- Amazon Appstore app arrives at the Microsoft Store for Windows 11.
- The app will provide the medium to download Android apps on Windows.
- The Amazon Appstore shows up at the Store, but it’s not available for download.
Support for Android apps on Windows 11 may soon arrive for Insiders as the Amazon Appstore has already been spotted at the Microsoft Store. When the company first revealed Windows 11, among all the features and changes, it also announced the support for Android apps, but then the feature was cut off from the initial release because it wasn’t ready.
Shortly after, the Windows Subsystem for Android appeared in the Microsoft Store as an app, but it didn’t do anything. Now, the other piece of the integration, the Amazon Appstore, can be found in the Store (via WalkingCat), suggesting that the company may be closer to ship the first preview of the support for Windows 11.
Since the Android app and Windows apps are part of different ecosystems, the implementation isn’t straightforward. To bring the support to Windows 11, Microsoft has been working with Amazon and Intel to make it all happen.
The first piece of the support involves the new Windows Subsystem for Android that provides the virtualization environment for the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) to run Android apps without the need for Google Play Services support.
The second piece is Amazon providing the apps from Amazon Appstore, and the third piece is Intel delivering its Bridge technology to run the apps on Intel chips. However, the solution won’t be required on AMD or ARM systems.
Once everything comes together, there is the experience of downloading and installing the apps. Although it’s not clear yet, it appears that you will first need to download and install the Amazon Appstore (the app that was spotted today) and sign in with your Amazon account. After you do this, you will be able to use the Microsoft Store to download and run Android apps in Windows 11.
The additional steps seem that will only be necessary to set up the experience. After the initial setup, you would simply get the apps from the new Microsoft Store.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.