Microsoft tees up a public preview of Android apps for Windows 11

Image credit: Microsoft.

Microsoft is preparing Windows 11’s Android app compatibility for a public beta trial.

In its latest blog post by Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer, Windows + Devices at Microsoft, the company outlined several milestones for Windows 11. For its PC platform, there’s been a sixfold increase in communication and collaboration apps (like Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Microsoft Teams etc.), with more people streaming content from the likes of Netflix, YouTube etc., and there are “now as many gamers as people who watch TV”.

But more important is what Microsoft plans to do with Windows 11 in the coming months. They are now entering the final phase of Windows 11’s upgrade offer. It’s also bringing feature improvements to the taskbar like call-mute and call-unmute, the return of its weather widget, and two redesigned Microsoft apps - Notepad and Media Player.

Also coming next month is a public preview of Android apps on Windows 11. According to Microsoft, the apps are installed via the Microsoft Store, with the help of Amazon and Intel. This builds upon Microsoft’s last formal update where it asked Windows Insiders users to test and validate about 50 Android apps for the Microsoft operating system.

If you want to know what Windows 11 is supposed to do for you, don’t forget to check out our article showcasing our favourite Windows 11 features here.

Source: Microsoft (blog), The Verge