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In a little bit of a shock announcement, Microsoft just lately introduced the shutdown of Home windows 11’s Home windows Subsystem for Android. The function that has allowed you to run Android apps immediately in your Home windows PC for the previous yr is already being deprecated, however whenever you have a look at the reasoning behind this determination, it is smart. Merely put: getting Android apps on a desktop OS (like on ChromeOS or Home windows) takes work, and also you want folks utilizing it to make the work make sense.
How Android Apps on Home windows works (labored)
Launched with Home windows 11, the Home windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) was a reasonably cool function for those who have taken benefit of it. Partnering with Amazon’s Appstore, this function permits customers to obtain and run Android apps simply on their computer systems. Since this utilized Amazon’s Appstore versus Google Play, nevertheless, the restricted number of apps appears to have held this function again.
Why Microsoft is killing the function
For Microsoft, it appears the dearth of utilization is in the end what killed this function in the long run. In accordance with a Microsoft worker over on X (via 9to5 Google), the cash generated by the Amazon Appstore helped fund the employees required to take care of WSA. Since few folks used the function, income fell brief, making it financially unsustainable for Microsoft. Easy determination, I suppose.
Whereas handy, WSA could not return as a result of prices concerned. The Android-on-Home windows market could merely be too small, notably with fewer Home windows tablets round. The place Android apps current a brand new degree of talents for a Spartan OS like ChromeOS, Home windows has an enormous utility ecosystem that spans many years, so it’s a little bit of a tricky promote to get customers to essentially take benefit.
However all the factor is a little bit of a lesson in bringing the Android framework to some other OS. Clearly, it takes effort and time, and which means it takes cash. There’s nothing totally different with ChromeOS, and I hope the story of the WSA’s demise is a reminder to Chromebook customers. These things is tough to get proper, and although Android apps on Chromebooks continues to be tough on a couple of edges, it’s a reasonably welcome addition to this straightforward, quick, and safe working system all of us love a lot.
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