA) as one of the highlights of Microsoft’s latest OS. With this feature, we got the ability to install Android apps on Windows PCs, with users not having to rely on third-party Android emulators and it was easy to set up. But today, in a surprise move, Microsoft has announced that it will be ending native support for WSA next year on March 5, 2025. But, there’s a catch.

Since Microsoft is ending support for Windows Subsystem for Android, Amazon has declared that its Appstore will also be discontinued on Windows 11. So, starting March 6, 2024, users will not be able to search for the Amazon Appstore or its apps on Windows 11. However, those who already have certain Amazon Appstore apps installed will continue to receive support for them till the platform gets “fully discontinued.”

Additionally, Amazon has stated that the developers of these Android apps will not be able to submit any updates after March 5, 2024. However, till the platform is completely discontinued, they will be able to roll out updates for such apps for those that already have them installed in their Windows 11 systems. Microsoft also added,

Customers that have installed the Amazon Appstore or Android apps prior to March 5, 2024, will continue to have access to those apps through the deprecation date of March 5, 2025.

So, if you are one such user (or possibly the only one) who has apps from the Amazon Appstore on your Windows 11 system, gear up.

However, there are a couple of things this move of Microsoft that really baffles me. Why would they decide to do away with a feature that they have been so actively promoting ever since Windows 11’s inception?

I also don’t understand why the feature was limited to certain markets, and that too with the limited scope of the Amazon Appstore, even three years after Windows 11’s release. It didn’t see the light of day in global markets. In my opinion, it was a pretty solid move to rival Apple and its walled garden, building a healthy and harmonious Windows-Android ecosystem.

I mean, by the end of the day, injecting AI into everything is not going to make an operating system hold its own for a long time. Even my colleague Arjun agrees, with Copilot being limited mostly to a chatbox.

Yes, AI is a huge thing right now. But, how many people are going to be comfortable with just that being the selling point of an operating system? Features like the Windows Subsystem for Android made sense to me, but no one is going to miss it since they never got to try it. Well, off to installing resource-heavy emulators on Windows again. GG.

What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments section!